Although they may look like conventional designs, drying your hands with a jet hand dryer is more effective and quicker

Modern jet hand dryers such as the Mitsubishi Electric Wave i01 and u02 models are an increasingly common sight in office, restaurant, and school washrooms, and while they have the same functionality as a conventional design, the way they work is totally different.  To get the best results from a jet hand dryer, you need to use it slightly differently.

How No Touch Operation Works

Modern hand dryers do not use a button to turn the airflow on and off.  Reducing contact with surfaces in a bathroom is better for hygiene, and one of the key ways that this can be achieved is by using a no-touch design for bathroom appliances such as hand dryers.

A proximity sensor is integrated into the casing of a Mitsubishi Electric Wave hand dryer which detects when a user’s hands are in the correct location for drying.  This sensor uses infrared to detect body heat, so will not start unless the object in the drying area is above the temperature of the surrounding air.

Once the user’s hands are in place, the fan will turn on and start to blow air through the narrow nozzle to start the drying process.

No Need to Rub your Hands Together

The biggest difference in the way you use a jet hand dryer is that there is no need to rub your hands together in the airflow.

A conventional hand dryer uses a combination of heat and slow-moving air to cause the water left on your skin after washing to evaporate into the surrounding atmosphere.  To speed up this process, you need to rub your hands together.  This rubbing action helps to spread the moisture over a larger area and help it to evaporate quicker.

With a jet hand dryer, the faster moving air acts more like a broom or a squeegee – rather than causing the water to evaporate, the droplets are simply blown off the surface of the skin and in the case of a “hands-in” design such as the Wave i01, this water is then collected in a small reservoir in the bottom of the drying area.

Move Your Hands in the Airflow

To aid in the drying process, you should slowly move your hands up and down in the airflow.  This helps to push the water off the skin more quickly.

Is a Jet Hand Dryer Faster?

Depending on how wet your hands are, a conventional evaporative hand dryer can take more than 30 seconds to generate enough heat to cause the water to dry fully.  Because a jet hand dryer does not need to cause the water to change state, it is much faster to dry your hands.  Normally it will take around 10-15 seconds to work fully.

Is a Jet Hand Dryer more Hygienic?

One of the biggest drawbacks of an evaporative hand dryer – and the reason that they have a reputation for being less hygienic – is that they can leave a residue on the user’s skin.  As the moisture evaporates, it can leave traces of soap and any bacteria contained in the water trapped on your skin.  The blowing action of a jet hand dryer does not leave this residue behind, making your hands much cleaner when you leave the bathroom.

Why are Jet Hand Dryers So Much Quieter?

One of the first things that you will notice when using a jet hand dryer is how much quieter it is than traditional models.

At first this might seem counter-intuitive because the air is flowing much faster, however the nature of the airflow is what makes the difference.  With older models, the wide nozzle that the air blows through caused a lot of turbulence that results in a lot of noise being created.  Smoother or “laminar” airflow does not have turbulence, and as such it is a much quieter hand dryer.  In addition to this, the design of the hand dryer also prevents as much noise escaping from the fan and motor.  Rather than the fan being exposed directly to the exterior of the dryer, in a jet hand dryer, internal ducting is used to accelerate the air, and this also acts as a sound barrier for the motor and fan. Furthermore, the Mitsubishi Electric Wave hand dryers uses their patented Wave Nozzle® technology which breaks down the air turbulence, increases drying efficiency and reduces noise further.

Find out More

To find out more about the Mitsubishi Electric Wave range of fast drying jet hand dryers and learn how they can improve hand hygiene in schools, workplaces, and restaurants, please contact us to arrange a demo.