A lot of people seem to be getting sick this flu season, and one reason why could actually be because of something they're doing to avoid falling ill - washing their hands.
It turns out that if you use an electric hand dryer after washing your hands, you are exposing yourself to dangerous bacteria and fungi.
A California scientist named Nichole Ward posted a graphic warning about the machines by showing what she captured under one.
The post documents what grew in a Petri dish after just three minutes of exposure to the air in an enclosed hand dryer, like the one Dyson makes. Ward wound up with several strains of possibly pathogenic fungi and bacteria in the dish.
While the news is scary, Nichole stated she posted it "simply for awareness, not to instill fear."
Meanwhile, Dyson has faced this kind of criticism before and previously released a video explaining why their hand dryers are safe and eco-friendly.
Maybe we're better off just drying off our hands on our pants.
Photo Credit: Getty