Over the past few years, the importance of good hygiene in preventing the spread of illnesses has been at the front of people’s minds, and as a result, building managers have been looking in increasing detail about the cleanest wayof washing and drying hands. Most office buildings, factories, schools, and hospitality venues choose to install electric hand dryers or paper towels in their sanitary facilities, but which is the most effective and cleanest way to dry your hands after washing.
Cleanest Way to Dry Hands
Drying your hands after using the bathroom is important, but not all methods are equal, find out about the cleanest way to dry your hands.
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Take The TestHand dryers vs paper towels
Paper towels are single use non-recyclable sheets of absorbent paper that are a common sight in many bathrooms. In most bathrooms, the paper towels are held in a dispenser that protects them from contamination before use, but this is not always the case, and as such, both the towel and the dispenser can be a reservoir for germs that can pass between users. Unfortunately, individual paper towels are not always the most effective way of drying hands either meaning that some people will leave the bathroom with wet hands that can still carry germs out into the wider area.
By comparison, a modern no-touch hand dryer does not create the same opportunity for illnesses to spread, and additionally do not create waste. The most energy efficient hand dryers have much lower annual running costs than paper towels, responsible for around one third of the amount of CO2 emissions and costing approximately 66% less annually.
Different types of hand dryer
In terms of minimising the spread of germs, a no-touch hand dryer is much more effective than a conventional push button model, but there are also differences in hygiene based on the method of operation for the hand dryer.
Older models used warm air which caused moisture on the skin to evaporate while newer jet hand dryers work by simply blowing the water away with a fast-moving curtain of air. Evaporative or warm air hand dryers could leave a residue of germs on the skin after washing that would then be carried out into the wider area by users.
Jet hand dryers are also more energy efficient than conventional models. Without the need for the air heater, and a much more efficient fan design, a jet dryer such as the Mitsubishi Electric Wave u02 hand dryer costs less than half as much to run as an older warm air design.
