Drying hands is often considered less important than washing hands. This is completely unjustified. Wet hands can spread up to a thousand times more bacteria than dry hands. Damp hands attract bacteria and because the hands are moist, these are spread more quickly from the toilet area to other places.
Drying hands after washing prevents the spread of germs
Good hygiene is crucial to prevent the spread of germs. Washing your hands with soap is not enough. Good hand hygiene also includes drying your hands properly. This reduces the risk of cross-contamination.
Hand hygiene is the most important method in healthcare to combat viruses. Patients or residents of, for example, a nursing home have less resistance. Washing hands in these places is therefore extra important to avoid spreading germs.
Drying hands is inseparable from hand washing. This has become a topical issue again due to the coronavirus. One of the ways to become infected with the coronavirus, the flu or also a cold, is through contact via the hands. With the emergence of the coronavirus, a lot of attention has been paid worldwide to the importance of hand hygiene and drying after washing, as it significantly reduces the spread of disease-causing pathogens.
Hygiene is becoming increasingly important. Even before covid, an increase in the number of infectious diseases could already be seen.
Importance of good hand hygiene ➡️ washing + drying
By washing your hands and then drying your hands properly, you gain an advantage: you are less likely to get sick. When people become more aware of (hand) hygiene it will prevent many cases of illness, resulting in less sick leave.
You can reduce absenteeism by paying more attention to the importance of hygiene and ultimately save a lot of money.
Since the transmission of bacteria is much faster via wet hands, it is important to also dry your hands properly. This is not obvious to everyone. The picture with instructions shows five steps that are necessary. The last but crucial step is drying hands, don't forget this step!
Did you know that you almost completely lose the benefits of hand washing if you do not dry your hands after washing?
What is the best way to dry your hands?
This is a topic that is regularly debated. Because it is often possible to dry your hands in a toilet room in different ways: with a cotton towel roll, paper or a hot air dryer.
Research has shown that drying your hands with cotton is more hygienic than drying your hands with an air dryer. In addition, it is more environmentally friendly than using paper towels: one cotton towel roll is good for 110 portions of fresh cotton. And every towel is washed at least 100 times. That equals approximately 22,000 paper towels.
The study, by the University of Helsinki's Hjelt Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, found that even when hands were washed without soap, the level of bacteria removed by rubbing action was above the minimum standards of EN1499. Hot air dryers scored below the standard in this regard.
Research shows:
Hygienic and sustainable hand drying with cotton
Cotton has a number of important advantages when it comes to drying hands. Cotton is skin friendly and it leads to a better absorption of moisture and an optimal drying effect. The cotton towel therefore proves to be a very hygienic aid, but it is more than that.
100% natural
Cotton is a 100% natural product and for that reason 100% biodegradable. With one towel roll you can dry your hands an average of 110 times. The towels are washed (sustainably) about 100 times on average without loss of quality. This leads to them being reused and therefore having significantly less environmental impact. To compare: with 1 cotton towel roll you can replace up to 22,000 paper towels.
Certified sustainable
All CWS towel systems in combination with the cotton towel roll have been awarded the 'Blue Angel Ecolabel'. This makes us the first provider in the Benelux to be allowed to use this label. The CWS rolls are also certified in accordance with the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 label. The Oeko-Tex test verifies that the cotton contains no harmful substances.