When planning bathrooms for schools or hospitality venues, catering to younger people is important. Is it possible for children to use jet hand dryers?

Choosing the right hand dryer for schools or other venues where children are present can be difficult. The style and functionality of the dryer you choose can have a big impact on both hygiene and usability. Jet hand dryers can be used by children, and in some cases might be a much better choice, but there are some things you should know.

Jet Hand Dryers are intuitive to use

When thinking about bathroom features for children, it is important to make the space as safe as possible and ensure that everything is easy to use. Choosing automatic hand dryers can help to encourage children to use the facilities correctly. Jet Hand Dryers such as the Mitsubishi Electric Wave u02 feature a sensor in the drying area which detects when hands are present and automatically turn on the airflow. This means that younger children don’t have to use a button where germs might be present and turns off after use. In addition to switching on and off automatically, the child doesn’t need to know that they must rub their hands together to encourage the moisture to evaporate – instead, the fast-moving jet of air simply blows the droplets away and leaves their hands clean and dry.

Jet Hand Dryers are Faster

A conventional warm air hand dryer might take as long as a minute to work properly, and this isn’t child friendly. The faster moving air from a jet hand dryer removes the droplets of water left after washing in just a few seconds, so children are more likely to leave the bathroom with their hands clean and dry.

Jet Hand Dryers are Quieter

The noise from conventional hand dryers can reach 87dB which is the equivalent of heavy traffic nearby and this can be daunting for smaller children and discourage use. The noise from hand dryers is generated by the turbulent air from the wide nozzle which is not present on a jet hand dryer design. By blowing the air at higher speeds through a narrow nozzle, the airflow is smooth, working effectively to dry the hands while generating much less noise – about the same as a normal conversation.

Choosing Hand Dryers for Children

There are two main styles of hand dryer – hands-in, which are blade style hand dryers with a gap that the hands are inserted into, and hands-under dryers which look more conventional and blow air directly down onto the hands. Typically, in a bathroom used by children, the hand dryer should be mounted much lower than for adults to accommodate smaller users. While hands-in dryers are well suited to use by children as they do not leave any water on the floor after use, they could be too high for the smallest kids, and as such a hands-under design might be more suitable.

Learn more

For more information about how a choosing a jet hand dryer from the Mitsubishi Electric Wave range could help you make bathrooms that are better for all users including children, please contact us today to request a demonstration or download our brochures.