Hand Dryers Vs Towel Dryers

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?

Significance

People often think of environmental issues when it comes to which type of dryer is best. Hand dryers win this round. Although hand dryers use electricity, they use less than the amount needed to continuously produce paper towels or wash and dry linens from a roller system. Hand dryers are cheaper to produce because they usually last between five and 10 years. Paper towels involve fossil fuels for logging machinery and trucks, as well as electricity in the original manufacturing or recycling process. Both linens and paper towels must be transported to the customers. In addition, the used paper towels likely are disposed of in plastic trash bags.

Considerations

Hand dryers 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.

Effects

Further costs of using paper towels include the continued maintenance required to fill the dispenser, pick up the litter and empty the trash bins, as well as costs for storing the paper supply, hauling away used paper, and fixing plumbing stoppages when people leave the towels in sinks or throw them in toilets. Waste is also significant with the multi-fold type, since patrons often are unable to pull out just one towel from a dispenser, winding up with half a dozen or more, causing facilities workers to give up on the dispenser altogether and stack towels on the counter.

On the other hand, once installed, the air dryer needs very little attention.

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, 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.

Resources

• An Extensive Look into the Environmental Issues.
• Cleanlink.com--Sanitary Maintenance