A study from the University of Connecticut and Quinnipiac University suggests that bathroom hand dryers may spread germs. Scientists tested petri dishes in bathroom air and found that hand dryers could cause up to 254 bacterial colonies to grow in just 30 seconds. When HEPA filters were added to the dryers, the number of germs dropped by 75%, indicating that most bacteria came from the air, not the dryers themselves. The study also found that flushing a toilet without a lid releases a “poop cloud,” spreading germs across a large area, especially harmful in medical settings.
