Public facilities, especially public bathrooms, are full of bacteria and germs. It is always important that these spaces are disinfected and sanitized the right way. When it comes to the public’s role in being clean, handwashing is very important.
The Global Handwashing Partnership recommends that hands are washed for 20 seconds with soap and then are dried on a clean cloth or paper towel. Unfortunately, most people do not wash their hands properly or for the right amount of time. Even when hands are washed well, they can be exposed to nasty germs when they are dried.
When choosing a method for drying one’s hands in a commercial the bathroom, it is important to be environmentally conscious. That is why many facilities choose electric hand dryers over paper towels. Consider, however, if the person using the hand dryer before you did not wash their hands well. Those germs can float around in the hand dryer, get in filters, and circulate around the bathroom.
So, while electric hand dryers may be the more sustainable option, maintaining the equipment presents challenges. The key, and often overlooked challenge, is keeping these machines clean. Depending on the amount of traffic in each bathroom, hand dryers will be used by dozens of people in a single day. Without the proper maintenance, their daily cleanliness can often be neglected.
What to look for when maintaining the cleanliness of hand dryers:
- Clean and replace filters regularly
- Vacuum inside the opening of the hand dryer to remove debris
- Sanitize the floor and wall adjacent to the hand dryer
- Wipe the outside and starting mechanism of the hand dryer
The process of maintaining a clean bathroom and clean hand dryer begins with properly trained cleaning professionals who knows what to look for. If your facility uses hand dryers, make sure they are being maintained and cleaned daily to prevent the spread of germs.
