Drying your hands in a public restroom...

In my kids' school, the directions for washing hands include using the paper towel to turn off the faucet (after drying hands), to avoid spreading of germs. Can't do that (or open the door w/o touching the handle) with an electric hand dryer or a cloth loop towel!

I use paper towels over the air dryer. I hate using those towel roll things. And it only annoys me when I have to use a restroom and there is nothing to dry my hands especially during the winter. (Daver: I believe that the Spencer Country Inn still has a cloth loop.)

I like paper towels, because I usually wash my face as well and it sucks trying to stick your face under the air thing.

I don't know what it is about the blow dryers that bugs me, aside from the fact that they take longer, they always stop twelve seconds before you're done drying your hands, and they leave my hands feeling tacky and unclean. So I guess I do know why they bug me after all. Those cloth loop things (does anyone else know what I'm talking about here?) are just way too disgusting. Is something magical supposed to happen to the loop while it's inside the box that makes it clean again when it comes back out the front? Why wash your hands at all? I'm sure my genitalia are far cleaner than that thing...

***lisashea: Some of the dryers have the rotating nozzle so you can blow the hot air straight up your nostrils. Only slightly less unpleasant than sticking your face underneath it. If I need to wash my face and there's only a dryer, I'll typically use my shirt.

***lizzie: Your sleeve would count as a device, wouldn't it? I just noticed that nobody said yes to that question, but it would seem to apply in your case, no?

***Mark: Raising a whole new generation of obsessive/compulsives at that school, eh?

no option for 'whatever is available and seems easiest to use' I don't care one way or another. The only times I have seen the dryer, they don't offer paper towels. are there instances when both are available?

Paper towels are faster, but the hot air thingy never seems to run out of hot air, whereas the towel thing is all too often empty.

I'm just not all that picky.

I often resort to my jeans for hand drying....

I use the hand dryer if there isn't a line, because it takes a while to dry your hands using one of those things. If there is a line, I use paper towels. It bugs me when there is only 1 choice. Cloth loop? Forget it! And I'll usually pull my sleeve down (If i have one) to open the bathroom door, because lots of people don't wash their hands. Yuck.

**ron: you're right. OK, i revoted. whee!

Paper towels are faster, but I'll use the dryer if I must. . . I will not use the cloth loop, I'll air dry my hands or dry them on my pants...

sometimes i use my shirt, even at home.

I'll use paper towels if available. Using the blower I usually end up using my jeans anyway.

***ron2112...I think those roll things roll up to the end and then they have to be replaced (I HOPE). By the way..did you know they have the same type thing in some airports for toilet seat covers???

Better not use the electric dryer, or someone might think you were putting on makeup in there. :)

i prefer paper towels. i'll use the electric dryer if i am not in a hurry and if its not already 100° F in the bathroom. i don't even want to be near the cloth loop thingy. if there are no paper towels, i have no problem using my shirt or pants to dry my hands/face

Good point about the handle. What about the "I wave them uselessly under the electric hand dryer for a while, then give up and dry them on my pants" option?

I rarely wash my hands in public restrooms but when I do I prefer paper towels. I hate the electric things; they rarely dry my hands enough. I usually kick doors open.

*** daver - there are a lot of the cloth type loop things in London.

I don't have a preference...does anyplace still use the cloth loop type? I haven't seen one in ages.
**romkey: I haven't been in London in about 20 years. There were cloth-loop dryers then, but I'd figured that they'd have gone to paper by now.

...in case of emergency, that's what wearing denim is all about. Jeans are great for wiping the hands.

Paper towels or pants/shirt, usually. If it's cold, I like the hand dryers, just to warm my hands.

All depends on the rest room...especially the question about the door handle. I do use my foot to lift the toilet seat in most places....