A scientist has shared a video on TikTok showing how much bacteria and fungus grows on an agar plate when you hold it under a hand dryer in a public bathroom – and the results are disgusting
From a tender age, we’re taught to wash our hands after using the loo, and while most of us adhere to this hygiene rule, many still flout it.
In fact, recent research into Brits’ bathroom habits by Faith In Nature revealed that UK men are nearly twice as likely as women to skip hand washing after a number two (18% vs 10%). Just stepping into a bathroom ensures you’ll pick up germs on your hands, so not washing them means you risk spreading these germs to everything you touch afterwards. But what if the tools you’re using to clean your hands aren’t as germ-free as you first thought?
A recent experiment showcased on TikTok has highlighted just how much contamination your hands could be exposed to from a simple action. Ruth, a scientist and the mastermind behind Devon Science, unveiled all in a stomach-churning informative clip.
In the experiment, she used an agar plate, a thin layer of nutrient gel in a Petri dish, and placed it under a standard hand dryer in a public loo to see what bacteria would grow. She then took another agar dish and waved it around in normal air to compare the amount of germs in the standard air we breathe with what comes out of the hand dryer. The plate from the hand dryer was seen teeming with bacteria by the end of the video.
Ruth’s petri dish experiment has left users on social media in utter disgust, with her video hitting a massive 3.2million views. Delving into the world of hygiene, Ruth explained: “The hand dryer agar shows so many different kinds of bacteria and a fungus too. The one from the air grew nothing, no bacteria at all. And this is why I do not use hand dryers.”
Stunned viewers have been expressing their alarm. One concerned user stated: “I genuinely wipe my hands on my shirt because I don’t like the noise of a hand dryer.” While another person was bewildered: “What on earth. There is no contact with the hand dryers. Where are those germs coming from? Also I would have thought the heat would kill off bugs. I am no longer a hand dryer user.”
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