TOMORROW’S CLEANING MAY 10

Who are you voting for?

Paper Party

John Balshaw

“Let me make it absolutely clear.” Writing this on election day how many times have we heard this expression in the last few weeks? Seems the answers to political questions and to electric hand dryers are both clouded in smoke screens.

The smoke screen analogy I will explain later.

I am told that yet another hand dryer study has been commissioned and that the University of Westminster has published its findings.

If you were to refer to the headline, front page of Cleaning News April 8th 1994 it states that a new report was published by the University of Westminster, and it goes on to say there was an angry reply from the British Warm Air Hand Dryer Association.

Go back to 1989 Catering and Health published a comparison of hand drying methods by Dr Maureen Blackmore of Liverpool Polytechnic.

I was involved with the Blackmore report. My company both rented and sold electric hand dryers and supplied paper towels. I considered myself a neutral observer. Reports sponsored by either side will always be suspect.

My involvement was triggered by the advertising at the time from the hand dryer industry with strap lines such as “as clean as the country breeze” “safe, gentle, clean, beautiful, efficient” claims for warm, dry, clean air and illustrations of dryers floating in space, in front of golden sunsets, and in the sky above fields of meadow flowers, every influence being of clean, sterile situations.

Maureen Blackmore’s finding were similar to the first Westminster study and to the recent one.

WASHROOM HYGIENE

30 | TOMORROW’S CLEANING | The future of our cleaning industry

Time brings about new innovations and technologies and the modern jet air dryers do, on paper, stand out as a more acceptable, more sanitary means of hand drying. For those who are fully able to accept all the tests undertaken by the dispenser designers/

Disposables UK Group

Emma Wood, Marketing Manager, Disposables UK Group

The two methods of hand drying have historically been the epicentre of much industry debate and this will no doubt long continue. It is without question that hot air dryers have become less fashionable as the great British public become more aware, due to our germ- conscious society, of their unhygienic traits. A typical scenario for me, having young children and therefore a frequent visitor to public toilets, is hearing other mums uttering the words: “Don’t use those hand dryers, they are full of germs,” while taking a length of toilet roll to dry their offspring’s hands!

manufacturers, there should be no reason why they wouldn’t opt for jet air dryers. However, the stigma associated with air dryers in many hygiene critical areas is, in my opinion, going to take some diminishing and all the numerous study done over the years always come out with the same result, that hand towels are the most effective and the most hygienic method of hand drying.

Working for a paper manufacturer, I suppose you could argue I have a biased viewpoint however, I wonder how many people look for alternative ways to dry their hands, including the favourites; toilet roll and trouser legs, when hand towels are available… not that many I would say!

www.disposablesukgroup.co.uk

SCA Tissue Europe

SCA Tissue Europe’s product and market manager, Charlotte Branwhite

Several studies have shown paper hand towels to be a more hygienic hand drying method than warm-air dryers since they reduce bacteria levels on the hands whereas warm-air dryers actually increase them.

Research has also revealed that people prefer paper hand towels to other drying methods, which means they are more likely to observe good hand hygiene when presented with a paper towel.

A recent University of Westminster study showed that bacteria levels on the hands actually rose on average by up to 254% after using a warm air dryer and 42% with a new-style jet-air dryer. www.tork.co.uk Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70