‘I Will Never Use Hand Dryers Again’: Woman Shows How Much Bacteria Live in Public Bathroom Hand Dryers in Video

A woman tested several public hand dryers for bacteria and was shocked by the results. Viewers changed their attitude toward public hand dryers after seeing the viral video.

People generally turn to hand dryers when they use public restrooms, as it seems like a quick, cleaner, and more accessible solution when you’re on the go. However, a viral TikTok video might cause you to rethink this next time you wash your hands.

The clip by @the_lab_life1 compared the effects of air drying and hot-air hand drying one’s hands. The experiment included three hand dryers to see how much and what type of bacteria was pushed out.

The comparisons were made between hand dryers from different locations and included hand air drying. The poster worked in a laboratory to solidify her findings.

The video revealing the results, viewed by more than 26 million social media users, left people in awe. It began with the TikToker collecting samples, using petri dishes, drying them with the use of a movie theater hand dryer, a shopping mall hand dryer, and the hand dryer at her workplace. She also waved a petri dish in the air to dry it that way and get a sample for the experiment.

The four samples were then placed in an incubator, and the scientific process allowed the bacteria to “grow in a controlled environment.”

The poster captioned the clip with a trigger warning at the 50-second mark to warn viewers of what was to come. Surprisingly, each hand dryer produced different kinds of bacteria, while the air-drying method proved to be the safest.

Seeing the results of the experiment made some people glad they never used hand dryers to begin with, while those who did felt they needed to rethink it.

Judging by the responses from the people who viewed the experiment, many already knew that hand dryers were not the wisest choice.

A social media user thanked the poster for running the experiment, which would also be useful in convincing others to stop using hand dryers altogether. Another person laughed, feeling vindicated for always choosing to flap “like a bird” to dry their hands instead of using the machines in the restrooms.

Someone else, who also seemed to be in the know, revealed that the experiment was why they hadn’t used hand dryers in years. The social media user revealed how their behavior had filtered down to their son, who also didn’t use the machines. Another person added:

“This is why I NEVER use a dryer!”

The poster appeared to have convinced someone else to choose differently as they confessed, “I will never use hand dryers again.”

Meanwhile, what surprised @the_lab_life1 more with the results was how many different bacteria she caught.

Following the popularity of her experiment, the original poster, who chose to remain anonymous, was interviewed by a publication. She revealed that she wasn’t stunned by how much bacteria she found.

However, what did shock her was how many different types she came across! The TikToker explained that she anticipated finding normal skin-related bacteria, but that wasn’t the case. She revealed:

“I was surprised to find many different colors and genus.”

It had to be noted that some hand dryers tried to mitigate the number of bacteria they blew out by having a blue light that killed it. Sadly, the added feature wasn’t as productive as expected.

Erica Susky, a Toronto-based medical microbiologist certified in infection control, further explained that the problem was the machines needed regular maintenance and cleaning to give the best results. It is unknown whether facilities with hand dryers frequently and thoroughly sanitize them as needed.

The medical microbiologist also noted that dryers had filters requiring regular changing and cleaning. Susky said filters didn’t get frequent changing as they should, leading them to be overloaded with “particulate,” which could build up mold and bacteria over a period. Moreover, it was also possible that people contaminated the machines and caused bacteria buildup.

The medical microbiologist said this happens when someone uses a restroom and then washes their hands for a short time, which isn’t sufficient in removing the necessary microbes. When that person dries their hands with the hand dryer, there would be a transfer of microbes to the hand dryer and consequently passing it on to the next person using the machine.

The mall and movie theater dishes registered fewer bacteria than the one from her workplace.

Back in 2018, the University of Connecticut did a study on restroom dryers and found even more astonishing results. Aside from blowing bacteria, restroom dryers also blew out fecal matter!

The Applied and Environmental Microbiology Journal published the study and revealed that scientists made their findings by placing data-gathering plates under dryers. The test was done on the University of Connecticut’s campus in 36 different bathrooms to get various results.

The plates sat for around 30 seconds under the hand dryers and found “between 18 and 60 different colonies of bacteria on each plate.” The viral TikTok video doing a similar experiment didn’t explain what type of bacteria was growing in the machines.

The results of @the_lab_life1’s experiment left her saying, “I’m actually shocked,” after discovering several types of bacteria in the petri dishes and realizing the UV light in some of the machines wasn’t working. Some yellow, pink, and white specs were visible in the dishes, some bigger than others.

The mall and movie theater dishes registered fewer bacteria than the one from her workplace. The 50-second mark warning was placed when she decided to pop one of the bacteria to show the gooey interior that ended up on people’s hands!

Meanwhile, the air drying method showed zero bacteria in the Petri dish and seemed the safest to use going forward. Ultimately, each person would have to decide whether they want to trust the experiment and avoid hand dryers or not, but maybe the next one will be about looking into each bacteria and finding out how it affects people.