IN MY VIEW... BRING BACK PAPER TOWELS

SEIZING the door handle to exit a public lavatory — whether it’s in a restaurant, hospital or hotel — is always an uncomfortable moment for me, as I recall all those surveys that show a great many people don’t bother to wash their hands after the loo.

My disquiet is always heightened if the handle is wet, as it means that someone has failed to dry their hands — another failure to observe a basic principle of hygiene, as wet hands spread more bacteria.

If the handle is visibly wet I am never embarrassed to remove a clean tissue from my pocket and protect my hand as I pull open the door. Now I see that a study in the Journal of Hospital Infection, co-authored by Mark Wilcox, a professor of medical microbiology, has found that jet air hand dryers in hospitals spread more germs than disposable paper towels.

This is because some people — I think probably most — don’t wash their hands properly, and so the dryer blasts the bacteria from soiled hands into the room.

As a result, bacteria — including many of faecal origin as well as staphylococci, both of which can cause significant ill health — were found coating the various surfaces in hospitals at multiple sites in the UK, France, and Italy.

The message here? In my view, jet air hand dryers should not be used in any public facilities, including those in the trains on the West Coast Main Line, which I have the misfortune to use regularly.

And bring back disposable paper towels!