Many people are sensitive to sound, so choosing a hand dryer for your project that generates less noise can make your bathroom more welcoming.

Traditional warm air hand dryers – also known as evaporative hand dryers – have a reputation for being inefficient and noisy. Their design, with a large nozzle and exposed fan and motor assembly can generate as much noise as heavy traffic, and this can be a major problem in offices, hospitality venues and schools causing significant disturbance in the surrounding area and negatively affecting people’s experience.
Loud hand dryers can also be a problem for people who are especially sensitive to loud noises including children and neurodiverse individuals for whom loud noises can be distracting and uncomfortable. To avoid creating discomfort and distraction, many buildings are now fitted with modern, quiet hand dryers that generate much less noise and are more efficient in use.

Why older hand dryers are so noisy

Older hand dryers use warm air to cause water on the skin of the user’s hands to evaporate. To work effectively, warm air hand dryers need to have quite slow airflow so that the air passing over the heating element has sufficient time to reach the right temperature. To achieve this, the hand dryer uses a low-pressure nozzle which is usually mounted on the bottom of the dryer and is quite large.

The large diameter of the dryer nozzle means that there is very little in the way of the fan assembly, and as such, almost all the noise from the machinery escapes into the surrounding area. This fan noise is amplified by the turbulence in the airflow and reflects back from hard surfaces such as walls and ceilings to generate substantial disturbance. The sound levels from a conventional hand dryer can reach 87dB – which is the equivalent of standing next to a busy road – and this sound can leak out of the bathroom and into surrounding areas such as dining rooms, offices, and classrooms.

The problem with loud hand dryers

In a workplace environment, the sound from hand dryers can affect concentration in nearby areas. In an office, the disturbance might affect productivity while in an industrial environment or one where chemicals and machinery are being used, it can be a health and safety risk.

Young children and those who are sensitive to noise will be more affected by hand dryer noise and this can make them unwilling to use bathroom facilities where loud dryers are present. Loud noises can upset people who are sensitive and if they do not wash their hands can also affect hygiene in the surrounding areas.

Finding quieter hand dryers

The Mitsubishi Electric Wave hand dryer range use jets of fast-moving air to dry the user’s hands. A narrow, smooth airflow from the hand dryer creates much less noise than conventional designs – as little as 57dB, which is the equivalent of a quiet conversation.

The lower noise levels of quiet jet hand dryers are less distracting for users and do not escape into the surrounding areas, meaning that people nearby can barely hear the sound and will not be disturbed.

Learn more

For more information about how choosing a quieter jet hand dryer from the Mitsubishi Electric Wave range could help you prevent unwanted noise and make bathrooms and surrounding areas more pleasant, please contact us today to request a demonstration or download our brochures.