But when it comes to your hygiene and cleanliness, which method of drying is best?

但考量到衛生和清潔，用哪一種方式擦乾手最好呢？

Using a classic paper towel, or the hand dryer?

是用典型的紙巾，還是烘手機？

Well, you'll be happy to know that if you wash your hands properly with soap, nearly all traces of bacteria will be removed, regardless of how you dry them.

其實無論你怎麼擦乾手，只要用肥皂洗手，細菌幾乎就會被洗得一乾二淨了。

But it's when you don't wash properly, or even worse, only wash with water, that how you dry your hands can make all the difference.

但是如果你沒有正確的洗手，更糟的是，只用清水洗手，如何擦乾手就會影響很大了。

After all, the spread of bacteria is more likely to occur with wet skin and rubbing your wet hands on your clothes or touching the bathroom door can often contaminate them even more.

畢竟，在濕皮膚上，細菌容易傳播，手濕濕的擦在衣服上，或者去握廁所把手，只會使手更髒。

It turns out, after multiple studies were analyzed and compared, paper towels came out victorious.

經過多次的研究分析比較，結果竟然是紙巾勝出。

Why?

為什麼呢？

A lot of it has to do with timing.

其實這和「時間」很有關係。

The average air dryer requires nearly 45 seconds to reduce hand moisture by 97 percent, whereas paper towel users achieve the same thing in around only 10 seconds.

烘手機平均需要四十五秒才可去除手上百分之九十七的濕氣，而紙巾只要在十秒內就能達到同樣效果。

But after reviewing people's behavior, studies showed that most individuals spent only 22 seconds with an air dryer, leaving their hands less than 70 percent dry.

但觀察大眾的行為，研究顯示大部分使用烘手機的人只花二十二秒，手烘乾的程度低於百分之七十。

Paper towel users, on the other hand, could achieve more than 85 percent dryness with only 5 seconds.

另一方面，使用紙巾的人，五秒內就可以去除百分之八十五的濕氣。

Friction also plays a key role in the removal of bacteria, with much of it being transferred right on to the paper towel.

摩擦力在去除細菌時也是個重要的因素，細菌可以立刻轉移到紙巾上。

Conversely, some studies have shown that hand dryers may actually emit bacteria in their flow because of the contaminated air from the bathroom.

相反地，有些研究顯示，因為廁所的空氣受汙染，烘手機吹出來的風其實是帶有細菌的。

Having said that, air drying hands can be effective if done thoroughly, and truthfully, you don't always have an option.

話說回來，在別無選擇時，用烘手機還是可以有效地清除手上細菌。

Though some dryers are much better than others, just make sure you dry them fully, and it shouldn't be a major problem.

雖然有些烘手機比較好，只要確保你完全地擦乾手，應該就沒什麼大問題。

What about the environment, you ask?

你或許會問，那環境問題呢？

Without a doubt, new dryers are the environmentally friendly option.

沒錯，在環境保護方面，烘手機是比較好的選擇。

Not only because they prevent deforestation, but they actually use less energy and have a lower carbon emission once everything is taken into account.

把所有事情考慮進去的話，使用烘手機，不只可以減少森林砍筏，還可以減少能源消耗，降低碳排放量。

After all, 13 billion pounds of paper towel are used every year in America alone, and that's their major pitfall.

畢竟，光是美國一年的紙巾用量就高達 130 億磅，這就是紙巾最大的缺點。

So, if you're going to use paper towel, here's a quick tip that only requires one piece, as suggested by advocate Joe Smith.

所以，如果你要使用紙巾的話，可以參考 Joe Smith 提倡的方式，只需要一張紙就可以乾手的快速方法。

After washing your hands, shake them hard 12 times, then fold the piece of paper in half and wipe like so.

洗完手後，甩手 12 下，然後把紙巾對折然後擦乾手。

This is the optimal arrangement to dry with the least amount of paper.

這是用最少量的紙，達到最佳的乾手方式。

Again, shake your hands 12 times...fold, and dry.

再看一次，甩手 12 下...對折再擦乾。

Now you have clean dry hands, with minimal waste.

現在，你不用浪費太多紙，就可以有乾淨又乾爽的雙手。

Special thanks to Audible.com for supporting this episode and giving you a free audiobook of your choice at audible.com/asap.

特別感謝 Audible.com 支持這個節目，並在 audible.com/asap 提供觀眾免費的有聲書。

Audible is the leading provider of audiobooks with over 150,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature.

Audible 是首屈一指的有聲書供應網站，包含超過 150,000 本各式各樣的文學作品。

We recommend the book Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond which breaks down the rise of civilizations across the globe and refutes the ideas of human development based on race.

我們推薦 Jared Diamond 寫的「槍炮、病菌與鋼鐵」，這本書分析了全球文明的興起，並駁斥了人類發展是基於種族的想法。

It also touches on how germs may have played a large role in our evolutionary past.

其中也談論了細菌是如何在進化歷史中扮演了重要角色。

You can download this audiobook or another of your choice for free at audio.com/asap.

您可以在 udio.com/asap 下載這本書，或是其他您想看的書籍。

And with a subscription, you get one free book a month.

只要訂閱，每個月即獲贈一本免費的書。

Special thanks to Audible for making these videos possible.

特別感謝 Audible，我們才能完成這些影片！

And subscribe for more weekly science videos.

請訂閱更多的每周科學影片吧！