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Hand Dryers Vs Towel Dryers [2011-12-12]

Customers don't like hand dryers, but maintenance workers love them. The new brand Xlerator actually dries hands in about 10 seconds, but as one person asked in a blog comment, "Is it necessary to have my hearing damaged to get my hands dry?" So which really is the better alternative for a business owner: hand dryers or towels?

How Do Automatic Hand Dryer Work

Hand dryers consist of a heating element that is turned on when a button is depressed or an infrared motion sensor is triggered. The heating element is generally made of Nichrome (a nickel and chromium hybrid) that generates heat up to 50 degrees above ambient air temperature. Air is blown over the heating element which makes the air warm. The air is blown out of a tube that points downward and focuses the air onto the hands (or upwards onto the face if you turn the tube). When the warm air flows quickly over wet hands, the water evaporates and the hands are dried. Rubbing your hands gently under the air flow will speed the process up even further. There are also hand dryers that are purportedly even more environmentally-friendly and produce a higher rate of air flow, but do not produce the heat.

Considerations

High Speed Hand Dryer also are better for cost savings. Susan Ebbing, vice president of national sales for American Dryer, estimates that after an investment of about $300 for a dryer, the electric cost in 2008 is about $1.34 per 1,000 dryings. Master Building Specialties estimates that a case of 2,400 paper towels costs an average of $25, and will last for around 960 hand dryings because people usually use at least two paper towels.

Advantages of Newer Hand Dryers

The first hand dryers were not as efficient as current models. Newer hand dryer models have infrared sensors and will not run if you do not have your hands under the sensor. This saves energy over former models that ran on a timer and were often left running after you were finished drying your hands. Newer models also generate a stream of air pressure that is higher than former models, which can dry hands in much less time thereby requiring less electricity.

Expert Insight

Some people worry about infectious diseases when it comes to using linen rollers, having to touch a bathroom door without a paper towel in hand, or the hand dryer blowing recycled air from the bathroom. A Mayo Clinic study showed no significant difference in bacteria on hands washed and then dried using paper towels, warm air dryers, linen roller towels or air drying.

Features

In an article at cleanlink.com, Jet Hand Dryer advocate Susan Ebbing, vice president, national sales, for American Dryer in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., admits the American consumer "still seems to prefer the paper towel experience." There seems to be no evidence, however, that customers avoid certain businesses because of a linen towel roller or hand dryer, so this factor can probably be dismissed when considering the benefits of hand dryers vs. towel dryers.