Food handlers should dry their hands with single-use disposable paper towels. This is the most effective method for removing remaining bacteria after washing and is the preferred option in commercial food preparation settings. While the FDA Food Code allows several drying methods, paper towels consistently outperform alternatives in both speed and hygiene.
FDA-Approved Drying Methods
The FDA Food Code requires every handwashing sink in a food establishment to provide at least one of the following drying options:
- Individual, disposable towels (single-use paper towels)
- A continuous towel system that feeds a clean cloth towel to each user
- A heated-air hand drying device (traditional warm air blowers)
- An air-knife system that delivers high-velocity, pressurized air at room temperature (jet dryers)
All four are technically permitted. But from a food safety standpoint, they are not equally effective.
Why Paper Towels Are the Best Option
Paper towels dry hands faster and more completely than air dryers, and that completeness matters more than most people realize. Wet skin transfers bacteria far more efficiently than dry skin. One study in Environmental Science & Technology found that roughly 90% of viruses on wet skin transferred to surfaces on contact, compared to about 30% when skin was dry. In a kitchen where you’re touching food, utensils, and prep surfaces constantly, that difference is significant.
Paper towels also provide a physical friction benefit. The rubbing motion helps lift residual bacteria that survived the washing step. Air dryers can’t do this. And the towel itself captures those microbes and goes straight into the trash, removing them from the environment entirely.
The Problem With Air Dryers
Air dryers are allowed by the Food Code, but research raises real concerns about using them in food preparation areas. Both warm air blowers and jet dryers aerosolize bacteria, blowing microbes off your hands and into the surrounding air. A 2015 study found that jet dryers spread 1,300 times more bacteria into the environment than paper towels. Warm air blowers performed better than jet dryers but still dispersed far more bacteria than towels.
In a bathroom at an office building, this might be an acceptable tradeoff. In a kitchen where open food is being prepared nearby, airborne bacteria landing on cutting boards, plates, or ingredients creates a cross-contamination risk that paper towels simply don’t carry. Air dryers also take longer to fully dry your hands, and many people give up before their hands are completely dry, which brings the wet-hand transfer problem right back.
What You Should Never Use
Drying your hands on your apron, uniform, or a shared cloth towel is not an acceptable substitute, even if it feels convenient during a busy shift. Aprons accumulate bacteria from raw food, spills, and repeated contact throughout the day. Wiping freshly washed hands on a contaminated surface defeats the purpose of washing them in the first place. Shared cloth towels pose the same problem: after one or two uses, they become damp breeding grounds for bacteria and a vehicle for spreading germs from one person’s hands to the next.
Letting your hands air dry without any towel or device is also a poor choice. Your hands stay wet for too long, and you’ll inevitably touch something before they’re fully dry.
Proper Technique for Food Handlers
After washing your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds, pull a fresh paper towel from the dispenser and pat or rub your hands until they are completely dry. Pay attention to the spaces between your fingers and the backs of your hands, where moisture tends to linger. Use the same towel to turn off the faucet if it’s a manual handle, then discard the towel in a trash bin. This prevents you from recontaminating your hands on a faucet that you touched before washing.
The entire process, washing and drying combined, should take around 30 to 40 seconds. It needs to happen every time you switch tasks, handle raw meat, touch your face or hair, use the restroom, take out garbage, or handle money. Skipping the drying step or rushing through it undermines all the effort you just put into washing.
Why This Matters for Food Safety Inspections
Health inspectors check not just that a handwashing sink exists, but that it’s stocked with an approved drying method. An empty paper towel dispenser or a missing drying device is a citable violation. The FDA Food Code marks all four approved drying options with a “Pf” designation, meaning they are priority foundation items. Facilities that fail to provide them risk points on their inspection and, in repeated cases, potential closure. Keeping dispensers stocked and functional is a basic operational requirement, not optional.