New study shows Dyson hand dryer reduces bacteria on hands

Published: 6-Jul-2009

New research carried out in France in the past few months has shown the Dyson Airblade hand dryer reduces the amount of bacteria on hands after drying. An independent French test lab, Institut de Recherche Microbiologique (IRM) that specialises in the study of antimicrobial agents, measured the amount of bacteria before and after drying hands for 10 seconds in the Airblade. The findings revealed that the hand dryer reduces contamination by 89.5%, says the company.

Toby Saville, Dyson microbiologist, said: “We have always known that the Airblade was quick and clean, and that damp hands are likely to spread up to 1,000 times more bacteria than dry hands. The IRM study shows that the claims made are far from hot air but based on legitimate and scientific fact. The Airblade goes beyond its primary function of drying hands – actually removing bacteria.”

A study sponsored by the European Tissue Symposium released earlier this year had suggested that hand dryers, including the Airblade, are less efficient at removing bacteria than paper towels. It also claimed that rubbing the hands together actually increases the number of bacteria and suggested that the Airblade was likely to increase washroom contamination through contact with the device and through water splashes from the sides of the device.

Dyson, meanwhile, refutes some of these claims and says the Airblade is the only hand dryer to be certified to meet the requirements of the National Sanitation Foundation Protocol 335 for a hygienic hand drying system. The British Skin Foundation also validates Dyson’s skincare research and the Royal Society of Public Health has given the Airblade its first hygiene accreditation.

The Airblade uses a HEPA filter to remove 99.9% of bacteria from the air used to dry hands. In addition, all external surfaces are impregnated with antimicrobial additives, in order to reduce bacteria and minimise risk of cross-contamination. Rubbing can bring large numbers of bacteria up to the surface of the skin from lower layers but with the Airblade users don’t need to rub their hands together, says Dyson.

The IRM study was carried out under EU standard EN1500 on a sample of 15 volunteers. It found that when hands are wetted with a liquid artificially contaminated with an Escherichia coli test strain then suspended in the air for 10 seconds, there is no change to initial contamination levels. In the same conditions, there is a 0.98 log reduction (89.5%) when the contaminated hands of the volunteers are dried for 10 seconds using the Dyson Airblade. Analyses of reduction factors according to standard NF EN 1500 (September 1997) demonstrate that drying artificially contaminated hands for 10 seconds using the Airblade results in a statistically significant (at level 0.1) improvement in the reduction of contamination, when compared with suspending hands for 10 seconds in the open air.

Dyson markets the Airblade as an environmentally friendly and cheap means of hygienic hand drying. Because no warm air is used to dry hands, it uses up to 80% less energy than a conventional hand dryer. The company also claims that the average public washroom uses 200 paper towels per day; if replaced by a Dyson Airblade hand dryer, each washroom would save 7.5 trees being pulped every year and £1,000 in running costs.

The company has also had endorsement from Campden BRI (formerly Campden and Chorleywood Food Research Association), which conducted research showing that the Airblade is suitable for use in food production environments, and has also successfully petitioned the Food & Drug Administration in the US, which concluded that the hand dryer is suitable for use in food preparation areas.

www.dysonairblade.co.uk

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