Hands under dryers vs hands in dryers - everything you need to know

The pitfalls of old ‘hands under’ style dryers

One of the biggest downfalls of Hands under style dryers, also known as warm air dryers, is that historically, they weren’t that fast at drying your hands or cleaning your hands! Some hand dryers can take up to 4 minutes to achieve the same level of dryness as paper towels or jet air dryers. This is because they require an element to heat up first before the air warms up and blows onto the surface of your hands. Human behaviour has of course adjusted to the limitations of hands under dryers, and in many bathrooms, people will skip the hands under style dryer completely when exiting the bathroom.

Quality ‘Hands in‘ dryers have replaced old style ‘Hands under‘ dryers

People want hand dryers that actually work. When they take 4 minutes to dry your hands, that‘s simply ineffective particularly in high traffic bathrooms. It is primarily for reasons of speed, that quality ‘hands in‘ dryers are replacing the hands under style dryers, and in their thousands.

Quality hand drying methods a requirement in high risk facilities

Where hygiene is critical, such as hospitals, medical clinics, schools, colleges nurseries, care homes or commercial kitchens and other food preparation areas, a quality hand drying solution must be considered. So, what are the two options?

1. HACCP approved ‘Hands in‘ dryers remove 99.9% of bacteria

HACCP approved hands in dryers address a number of risks that the hands in style of dryer didn‘t, posing a risk in bathroom facilities where hygiene is paramount. Being HACCP approved means the hands in dryer can be used to protect consumers in an internationally recognised way including managing food safety. A HEPA filter containing an antimicrobial coating captures 99.9% of bacteria from the air drying your hands, and that‘s why they meet the HACCP standard. None of the dirty bathroom air is forced on your hands like is the case with hands under dryers so hands are dried using clean air not dirty air.

2. Paper Towels are better than old ‘hands under‘ dryers at removing bacteria

Paper towels are also a great choice for bathroom in high risk facilities such as those mentioned above. Paper towels reduce the numbers of all types of bacteria on fingers and palms of dried hands in far greater numbers that the old hands under dryer style. Paper towels also cause considerably less contamination of the bathroom environment when compared with the area directly below a hands under dryer. This is where it‘s worth talking about cost savings and personal preference.

Many people prefer hand towels, many prefer hands in dryers once they‘ve tried it.

From the thousands of facility managers and cost centre managers we talk to , the biggest consideration is ongoing operational cost. Quality hand dryers cost more up front but repay you at over $300 per year in high traffic bathrooms where a warm air dryer was installed previously. Many business owners install paper towel dispensers to replace the hands under warm air dryer, without considering the ongoing costs and then get bill shock further down the track. Lets quickly look at paper towel costs:

Let's do a rough cost calculatiopn for a high employee count building

100 people per day @ 2.5 visits per day = 250 daily visits @ 3 towels per dry = 750 towels per day

@ 300 days per year = 225,000 towels 16 packs of 250 towels @ $35 means you‘ll need 56 of these per year = $1,960

Even if you get your paper towels at half the price, you‘re still better off buying a hands in dryer as it pays for itself in a year.

What ‘hands in‘ style dryer to select

There are a range of hands in style dryers on the market each with their own benefits. Below we compare the flagship model of each brand.

JETDRYER EXECUTIVE²

SPEED 10-15S

POWER 700-1000W

NOISE 75 DBA

HYGIENE HEPA FILTER REMOVES 99.9% BACTERIA

RRP $1,595 PURCHASE ONLINE: YES

DYSON AIRBLADE dB

SPEED 10-12S

POWER 1,600W

NOISE 81 DBA

HYGIENE HEPA FILTER REMOVES 99.9% BACTERIA

RRP $1,639

PURCHASE ONLINE: NO

MITSUBISHI JET TOWEL

SPEED 9-11 S

POWER 550 - 1070W

NOISE 56 DB

HYGIENE HEPA FILTER REMOVES 99.9% BACTERIA

RRP $1,395 PURCHASE ONLINE: NO

3 Bonus Benefits of JetDryer Executive²

1. The air jets that dry you hands are angled downwards so the water goes with gravity towards the water collection unit rather than being dispersed upwards or sideways.
2. The JetDryer Executive2, we believe is the optimum combination of hand drying, noise level and hygiene. We have quieter models such the JetDryer Business. We also offer the JetDryer Eco for where space is at a premium.
3. The JetDryer is easy to maintain by bathroom cleaners or your own staff. Discover what your cleaners are required to do to maintain bathroom excellence here.