There was a time when people shied away from using a public washroom hand dryer due to the prevailing thought that they were less hygienic than the alternative; paper towels. This perception has long since been debunked; a hand dryer is every bit as hygienic as paper towels.
Mayo Clinic performed a study, the results showed that the amount of bacteria on the hands was the same after washing, rinsing and drying for the appropriate amount of time regardless of whether the hands were dried with paper toweling or a washroom hand dryer. The study concluded that the method employed to dry the hands was far less important than the way the hands were washed.
Hand dryers used in public washrooms are very hygienic; they eliminate paper waste as well as bacteria.
Washroom hand dryer options:
Once the decision has been made to use hand dryers rather than paper towels, decisions must be made on the type, the placement and the number of units that will be installed.
The number of units depends very much on the traffic through the washroom. It stands to reason that traffic in a sports venue will be considerably higher than the traffic in a typical office building. Although there are no specific standards, many architects specify one dryer for every two sinks and the dryers should be installed as close to the sink as possible.
Not only is the number of dryers an issue, so is noise. Of course, no washroom hand dryer is as quiet as a manual paper towel dispenser, in busy areas such as shopping malls, schools, conventional dryers are ideal.
Many dryer manufacturers have addressed the noise problem and have developed machines that emit far less noise using such imaginative technology as adjustable sound and speed.
Since 1952, American Dryer has been a leading manufacturer of hand dryers. Visit website to view their products collection.