They are probably the most hygienic option for public bathrooms (until the towel runs out).

Yeah, then I think it's washed and replaced.

That's true, but they just end up completely unwound on the ground. It also gets progressively more brown

The problem with them is that it’s up to the owner of the facility to make sure they are removed and cleaned in a timely manner, not simply re-rolled dirty towel, and the machine was in good repair and didn’t jam.

Quite often that wasn’t the case, so you’d wind up with dirty towel recycling or stuck.

Yes, this absolutely contributed to the spread of disease. No way it couldn’t. I had a family member in the medical field and said that the reason we didn’t see them anymore much past the ‘80s is because they were unhygienic thanks to the aforementioned issues.

So it’s not really the fault of the towel, it’s the fact that people are cheap bastards and don’t keep things serviced, clean, and maintained. It’s better to grumble and shake your hands dry rather than continue to use a jammed, soiled towel machine.

Who believes thar?

That was the end of the roll. It wasn't a continuous loop, just 100-ish feet of towel that they needed to wash periodically.

That's why God invented clothes.

I'm learning from this thread that people have had bad experiences more from shit maintenance than anything else

the best driers just blow a large volume of slow moving hot air at your hands, so there's no splashing and the moisture actually evaporates rather than being physically blown off the skin.

and they dry my hands too much, i need my hands moist but not dripping, and there's no such option

Just wait until they start kindergarten.

Hopefully your toilet is close enough to the tub or sink so you can puke out of both ends.

Parenting is just wonderful.

No I'm 50 and I've seen them, definitely wasn't alive in the 60s.

I did see them around as a child millenial. Not totally uncommon in older and public buildings until early 2000's. The airblade dryers seemed to come in right as the last of these were phased out.

Yes. It's a reusable towel system for drying hands in a public bathroom. It's basically a really long roll of cloth that is supposed to get pulled down as its used and goes down into another rolld and washed and put back. I haven't seen one in a really long time.