Drying your hands during Coronavirus times

Within the enormous avalanche of information that exists about the Coronavirus in all the media, there are all kind of news. As far as our sector is concerned, the importance of hand washing is one of the most relevant news that can be read these days, since it is one of the most important measures to prevent the spread and infection of the mentioned virus.

Without going any further, a month ago, Mediclinics posted an article on its official blog related to the importance of washing your hands, providing small advice on how to do it correctly.

One of the points we would like to highlight, which has caught our attention the most in relation to this information, is that in almost all of them, the term “hand washing” is spoken almost exclusively, and not the term “drying”. For this reason, at Mediclinics, we would like to take advantage of the occasion to emphasize the relevance that also has the correct drying of hands to fight the so feared virus Covid 19, since we should not ignore that the whole process has to involve both parties equally.

We do not only make this reaffirmation and claim personally, as a manufacturer of hand dryers and soap dispensers, but it is something that an institution of recognized prestige as the World Health Organization highlights.

Another point that we would also like to mention is the information war, or rather disinformation war, which always occurs in times of crisis, such as the one we are currently experiencing, and which has serious social and economic repercussions.

We are talking about the clash between different business sectors competing for the same market. These opposing and disparate business interests come to light in the form of a battle of rumours, unsupported scientific studies, mostly financed by these business sectors, malicious information, and all kinds of fake news, with the aim of gaining market share and destabilising and overthrowing the adversary. But should everything really be allowed? Does the end justify the means?

At Mediclinics we firmly and categorically believe that everything should not be allowed. In this case, we are referring to a series of information that, curiously enough, have been disseminated again these days and we have read it again in various media, in relation to the allegedly harmful role that hand dryers play when it comes to drying hands.

For this reason at Mediclinics we would like to echo what different voices, like  the EHA (Electric Hand Dryer Association) are communicating through videos, news or articles, where they explain with solid arguments that drying hands with hand dryers does not have harmful effects for human health, and why a hand dryer is a much more effective and advisable solution.




We would also like to show some studies that remark all explained above:

-Bacterial transfer and cross-contamination potential associated with paper-towel dispensing”

It explains that bacteria spreads because we do not wash our hands properly and because they can transfer in a zigzag: from our hands, to the paper towel dispenser outlet, and back to our hands. This is not a problem if the bathroom has hand dryers.

- Paper towels or air hand dryers: Which is better for the environment and hygiene?

It concludes that microbes and bacteria can be transferred from hands to other surfaces much more easily if the hands are wet or damp. So it's better to use an air dryer than not to dry your hands completely, as it is the case using paper towels.

-Bytes and Bacteria: Exposing the Germs on your Technology

It explains that there are far more bacteria on a mobile phone, keyboard or name plate than on a hand dryer.

- Hand-dryer Industry riding high on Sustainability

It clearly states the advantages of using a hand dryer instead of a paper dispenser. It should be noted that in the field of hygiene and health, it introduces HEPA filters, mentioning that these filters capture the vast majority of bacteria and viruses.

Having said all the above, Mediclinics would like to finish this article defending and demanding the veracity and responsibility, to all parties involved, about the information that is being spread publically in a subject as serious as the one that we are living at the present time, advising and recommending the readers, as the EHA does, to follow only the information that comes from independent sources of recognized prestige like The World Health  Organization(WHO) or the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Once your hands are washed, you should dry them thoroughly using paper towels or a hand dryer” World Health Organization.

To finish this post, we recommend you to watch the following video, where the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) clearly recommends the use of hand dryers.