CDC’s updated handwashing guidance highlights the critical step of drying hands
CDC guidelines recommend using either hand dryers or clean towels to dry hands after washing them. Image courtesy CDC
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated handwashing guidelines, standardizing language and updating visuals. Although hand dryers have always been recommended by the organization, language around the topic of drying hands was inconsistent across industries and materials, points out Excel Dryer, a US-based manufacturer of hand dryers. Now, with the latest updates, CDC’s stance is unequivocally clear: hand dryers are a supported hand-drying solution.
CDC has shared that “germs spread more easily when hands are wet” and recommends thorough hand drying with clean towels or hand dryers to mitigate germ transfer and the spread of viruses such as the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes Covid-19.
The organization’s robust hand hygiene media library now visually depicts both towels and hand dryers as a means to complete hygienic hand drying in materials supporting the Stop Germs! Wash Your Hands campaign, which provides fact sheets, posters and other downloadable assets such as stickers.