Friday, November 6, 2009

Let's All Dry Our Hands

With all the hand-washing and other hygiene that's going around, it's got me thinking about drying one's hands. Since I drink a shit-load of water, I'm always going to the bathroom and zealously washing my hands afterward.

Home: In each bathroom I have a hand towel designated for drying the hands after washing. I change the towels weekly.

Office: My landlord has paper towel dispensers in all the bathrooms. They are stocked with warehouse club paper towels. These are flimsy enough that you have to use two or three to get your hands dry. Also, sometimes when you try to pull out a towel, a whole bunch of them come out and fall on the floor. Then you are left with the moral dilemma of whether to shove the unused towels back into the dispenser, throw them in the waste basket, or leave them on the floor.

Blowing Hot Air Dryers: These are the white dryers with the silver nozzle that directs the air to your hands or face. We had them at St. John the Baptist High School in Ypsilanti, Michigan. I swear they shot blue sparks at you while you were trying to dry your hands. Thirty years later, I still hate these dryers!

Public Humiliation Dryers: These dryers require you to wave your hands in front of them trying to catch the attention of their electric eye in order to get the dryer to spit out a paltry section of towel. I stand before them prostrating myself in vain trying to get them to work. Usually I wait until an eight year old comes into the bathroom, and get her to help me extricate the towel from the dispenser.

The World's Most Perfect Dryer: I fall to my knees before the Dyson Airblade hand dryer. It works, it feels good, it doesn't shoot out blue sparks. They have them in the Providence airport, and you should definitely check them out!

www.dyson.com/dryers/

2 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

The Hong Kong Lavatory Attendant: a smallish elderly man/woman who would sit by the wash basin in the public facility of a hotel or "classy" restaurant. This hovering presence would pretend not to notice as you did your business, turn on the tap for you as you approached the wash basin, hand you a small white cloth towel from a stack of small white cloth towels, then wait for you to put a tip onto the nearby tip tray. Mostly extinct now. They always creeped me out.

November 16, 2009 at 9:08 PM  
Blogger The Lurker said...

In the Netherlands you have to pay to get into most toilets. The matrons in charge are often earthy ladies who keep those toilets damn clean! I think it's worth paying.

November 26, 2009 at 11:35 PM  

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