Good hand hygiene is essential to stop the spread of bacteria. However, scientists from the University of Leeds have found that modern hand dryers spread more germs than paper towels. The ‘jet air’ hand dryers actually spread germs into the air, onto the person using the dryer and anyone standing close by. The scientists carried out their research by contaminating hands with Lactobacillus, a harmless type of bacteria not normally found in public bathrooms. They then collected air samples from around the hand dryers which showed the air bacterial count next to ‘jet air’ hand dryers was 4.5 times higher than the count around warm air dryers. It was also 27 times higher than the count around paper hand towel dispensers. The bacteria persisted in the air long after the 15 seconds of hand-drying time. In fact, around half of the bacteria was collected at least five minutes after drying and there were traces in the air 15 minutes later.