As mentioned on the forums, paper towels cost $23.00 per 1000 uses, as to the $1.27 for 1000 uses of a dryer.

By the way, for the record, I don't like towels, I prefer the dryers. And another thing, the only study I could find biased AGAINST dryers was conductd by Kimberly-Clark... Fitting isn't it? Dave, I opt that you write the pro towel report, and I write the anti towel report, I can have my report in your hands by wednsday 5/22/02.

I prefer the dryer because I can use it dry my hair after I wash it

I like the dryers simply because of the hot air.

The water coming out of the faucets is insanely cold in some places and it feels good to warm your hands back up.

i also like to use the dryer to give shameless shitters a chance to really let loose for a few seconds. then i'll take a small amount of paper to use as a protective shield between my "clean" hands and the nasty knob. i use quotes around "clean" b/c you never know what's in that soap dispenser! i know for a fact that at a McDonald's a few years ago, somebody had peed in it! nasty!

i think poop on the handle is bad, i use paper towels at all times.

I am delighted that I found this site!!!! Reason??? My sister is here for a visit (I don't know her very well, she is older, a 1/2 sister and has always lived far away)and the other day while travelling we stopped to use a public restroom. I of course followed my normal procedure, use the restroom, flush the john with my foot, wash my hands, get the paper towels outta the dispenser by using my elbow on the lever, dry my hands, turn off the faucet with the paper towel, head to the door and am prepared to open the door with the paper towel when I see my sister opening the door bare-handed!!!! I told her I would get the door for her and she looked at me funny. I then discarded the paper towel in the nearest waste receptacle. Today I was informed by both my sister and my stepmother that I am obsessive/compulsive. Dontcha think that it's silly to wash your hands (when at least it's your body fluids on them!)and then touch a door that has been touched by thousands of people...a large percentage of those being people that didn't wash their hands???? Gross!!! Any feedback would be appreciated so I can prove that I am not some germ freak...only sanitary. Thanks

I don't know about anywhere else, but with the high humidity in Florida, the hot-air dryers are totally useless. You'll get warm hands, but never dry hands from them.

Why does everyone have this paranoia about germs all of sudden? It's "I won't touch the door because it's got germs" and "There are germs on the toilet seat, so I'll go ahead and waste another acre of trees by putting more papaer on it". Try to pay attention to the language we've all been using. Think about it, if you totally isolate yourself from germs and bacteria, and live in a completly sterile enviroment, then you're just asking to get sick. And you'll deserve it too, because you're weak! Nobody needs to use that extra sheet of paper to open the freaking doorknob. I do understand if its covered in someone else's shit, but just because you're paranoid about who's touched the handle before you is not a good reason. Our society has developed a neurotic fixation with germs, and clenliness, and keeping everything sterile and sanitary, and its completely out of balance. Sorry to say it folks, but there is a reaon why you have AN IMMUNE SYSTEM! TO KILL FUCKING GERMS! If you choose to avoid germs entirely, and a germ does get by, you're gonna get sick, and puke and get the runs and you'll deserve it! Now, to clear things up for people who may think of me as some sort of pig right now, I AM for people NOT spitting on hamburgers and defacting on the floor, walls, ect. Don't get me wrong, I do adhere to common standards of sanitation, but its getting to the point of ridiculousness in this country especially.

So next time, when you wipe your ass, don't be so fucking neurotic that you have to flush with your foot (which by the way reduces the life of the toilet im told), don't use Kleenex to open the doors, and do silly shit like lever the hand towels out with your elbows! Sometimes I get sicker thinking about some people's habits in the bathroom than thinking about taking a shit itself. Reconsider your shitting habits, and please stay out of my way if I see one of you paranoid people in the restroom, because I will guarantee you that you won't be feeling clean for long after I deliever this speech to you in a very angry fashion. Especially if you've just used up the last of the hand towels fueling your semi-psycotic neuroticism. Thanks, and thanks to Dave, who has made one of the most interesting sites on the Net, in my belief. Thanks Dave, and keep up the good work!

Geez, I think it'd be HILARIOUS to see how Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) would try to use a public restroom...

In case some of you have not heard of this guy, he's from this USA Network sitcom called "Monk"; about a detective who has obsessive-compulsiver disorder (in other words, DEATHLY AFRAID of germs!)

Then again, this situation would fit nicely into an upcoming episode of "Monk"... it's an hour-long show, so they've definitely got the spare time!

Blower`s are Best People will use Paper Towels and throw them in th Toilet thus Stopping it up. What a mess.I know I Work in Maintenance

i like blowers

Blowers suck! I sometimes wash my face in the bathroom and find that there are no paper towels to wipe my face. Then I have to run into a toilet stall and get some paper or wipe it on my shirt. When it's just my hands I stand there forever burning up precious fuel trying to get my hands dry and it never works.

However, on a positive note about blowers, they do have their uses. Just put something nasty up the nozzle, like a tampon smeared with ketchup or a piece of toilet paper covered in peanut butter. The next person to use the blow gets quite a handful!

Blower are the best Pepole will thorw their used paper Towels in the Toilet and Thus stopping it up
I know this to be true I`m a Janitor

I ahve seen the light and it is a wakmah door vacuum. This thing is the contrivance we have all been awaiting.

I would definetly, with-out a doubt choose paper towels! I hate waiting for the dryer to dry my hands when I can use the towels to dry them and keep them clean by pushing the restroom door open. Even at school when we spill something, it's not like we can go to the bathroom and rip the cryer out of the wall to dry the spill. Normally, I get the towels to do the work. I know this is gross but it worked:
when I was little I lived in Japan so Mostly every bathroom had paper towels and dryers both. I always hated the dryer, becasue it usually spit something out at me, or took to long. If the option of usuing no paper was not avialable, then I would just use the toilet paper. Gross EH? But hey it worked!
Yes of course there is the cost issue. The public wants paper so give them paper, if you want your costomers back give them what they want. "the costomer is always right, right?"

I have to write a pursuassive essay on this so I was looking all-over for random things then I found this thank you it helped alot~!~

oh my word you people, I was just on this site to try to find info on this for a report im writing!
why do you care so much to go on this site and find which paper or dryer you like better?
I agree our society is to much of thinking about the cleanliness, you do know we wouldn't be able to live without germs!
of course all this extra poop all over our doors and toilets seats our gross, but thats why we should wash our hands and wipe better!
~thank

I'd like to know further informations about " Blow germs around " by air dyers...

bande de con

why are u all talkng about shit...and stuff nobody cares about?? (except the occasional neurotic hehe) but yeah there are so many things in the world...get a life ppl! honestly.....wasting ur time on sumthin like this! and if ppl r askin y im on here...i was lookin for handryers made in germany for my company.....so :P

"i was lookin for handryers made in germany for my company..."

Moi, someone needs to report this violation of child labor laws.

Obviously, the folks worried about touching the door handle when leaving never eat at buffet restaurants, sharing the serving utensils with everyone else? :-)

This past Christmas while shopping I used the mens facilities at a local mall. They had Paper towels, hand dryers and nice soft freshly laundered rolled wrapped cotton hand towels, un real, felt like I was back in the eary 80's at the Ritz in Barcelona. Real frigging towels, 2 major thumbs up to Conestoga Mall in Waterloo Ontario, you guys rock. This is the most environmentally sound principle and also the most luxurious.

I reasently saw a thing where a cloth (actually probably cotton) was on a roller. I got outta the b/r w/o pissing becuase i refuse to touch a towel someone else used. Blow dry, i dont care b/c u dont realy rub ure hands on it. I like paper towels that are self dispensing (folded) or are put out when u put ure hand in front. I dont use them when u turn the crank or push the lever to get them out b/c everyone else touched it.

THe dryers at the school i work at don't have the little cone that diflects the aire so no suprises. The dryer is less germy b/c u can punch the button instead of putting ure hand on somthing.

In elementary school we uese to turn them under our shirts and puff ourselves up.

I remember a funny joke about a young kid:

"Dad, what are these things on the wall here?"

"They are called hand dryers, son"

"how do you use it daddy?"

"Simple. YOu push this button here and put your hands under it.

"Then what daddy?

"Wipe you hands on your pants to actually get them dry."

KeepOnCrappin, these were individually rolled and wrapped hand towels, not a cheap bulk roll thing, same type of hand towels you find in very nice hotels, very thick and soft, like a high end terry cloth robe. Each towel had a paper sleeve on it, they were rolled and in a decorative bin on the counter, with bins for used towels to be placed in.

Naw, it wasn't indevidually rolled. I was one continus roll. (Like a conveyer belt roll)

ya so i hate not having the option, i like using paper towels. everytime you go to turn on the air dryer the butons is either wet from someone elses dirty hands, or you have to push it like 5 times to dry your hands. by that time there is a lines up of 4 people and you always ened up drying your damn hands on your pants. paper towels all the way!

All of this poop is funny. It's very amusing. I was searching for info about the germs on hand dryers and this is what came up. Trashcanman, your mom should have taught you better or was it because YOU chose not to wash your hands?

I think this webpage is great. I also prefer hand towels because after doing research on a study done on hand towels and hand dryers it showed that hand dryers actually increase germs found on your hands by 255% while using paper towels decreased the amount of germs on your hands by 58%, also I found out that for every ton of paper towels made more than 90% of them are recycled and if not recycled it only takes 17 trees to make one ton of paper towels, and every day for each person in the united states 5 trees are planted. Trees are renewable and the paper can be used for starting fires when your camping or something useful like that instead

It's got to be the hand towels. The air drier has to be the worst invention in the world. Even those super driers that burn your skin still don't dry your hands. Plus if you've soaped up your hands when you rub them together under the air drier the soap magically re-appears. No matter how much water you put on them. The fact is paper towels are quicker and dry your hands. Air driers take AGES and you still find yourself wiping your hands on your jeans. I don't care how much damn trees are cut down to make them - they get the job done.

I prefer paper towels. You can be sure that you have your hands try, plus you get something to protect your hand from the revolting door when you open it to leave the men's room. Forget costs--I prefer towels.

_______
Practicing the ancient Chinese art of double flushing... because sometimes, a single flush just isn't enough.

As a corporate guru with 25 plants and a minimum of 300 people in each...
Switching to warm air hand dryers saved thousands of dollars in paper costs and I'm sure alot of trees.
I say let it blow and carry a hanky to open the door. Even my grandfather did that.
Read this:

Good For The Environment.
Converting to Excel Hand Dryers is a great source reduction alternative. Many businesses and institutions are required by law to reduce non-recyclable waste.

Approved.
Excel is the only hand dryer manufacturer to achieve ® approval.

Promotes Hygiene.
The use of hand dryers allows washrooms to stay cleaner and more sanitary. Picking up and disposing of bacteria-laden paper towel waste is one of the custodians' least favorite tasks.

Labor Savings.
Excel Hand Dryers are virtually maintenance-free, except for a recommended annual cleaning. Paper towels, by comparison, require one hour of maintenance for each case of towels used.

Reduced Vandalism.
Hand dryers eliminate the vandalism often present with paper towels. Towels clog toilets and sinks, can be set aflame, and are thrown, wet, onto walls and floors.

Always Ready For Use
Hand Dryers are ready to be used 24 hours a day. Say goodbye to customer complaints about empty or non-functioning paper towel dispensers.

Best Warranty
Excel Dryers offer the best warranty in the industry, including a 10-year unlimited warranty on our Hands On® models (see specifications for details).

Easy Access For The Disabled
Hand Dryers are easily positioned at recommended heights for use by the physically challenged.

Death to the paper towel...

have any of you ever thought about the handle on the paper towel dispenser, and how gross it could be? (unless, of course its automatic)

Automatic paper towel dispensers are wonderful! Though, I have noticed in several cases I have to pound on the sensor for the stupid thing to even read that I'm there.

_______
"That was a very disappointing party. I showed up and everyone left!"- Camille

Does anyone remember the old school dispensers. They still exist in fairgrounds and filthy bars. They are the towel holders that have, say, six feet of towel that you manually crank through or pull down on. I can honestly say that it is those demonish contraptions that have given me a fear of public restrooms.

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Number One . . . I order you to take a number two.

Public bathrooms should use hand dryers because too many people don't respect the bathrooms & throw paper towels down the toilets!

Many people in public restrooms are irresponsible and clog the toilets with TP. We should all use anus blowers to wipe our butts, because we are not responsible enough to not clog the toilets. Of course, then there will be this problem with mysterious brown specks on the ceiling, so there you go...

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Behold! My new farting super power! BRAPP!!!

Blowerphobes listen up: It takes a long time to dry your hands under a dryer because you're doing it incorrectly. Shake the water off your hands first, and then rub them vigorously under the airstream, and not just the palms. Rub between the fingers and the tops of the hands too. I will admit, it takes about 3 seconds longer than the dryer is programmed for, so you have to press the button again (with your elbow), but I promise your hands will be nice and dry and pleasantly warm. Getting out of the door if it's a pull door is a different story... But that's where your immune system comes in. You don't whine about door knobs to other rooms do you? I bet they're just as dirty or worse, because they probably never get cleaned.

I go for the air dryer; only because paper towels don't dry your hands fully. They leave youyr hands wet, if only a little... and air dryers are nice and warm :)

For me, paper towels every time!! And, yes, recycled is good. But, in general, much quicker, and can be used to open the door that has been touched by those that don't even wash after shitting. I hate dryers - and will just walk out with wet hands rather than use them.

Though the hand drier sounds like the more efficient method of drying one's hands. I'll stick with paper towels.

I just like the idea of doing things the old fashiond way.
_______
"Two percent of the population think; three percent of the population think they think, and 95 percent of the population would rather die than think."

Look. I will always choose the dryer because if you think that drying your hands quickly is worth killing trees, which I remind you, converts hydrogen into oxygen WHICH WE BREATH TO LIVE, then damn it I hope we get to Mars in time before we die on this planet which we are killing

Can a dryer help me stop my bleeding nose? ... no! Can a dryer be used to turn off the faucet so that I don't have to touch it? ... no! Can a dryer be used to grab the door handle when I exit the restroom? ... no! Can you re-plant the coal that's used to run a hand dryer? ... no!

Genius...you've used a coal burning hand dryer? How'd that work for ya? Step up to the Nuke next time, its much more efficient.
_______

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough.

From a business' POV the dryer wins hands down. It costs less for them if a person dries their hands with a dryer

People waste towels. I can just about dry my hands using one towel, but I usually use two for ease, and as a child I would happily grab 3-6. People may press the button on the drier more than once, but this just means the design of the drier needs improving.

A dryer does a better job. Research has show that towels leave wet areas (areas which can then grow bacteria).

Paper towels have transportation costs involved. This is still the case even if they get recycled.

Ultimately the hand dryer has to win. The designs are becoming more efficient and are now being made without a heating element. Not to mention that as time goes on energy sources will become completely renewable, and so the energy argument disappears; leaving the world happy in the knowledge that drying your hands is an easy, convenient and completely green experience!

Check out these links- one helped me think about all this, and the other showed me the range of hand dryers available to the public along with specifications that you can use to make your own calculations.

The problem with driers is that it takes too bloody long to dry one's hands. They are more hygienic and certainly the use of such machines ultimately reduces a chap's carbon footprint, but let's be honest here. A fellow has a piss or a shit, washes his hands and after 20 seconds or so of rubbing his hands under the warm air, starts to get impatient, thinks 'fuck this' and then wipes his hands on his trousers.

Perhaps instead of paper towels or hot air driers they should just hang up an old pair of Levis.

When a facility is out of TP I have resorted to wiping with paper towels. If there is an electric dryer instead of towels I suppose I would have to hang my ass in a sink for cleaning and then try to direct hot air between my spread cheeks. If the sink cleaning job was less than pristine I think the stench of roasting anus would asail the nostrils of all present.
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Eat chilies and feel the burn!!

Although I must admit, the driers ARE good for drying one's trousers, although I have related that story on an earlier post.

El Scumbag, I surmise that you have not yet experienced the Xlerator. This thing doesn't evaporate the water; it blows in right off your hands -- in a couple seconds. This thing pushes the skin on my aging hands around like it was silly putty.

No, we're a bit primitive over here old chap.

Sounds jolly fun though! Erm...does it feel as pleasant on the old todger as the hot air driers? Just curious y'understand...

Which is greener, paper towels or electric dryers? The only comparison I could find was done by Franklin Associates in 2002, I suppose things could have easily changed in the interim but; With consideration given even to the energy required to mine the minerals and chop down the trees and figuring the life expectancy of an electric dryer to be 7 to 10 years, the following energy usage figures were arrived at:

PER USE

Electric dryer = 222 kilojoules.

Paper towels = 460 kilojoules
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Eat chilies and feel the burn!!

I don't care how "green"the dryers are I hate them. They eiter burn the piss out of your hands or don't hardly dry them at all. Plus who wants to touch the disgusting door handle afterwards?! I guess either is better than that stupid ass towel that hangs in that large loop. Ya know the disease encrusted loop of fabric that you pull and it goes around and around to the wonders of snot, piss, shit and blood. Oh happy day when that is all that is there to use!
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Earth, insane asylum for the universe.

I hate them dryers, too. Unless I feel like doing my Desperately Seeking Susan reenactment and turning to nozzle over to make it blow on my hair.

LOL, paper towels win hands down. Look at scientific studies. It has been proven that Hand dryers are upto or more than 100-200 percent less hygenic than paper towels i.e more bacteria/germs are present, although only a small portion may be bad bacteria (may harm us) as keep in mind, bacteria IS EVERYWHERE, even when u use your computer yes!. But its only a small portion tat will harm us, anywayz, hand dryers arent actually hot enough to 'kill the bacteria', but it may actually just blow it around, although some may die, but dead bacteria is still a risk, as it may cause allergies etc. Well anywayz, research it all u guys want!...... paper towels FOR the WIN!

AmO......Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think paper towels get hot at all. You don't dry your hands to remove germs, you wash your hands to do that. Hand drying is simply to remove the water. You don't have to touch the electric dryer, it can be activated easily with an elbow. I worked for years in a job that required multiple daily hand washings and I would vote for the blow dryer every time.

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Eat chilies and feel the burn!!

People prefer paper towels over hot air driers just as they preferred the earth to be flat and women to be witches. Attitudes and ignorance.

Several of us at my school prefer the paper towels. When we walk into the bathroom we pull two down from the dispenser and then go to an open stall. We place one over each side of the front of the seat before we sit down. It's soooo much easier than the strips of toilet paper which easily slide off. When we're done going, we just slide them into the bowl and pull off some toilet paper to wipe.

I did have a problem, though, on Friday. I threw the towels in, stood to wipe and while I was wiping, another round was apparent and I had two more larger logs to drop. I just sat right directly on the seat and it didn't seem that bad. Then I used the rest of the toilet paper to clean myself with.

Eva.....I prefer pulling off two electric dryers and placing one on each side of the toilet seat. They keep my ass toasty warm.

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Eat chilies and feel the burn!!

I prefer paper towels primarily for their quietness (electric dryers are noise pollution to me) and because they dry better. Some restrooms now have only the electrics, so there is no longer as much choice in the matter as there used to be.

Any motorcycle rider will tell you what a Godsend the hot air dryers are, for warming frozen fingers.
I've had times where I needed a wee, and it was so cold that
a) fingers were numb
b) Willy had gone into hiding, and
c) Crotch of jeans were frozen into scrunched-up shape from motorcycle seat.
Just fire up that hot-air thing and stand in front of it before attempting to wee, and everything returns to normal.
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The white zone is for loading and unloading only- FZ.

BM said...Willy had gone into hiding. Makes me think of the very cold winter years ago that I worked construction. There is nothing more challenging than trying to stretch a shriveled three inch weenie out through four inches of clothing with ice cold fingers.

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Eat chilies and feel the burn!!

I'm writing this from the 4th stall during my boring lst hour study hall. Like is Eva for real? Like using two three-fold paper towels to keep her butt from touching the toilet seat? If that's happening, then it's good that I'm shitting now because there won't be anything in the containers above the sinks 5th hour to wipe our hands with. Also, I would think the towels would be much harder to flush than the usual toilet paper squares, shit and pee. I thought it was just huge shit that was clogging the bowls each day. My laptop and my pass out of study hall keeps me sane each morning as a take my shit. But learning about the seat paperers is depressing!