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Natalie BartlettOn a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being worst and 10 being best how harmful is it to use paper towels? Is it up there with using a dryer or other appliances?
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A user of paper towels
A user of paper towels myself, I wish I could tell you 0. Unfortunately, using paper towels in everyday life is probably around an 8 or 9. However, if we're just talking about using a public restroom and needing to dry your hands, it's about equal to using the electric dryers.
Something to be aware of, however: not only are paper towels non-recyclable and made of, well, paper, but they are also bleached using chlorine gas. Bleaching with chlorine releases powerful cancer-causing and mutation-causing agents which can affect nearly every living thing on earth.
This means: if you use paper towels, make sure to use as few as possible. The funny thing about bathroom towels is that they are often folded over several times: try flattening them out before you use them. You might find you only need one.
For more information about paper towels in general, check out this article by Greenseal.org.