The dryer sucks. I'd take the paper towel anyday.

You've left out a fifth option, which has recently presented itself at my workplace: the "hand sanitizing lotion" that doesn't require water or towels. Personally, I don't like using the stuff though.

I wash my hands about 75% of the time when I'm using a public rest room and substantially lower when I'm at home. I guess I'm not as offended about the idea of my own germs than those of strangers.

I'm more inclined to wash my hands when others are present in a public bathroom and if given a choice, I always go for the paper towels. I'm not a fan of air dryers at all as they never seem to dry my hands quickly enough.

Another nice feature of using paper towels is that you can use the towel to open the bathroom door when exiting. I picked up this idea from a germ-phobic co-worker and initially thought it was neurotic. But on father reflection, I realized that half, if not most, people don't bother washing their hands and that translates to some pretty scary door handles in bathrooms.

Then there's the whole other argument that since you're walking around all day with your package zipped up & behind underwear it's actually the cleanest part of your body, so germ-phobia is pretty pointless.

(Weird double post, I swear I only hit submit once...)

Paper towels. Air dryers are too slow.

It depends on the number of beers I've had.

Nothing personal, but this argument is hogwash, unless you've got an air purifier with a UV lamp down there.

Take antibiotics for a week, skip showering for the last 3 days, and you will have ringworm down there. Not anywhere else. It's the weakest link and the first to be taken over when your immune system is compromised.

Point taken.

I'll be over here puking if you need me.

Well, a true germ-o-phobe would have a hand sanitizer dispenser installed in his/her sleeve.

You probably should wash both before and after. The issue with after is that you're going to go from using the restroom to putting things into your mouth. Ingesting germs is (as I understand it) the greater fear.

haha good thread! I always wash my hands if i'm out and about but if i'm at home i dont care because i clean my bathroom weekly, seeing how i use my bathroom say 10 times a week (just guessing but i might actually count next week) i think thats an ok thing todo.

When at work i get the choice, of paper towel (automatic), that nasty sanitizer stuff, and air. I always choose paper towel because i want my hands completely dry. As far as grabbing the door and all i dont care i grab hold of that nasty door and pull hard!

Funny thing about my new hometown (houston) i dont think many people like to wash their hands! My old office in Orange county (CA) everyone washed their hands. In Houston its like 45/55 Wash/Dont its kinda gross or wierd. But then maybe they just hitting the sanitizer...

-I agree the argument is the washwater of hogs, but it depends on your definition of "clean". Most current theories are that the microbes on your wedding tackle are supposed to build up. Further, that hair around your naughty bits? Natural function may be to spread the scent of both you and your bacterial friends as a sort of ID tag (think: dogs greeting one another). Armpit hair is a similar story. So much easier to just have a surname.
-Ringworm is fungal, so of course antibiotics won't touch it.
-3 days? Bollocks. Backpacking trips last longer than that, with no showering, and we do just fine. *Chafing* is another thing entirely.
-Weakest link? Interestingly, it's the maintenance of a large number of microbes that keep our sex bits "safe" from invasion. Perpuce/vagina are chock-a-block full of intriguing organisms. Most notably E. coli (yes, THAT E coli) in the prepuces of lads and vaginas of young lasses and the post-menopausal, and Lactobacillus in the vagina of women of child-bearing age. Same Lactobacillus that spoils your milk and makes yogurt. Yogurt, for this reason, is an effective remedy for yeast infections; adds troops to the "good" side. Similar microbial guardians in your mouth and colon.

That said, I'm not interested in touching urine/feces left on the doorknob, so wash up, eh?

Oh, and paper towels. I'll leave wet before the airdryer. Lazy, I guess.

Uh, those two were connected for the sake of an example. If you disconnect them like that they will make no sense on their own.

Weaken the immune system with antibiotics, THEN skip showering for a few days and see the first place that starts to rot. Not the mouth, not the colon, not the feet, but the lines around your funbits will be the first to go. They provide the best environment for bad things to happen out of all the places on your body.

So yeah, its the weakest link.

I do the same and also use a papertowel to open the door handle on my way out. What's the point of washing if you're going to turn around and touch of the most germ-laden parts of the bathroom.

Paper towel and forget about it. I use college campus bathrooms on a daily basis and still survive. I figure if that's the case, my immune system can handle pretty much anything.

Not to be rude, but I don't see much of a rational basis for your fears. Our culture has become so absurdly germophobic that the sadly predictable result of all of this sanitization and antibioticizing is that we've now bred a strain of superbugs that really are a threat. Ain't evolution a bitch?

The odds of someone who is otherwise healthy contracting anything harmful from an air dryer push button or paper towel lever have got to be a lot more remote than the odds of, say, being in a car crash. That's entirely anecdotal on my part, but it certainly feels right.

Anyway, here:

Step 1: Using the deadly, germ-encrusted paper towel lever, dispense a reasonable length of towel, but do not tear it off.

Step 2: Wash your hands, but do not turn off the sink when done.

Step 3: Tear off the paper towel.

Step 4: Dry your hands.

Step 5: Using the paper towel that you dried your hands with, turn off the sink.

Step 6: Kick the door open on your way out. If you work under third world conditions and your door is a pull-to-open, then hang on to the paper towel for this purpose and deposit it in a receptical once you've gotten back to your office.

No need to thank me. I'm glad to help.

Personally, I like to piss all over my hands, walk over to the sink and towel dispenser and rub it on every surface that someone could conceivably touch, then defecate in the middle of the floor on my way out. No hand washing, of course. I find that people actually look at me a lot less mistrustfully than if I attempt to rigorously follow the "correct" procedure outlined above.

Eh, I guess you got me there. I was just raised "knowing" this as fact, and my. however limited, experiences with antibiotics during my life seemed to support those conclusions. I Googled for antibiotics and immune system, that was one of the first links that I got, and it was right in line with my experiences and beliefs, so I took it as medical fact. Apparently they just paid Google to get on top of the search

Yeah, and ringworm will not appear ON them. It will appear in the lines where your skin folds. The lines that are prone to be moist. If you somehow don't see what I am talking about then I am not going into more detail because I'm well past grossing myself and everyone else out

For what it's worth, I didn't like Myst either