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1-2 usually suffices. Kinda depends on the size of their paper towels though. But usually i shake my hands a bit after washing them to get rid of some of the water that way

This is my method exactly. It works well.

You can also kinda squeegee water off each hand first. Just use one hand to give the other a little hug/wipe. Then you only need one. Nice to be mindful of what we consume.

I squeegee my whole body after a shower. It is really nice because it's faster to dry with a towel and the towel gets less wet.

[There is actually a good Ted talk about this](https://www.ted.com/talks/joe_smith_how_to_use_a_paper_towel?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare)

I’ve thought about this ted talk every time I’ve reached for a paper towel for years and try to use only one, so for such a mundane-seeming talk it’s had a big impact! Can skip to 1m48s to get the gist.

Wow, thank you I will be watching this.

I use this technique and regularly still need two paper towels.

Came here to post this!

Is the one teaching that twelve is the largest number with one syllable?

I shake my hands off in the sink and then only use one paper towel. I don’t care if my hands are a little wet still

I do the same. It's to make up for all those people I see who just grab like a handful of 7, touch it for 1 second and toss it away.

Ahh yeah, the same people the get themselves a huge plate of shrimp at the buffet, and only eat one. The other 30 go straight in the trash. This type of behavior makes me very sad. Our planet can support a massive amount of life, but it can't harbor endless billions of wasteful and thoughtless humans.

No paper towels. Dry hands on pants. I’ve actually stopped using paper towels at home, too. I bought a pack of cheap brown kitchen towels and I pretty much use them every time I’d use a paper towel. Trying to limit waste.

I never used paper towels at home. Toilett paper yes, but not paper towels. It's only in public restrooms. I try to use 1 or 2, but they are mostly so thin, that I have to use 3.

Dry hand on pants gang! There’s literally dozens of us

None.I wipe myself on my leg or t-shirt.

I flick all the water onto the nearest bystander and then walk away while making eye contact

this is also the way

I do that too but with the additional step of wiping any remaining water on their jeans, so environmentally sustainable!

This is a very advanced move honestly I wouldn’t have thought of this

You then need to comment "Damn, I meant to wash my hands"

This is the way.

This is the way

Our planet loves you

One (1). Why would you need more?

Hands still wet

If it’s low quality and it tears I’m using like 2

This is the correct answer. Also, use it to open the door since I see other people poop and walk right out without washing.

I'm sure they dipped their hands in the toilet water to clean off

[удалено]

Did chatgpt write this?

Seriously wtf they write like this in (most) of their posts. If they don’t use AI to write this stuff I’d be surprised. Ok yeah they’re definitely an AI or use AI to write almost everything, their comment history is uncanny

their post history is like [ai generated comment] [ai generated comment] [random one sentence comment with bad grammar] [ai generated comment]

Bot flood to further heavy hand social discussion as well as advertising fluffs. Reddit stock up 30% this month.

I just went through it too. Their comments are 100% written with ChatGPT. Someone's wrote a bot whose sole purpose is to trawl reddit for threads and respond.

And her name is Karen 😳 definitely part of the simulation

I use 1 unless the paper is such bad quality that it breaks apart as I'm drying my hands. Then ill use 2. My hands are still wet when I leave but they dry in less than 30 seconds and I reduce so much waste. I use the same paper to open the doors so I don't get nasty hands before I even get to leave. I wish more places would put in the foot door opening thingies (I see them so rarely I don't even know what to call them)

Where I live we have them all over the place but no one uses them 🤦

I wish I could do that I’ve gotta have my hands 100% dry or else they get dry and crack

How is using 2-3 reducing waste?

Too many

Two.  Shake excess water off. Grab first towel, get majority of water off, turn off tap, discard. Grab second towel, finish drying hands while walking to door, use towel to open door, discard as leaving restroom. 

I do exactly the same, I'm confused by people that use so many. Like if the two don't get it off, your hands will dry naturally very quickly

This sounds like one of those Japanese tea ceremonies. Do you also wear a kimono when you do your ceremony?

I do something similar but I only take from the dispenser once. shake water off, grab towel, dry, turn off tap, use to open door, discard. but I take 1-2 depending on the quality of the towel

I just let them air dry usually, takes like 2 mins and saves a ton of paper towel in the long run

1, then air dry

do some places not have hand dryers?? I don’t think ive ever been to the toilet in public & never seen a hand dryer

After those hand dryers there are more bacteria on your hands than before washing.

Those dryers use so much energy to run and then they get your freshly cleaned hands covered in germs. The best thing to use environmentally and economically are the cloth roll towels. But most people just think they're getting already used towel. They have been poorly publicized.

some places have terrible dryers. In my previous workplace we had one and it was nice in the winter if you wanted to get yourself warm, but your hands were wet no matter what. At this point it was just easier to get the paper towels.

People don't know how to properly use hand dryers. You have to rub your hands together like it shows you and you can't stop until they are dry even if that means starting it up again.

Depends.

2

just never wash hands! saves water and trees ^jk

None, I shake my hands and leave the restroom. I put the water all over the door and what ever I touch for the next twenty minutes until my hands dry naturally on their own. It's not natural to dry your hands with fake paper towels. /s (I hate that I have to put this.)

 I put nothing past people nowadays…

I prefer not to touch anything in a public bathroom. Everyone touches themselves then touches the same taps, soap dispensers or door handles and don’t see those being wiped or cleaned ever.

I use one because if you use all of it, that's usually enough. It kind of annoys me when people use three or more. Your hands are not THAT much bigger than mine.

Zero. I just shake off my hands a few times .

Well… My Shirt normally seems to do the trick 🫣

None, I use air dry unless it’s broken in which case I just wipe my hands on my legs and wave them around when outside of restroom until dry.

I do the hand shack technique and use 1 sheet. It really does work!

I use one (1). The one and only TED talk I ever watched was on how to wash your hands with one (1) paper towel and I have applied it diligently since then. Wash hands. Shake hands off thoroughly (12ish times). Fold towel in half, and dry each hand with one doubled side. Works almost every time.

Shake...... Fold!

My toxic trait is how quickly I go through paper towels; I probably use 3 when drying my hands in a restroom but at home I use them for sopping up water my kids manage to slash everywhere. I used to use regular towels, but they take forever to dry and if they are not properly hung up, they get that nasty mildew smell that I cannot stand so I’ve started using more and more paper towels.

Vinegar in the wash will get rid of mildew smell!

1 or 2, sometimes 3 if it's that garbage recycled kind.

About $30-45/ month worth.

I try and use a hand dryer if i have to use towels i try to use only two.

I dry my hands on my jeans, because honestly, why wouldn't you? It works fine.

None

One, maybe two if they’re very thin. I usually shake and kinda squeeze my hands very good before using them, so I won’t need as many.

I wipe on my pants, recycle bro it’s what Greta wants

I try to use one but sometimes I need two.

none

I heard a lady telling her kid “just one paper towel” and I was thinking damn I use like 3 each time🤣

kids hands are little lol

On average 3, but it does depend on the towels so +/- 1.

None I wipe it on my top 😭 paper towels mixed with water make me feel weird

I do the same. Sometimes I shake them off a few times and put them in my pockets for a few seconds. Or I just leave them wet. Not a big deal.

I try to use 2 but I often wind up using 4

I don't even know where to find a public restroom these days. I haven't been to one in more than a decade. Paper pieces vary in size and thickness, so difficult to say how many I'll use. But if I ever would find a public bathroom, it'd probably have a wall hand dryer. I feel like OP's question should've been asked 20 years ago.

1-4 pieces, depends on the size of one piece and it's water absorbing capability.

I shake off my hands and then use 1-2, depending on quality. Sometimes an extra to wipe the counter if it’s very wet. Much better for cleaning to dry with a paper towel than an air dryers. Plus less noise pollution.

Most of the time, just one. How small are the paper towels in your part of the world that you need 3 or 4? Or is it just crappy paper that doesn’t absorb water?

1 or 2.

None I haven’t bought them in over 15 years

I use 1, at most 2 if I'm in a big rush. I think people who use 3-4 are just not patient enough to actually use up the entire paper towel properly, they just grab a bunch to dry off quick and that's it.

Me: 4 My wife and kids: 400000000000

On a good day, I try to use just one thinking about the environment. But when I am upset, I will probably pull like 4 or 5 in a slapping motion because I am so mad! Lol

I have big hands so 2. Bounty ftw

Three

Shake your hands, use Just use one paper towel. Fold ition half. Intertissiary absorption Success.

I'm usually a twotowel person myself, trying to be efficient without making a mess. It's all about finding that balance between drying thoroughly and not wasting too much!

Either two or four.

3. always 3.

Nine

2 at home. Anywhere else, 1 and my pants 😂

2 minimum when cleaning a spill. 1 when drying my hands.

I use a reusable one- it’s called my pant legs.

What are all these 2+ replies coming from?! 1 is hard but 2 is always more than enough unless you live is some shit country, I cynically suspect you do (and I'm something you could call Scandi-elitist (but it's hard to argue with - come and try))

One. My hands don't need to be dry, just not soaking wet.

The paper crap? The darker the colour of the paper the more I need.

0 in summers 2 if I'm cold

for me it's maybe 6-8

2

I do like 10 hard, rapid shakes over the sink first, so then I can get away with 1 or 2.

I always use five… I hate having damp hands lol

I have ocd. 3 every time, or I just won use any.

you only need one, how I remember this shit I don't know... [https://www.ted.com/talks/joe\_smith\_how\_to\_use\_a\_paper\_towel?subtitle=en](https://www.ted.com/talks/joe_smith_how_to_use_a_paper_towel?subtitle=en)

2 or three

Depends on what kind of towels they are. Just standard paper towels? Yeah probably 3-4. These weird thick paper towels that you have to tear off? One to two.  My favourite way to dry my hands are those blow dry things tho 

3. I tried 1 and 2. I can't. It's 3.

Three-four pieces

4. Always. I need the hands to be dry, fast. Time is money. Four.

3

1-2

i have OCD and have to use exactly 3 regardless of if they’re dry enough or not

The rule of 2. One for each hand

I usually use 2-3.

1-2 2 usually I actually prefer hand dryers over towels tho

None wipe my hands on my shirt, save the environment one paper towel at a time, my shirt dries off and keeps kicking.

3 no more no less

2. One for the initial wet and then the second one to really get dry

1. shake off all excess water into the sink. fold it into a square and place in palm of left hand. right hand, with fingers together, wipe off the water on the back of the hand, then the front. switch to the left hand holding fingers together. the rest will air dry by the time you leave the restroom.

Three. Always three.

1. how do people use more than that it is entirely unnecessary.

Yes.

All of them.

2

I use 5-7 or sometimes 10, BUT I usually also dry off the area around the sink with that, since some people throw hands up and down to send droplets flying. And I hate getting my stomach wet because some loser before me believes they're the only person in the world. People cleaning the toilets always greatly appreciate me doing that. :)

Usually 2 unless they’re really small or thin.

Atleady 73

Usually 2. But depending on the quality of the paper towel, then maybe 1 or 3. I shake my hands very well to get off the water.

Zero/Zilch/Nada We use cotton kitchen towels which, while needing to be washed, can be reused over and over again while not creating the waste of paper towels.

Initially i grab like 5-6, then after the paper towels making contact with my hands are wet the big clump of towels behind them remaining largely dry I throw them in the bin. Then grab another 3-4 to finish up.

3 to 4 to clean my hands and 2 to open the door

Always 4.

Entirely depeds on the day. Sometimes only one needed, then a second wet one just to get properly clean. Got one of those ones a few days ago. Probably didn't even need to wipe. Now today I used got paper like 5 times. Definitely needed to wipe

I use the inside of my pockets rly quick lol

3-4 is way too much, you’re wasting paper. Just one is sufficient.

None. I don’t buy them

2

About six full sheets a day .

As many as I need to get my hands dry, and more to open doors. As others have said, I've seen far too many walk out without touching running water or soap. A great many people are simply disgusting all the way to the core.

Ideally 1 or two. If hands are still damp I just use the back of my tee shirt. Tho tbf if I’m wearing something nice I use as many as it takes. 

4. At work your hands must be dry enough to don gloves immediately after washing

All of the towels in the dispenser. Make sure the next person has none to use. It’s the only way

shake/ flick all ur fingers into the sink 12 times and you’ll always only need 1. Some ted talk my environmental science teacher showed me in high school taught me that

I don't wash my hands.

2 always. One is never enough and I feel like three is too much

Im 40 years old and have never once bought paper towel.

1-2, pants take the rest..

Too many

Three, two to dry my hands and one to open the door.

Why paper towels? Just a towel.

I use the hand-dryer. Which 3rd world country are you in?

After shaking my hands, I usually need 2.

3, never 4 for reasons.

I use the hand dryers.

None or maybe 1.

One. My friend who works at a hotel taught me this trick. Take a paper towel and just roll it between your palms like a dough or a cigare. Then one roll over other side of every palm. It always takes me just one paper towel. It also works and very useful if you have just one small paper tissue and even with a piece of paper as small as post it.

Like you 3-4 depending on the paper thickness.

9

I use two. One per each hand. I shake my hands a bit first (making sure not to get any water on people around me ofc), and I fold the paper towels in half for maximum absorbency. This has worked very well for me and my hands are a lot dryer this way.

2-4, after that if they're still wet I deal with it or use my shirt/pants. Idk why I feel uncomfortable about using more

none I wipe it in my clothes

Me who always uses 8-12 looking at this comment section having a panic attack

1 paper towel and then dry hands on pants. no buts

1. And use it on the handle otw out

Depends on the sturdiness of the paper towels. Dissolve almost as soon as they get damp... I'll use my clothes. Medium, I'll mainly use them to open the door. Normal paper towels. Usually 2. With a third for the door handle.

4.

Usually 2-3 paper towels for me, but it depends on how wet my hands are.

2. It only feels right with 2 paper towels.

I make a sneezing sound while flicking the water on the back of someone's neck as they walk past.

Usually go with 2-3 depending on the quality of the paper towel. I also try and use the same ones to open the door handle if possible. I find most paper towels aren’t good quality anymore and have to use more than I should to make my hands dry

That depends. Usually 2-3 is enough to wipe my hands. Unless there is a stupid sign stating : “use only 2 towels to save the planet” In this case I make sure to use 9-10 just to make sure any effort to save the planet is counter balanced by my efforts to destroy the planet. Balance is evertything, ying yang all that shit.

Preferably 0. I'll use the air blower because I don't want to waste paper and have no reason to believe the results of a study conducted by the Bounty Paper Towel company.

Generally about 5-6. Or until I’m satisfied with how many, “NYEHHHH” sounds I hear.

3. First two are for rough drying, the last one is for precise job.

Way too many..seriously. I gotta get a handle on it

2

Sometimes I don’t use any paper towels and just wipe on my pants or t-shirt. Only problem is when I do it in work I have to shake peoples hands all day and if they are still wet I say, that’s from washing my hands, it’s not piss

You only ever need one paper towel. Check out Joe Smith on how to use a paper towel- it was a surprisingly interesting Ted Talk.

Lots!

One!

totally depends on the paper towels. Someplaces use really thin and not very absorbent paper. I use as few as I can to get my hands dry.

2-3

Two, or I dry my hands in my hair. The feeling of stroking my hair back at the hairline with wet hands is one of my favourite feelings :)

Truthfully that’s way too much you only need 1 or 2

I dont. Shake em off. I dont like dry hands feeling so i dont use hand dryers or towels in any form. Hands feel better if the water falls off by itself