What is the most eco-friendly way to dry hands?

Question

Using a handkerchief uses water and detergent to wash. Using paper towels eats up trees. An electric hand drier consumes energy and creates avoidable heat. Which is the lesser of the three evils and why?

Answer 1

Flick the water off your hands into the sink and either let them air dry or wipe them on your clothing (which will air dry).  That is the most ecofriendly way to dry your hands.

The KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Silly) usually works for me.

Answer 2

You can just let them air dry. After you wash your hands, just shake them and let the water dry. Or even, just wipe your hands on your pants, no problem with that! :]

Answer 3

"Using a handkerchief uses water and detergent to wash. Using paper towels eats up trees. An electric hand drier consumes energy and creates avoidable heat."

Correct !

and if you flick the water onto the floor , other people might slip and fall .

So , since one will need to wash one's clothes anyway , why don't wear a dark-colored pants /trousers/skirt and wipe it there ??Or in one;s hair ?hehe...

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Answer 4

On someone elses shirt.  Duh.

Answer 5

I would choose the paper towel for several reasons, it can be recycled again and again and the paper could be produced from sustainable forests, and feel that this is certainly out of the three the most eco-friendly , water can be recycled but detergent is not eco- friendly, and electricity is provided in most cases by fossil fuels and again not the most eco-friendly !

Answer 6

Probably the handkercheif.  You can use it more than once to dry your hands & you only should have to wash it once a week. If you buy lots of them it would work out wonderfully.

I'd stick with air-drying your hands if your that concerned about the environment.

Answer 7

This is an easy one, neither of the ways you mentioned above. Air Dry. And to avoid the soap detergent, buy an eco-friendly soap. Or don't over wash your hands or use excess soap while washing.

Answer 8

i would use the handkerchief if i had to chose from thos three  

but i would let them air dry or wipe them on my pants

SAVE THE WHALES

Answer 9

We use towels.  I wash them in cold water then hang them on the line to dry.  We use no paper towels, or napkins in our home.  Cloth everything.  Cold water uses no oil to heat the water, line drying uses no energy at all except mine to hang it up, and the towels are reusable right to the bitter end.  I even sometimes hand wash the ktichen towels outside in our big tub.

Answer 10

I often just shake my hands and skip the dilemma.  But of your options, I'd go for the towel or handerchief, as it's still clean and can be used again before washing.  And if you wash with cold water and hang it on the line, with a full load, you should come out ahead of the game, resource-wise.

Answer 11

i would say handkerchief because after you wash it in detergent you can use the washing machine water to water your garden... so in a sense you have a chance with the first option to reduce your carbon footprint by recycling the water, and growing plants to produce oxygen.....but I think you need to use a certain kind of detergent if you want to water your plants after wards or you can just dilute it with rain water.

but i personally don't use any of the above.... i wash my hands shake them and let them dry naturally.

Answer 12

Let them hang next to your body and they will dry in about 20 minutes without using any other resources.

Answer 13

Dry them on your clothes.