Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

High Speed Hand Dryer Sanitation

Posted by Melissa Aaberg

There was recently an article published in the Sylvania copy of the Potty Press that referenced hand washing on the Sylvania Campus.  The Notice, Titled “Er, Check Yo Self” referenced a discovered ‘large infection’ of bacteria in reference to the High Speed Hand Dryers across the district.

This is not true.  This notice did not come from Facilities Management Services, The Sylvania Biology Department, or the Risk and Safety office of PCC.  There is not a recently discovered bacterial growth that has occurred in the Hand Dryers.  Facilities Management Services, in partnership with the Risk and Safety Department, conducted a microbial study on our hand dryers in 2012 to ensure our hand drying methods met the appropriate cleanliness levels.  This was performed by a third party industrial hygienist firm.  They foundno harmful bacterial growth in the hand dryers, and listed out recommended cleaning methods for PCC custodial staff, which have been implemented.  The report is attached.

The conclusion of the report, and by the industry at large, is there are minimal differences in drying methods in reference to bacteria on hands.  The biggest factor in hand cleanliness is the length of time the individual spends washing their hands with soap and water.

As far as tangible cleanliness benefits for PCC, the hand dryers have reduced the paper towel waste by, on average, one ton of paper towels per hand dryer installed.  PCC has reduced the number of ‘dirty restroom’ requests by approximately 2/3 since the installation of the units, pointing to over restroom cleanliness increases beyond the hand dryers themselves.  PCC has received national recognition of our use of hand dryers, through APPA (The Association of Physical Plant Administrators), to utilize new technology to better serve our campus communities.

As far as alternatives, PCC Sustainability is also offering PCC Sustainability towels for sale through the campus bookstores.  These towels, available for $0.50, directly support the bookstore and PCC sustainability, while also giving people a method for drying their hands that they can keep with them, reuse, and launder at home.

We would like to thank you all for your continued support of PCC, and we will strive to minimize such information breakdowns in the future.

Download the Hand Dryer testing report

Jon Marchetta – Interim Director, Facilities Management Services

Chris Ells – Manager, PCC Risk and Safety

Jeff Triplett – Dean of Instruction