How to Get the Most Out of a Hand Dryer

Hand Dryers are very effective at saving dollars in high expenses from paper towels and costs associated with maintenance and vandalism from paper towels stuffed in toilets. However, a hand dryer will be most cost effective if it appeals to the restroom users, offers a fast effective dry time, is positioned properly, and does not cause lines of waiting wet hands. Many users still prefer paper towel over hand dryers so taking the audience into consideration is also important. Eliminating paper towel all together is the goal of many businesses, which obviously yields maximum cost savings. However, this should only be done in specific situations with careful consideration on how this impacts restroom users. The restroom is much more important than most business owners are aware of. A zoo for example would have no need for paper towel and should consider eliminating by 100%. Other facilities such as restaurants may need both hand dryers and paper.

The goal of all high traffic restrooms is to get people in and out as quickly as possible to avoid long lines and unhappy restroom users. High speed hand dryers such as the Dyson Airblade, Xlerator Hand Dryer, and ExtremeAir hand dryer by American Dryer are all perfect solutions for high traffic facilities such as stadiums, venues, zoos, parks, schools, government facilities, offices, restaurants, bars, theme parks, and other public facilities. First consider the appeal of the hand dryer. If users are not all that interested or intimidated by the dryer, they will likely gravitate towards the paper towels or just walk out with dripping wet hands. The Dyson Airblade is very appealing and has been a proven buzz item in restrooms for years. People are amazed by the powerful air knife technology that produces 400 MPH strips of air that dry both sides of the hands simultaneously in just 12 seconds flat. People love to use the Dyson Airblade; a business can’t go wrong with it. The Airblade hand dryer gives businesses the opportunity for considering the elimination of paper towel altogether. The Xlerator hand dryer has also proven over time that people love to use it and will prefer it vs. paper towel. The Xlerator is 100% USA made and produces a 300MPH air blast that dries hands in 10-15 seconds. Almost everyone has seen an Xlerator by now as it was the first high speed hand dryer in its class allowing Excel Dryer to have a huge head start on the market of fast drying hand dryers. The quality of the Excel Dryer Xlerator is unquestionably top of the line as the 5 year warranty is rarely even needed. It lasts on average of 7-10 years and offers durability and power which has become the industry standard. The American Dryer ExtremeAir is currently the most flexible high speed hand dryer on the market. The USA made ExtremeAir is 43% smaller than most other hand dryers in its class, it will take thousands of signals per second from the electrical and auto configure the voltage from 100-240, it is equipped with an adjustable motor for sound and speed control, and it can be made ADA compliant with a simple surface-mounted wall guard. The ExtremeAir is the only true high speed ADA compliant surface mounted hand dryer with the addition of the ADA wall guard. All of these hand dryers have proven to destroy paper towel in terms of user preference, creating the most cost savings over paper and maintenance costs associated with paper towel. Most importantly, they are all durable and offer super-fast dry times from 10-15 seconds.

Hand Dryers should be positioned properly in the restroom. The most effective spots would be as close to the sinks as possible. Regardless of hand dryer or paper towel, users want to quickly start the drying process. Walking across the restroom from the sink to a hand dryer or paper towel located across the room is not an effective location, plus it creates a slippery water hazard on the floor. Speaking of keeping floors dry, the all new patent pending ADA wall guard for the ExtremeAir and all current American Dryer hand dryers will effectively keep walls and floors dry while providing ADA compliance. It’s a simple cost-effective solution.

Considering the audience is an extremely important key point. For example, fine dining restaurants may want to consider a hand dryer like the Dyson Airblade, the Dyson Airblade Tap, the Mitsubishi Jet Towel, or the iStorm. Family restaurants may want to consider an average priced hand dryer like the Xlerator or ExtremeAir. All restaurants may want to consider reducing paper towel costs but not completely eliminating them. A lot of customers will still prefer paper towel especially if the customer base is an older generation. The goal of a restaurant should be first and foremost to keep the customers happy and coming back. Repeat business is a necessity for survival to all restaurants. For this reason, we suggest restaurants consider using both hand dryers and paper towel. Many customers don’t want to touch the door handle on the way out. We have a mini-towel exit system just for that. It significantly reduces paper towel costs by promoting the hand dryer but offering the customer a towel for the exit. A waste receptacle should be strategically placed near the exit towel system. Restaurants will immediately see a reduction in paper towel costs and unsightly scattered paper towel mess. A restaurant cannot afford to overlook the importance of a clean, hygienic restroom. Paper towel causes an unclean feeling when the trash cans are overfilled with used paper towel clutter. Furthermore, bacteria actually lives and breeds in both damp and dry paper towel. Bacteria are 1,000 times more likely to spread in damp places. In addition, restaurants can’t afford to have paper towels stuffed into toilets by vandal-happy kids. The perceived quality of the restaurant as a whole will drop considerably if the restroom experience is less than perfect. A clean hygienic restroom is extremely important!

Any hand drying mechanism should not create lines of impatient people in busy, high traffic washrooms. How often have you been in a washroom only to find the paper towel dispenser was out of paper, out of order or needed battery replacements? It happens all of the time when we need our hands dried the most! It’s a continuous problem that can never be solved unless the paper towel dispenser is replaced with an energy efficient, electric, high speed hand dryer. Restrooms should be equipped with enough hand dryers to keep users moving in and out of the bathrooms quickly. American dryer has some suggestions for the top selling, USA made ExtremeAir.

• Average traffic washroom..............1 dryer per 2 washbasins
• Heavy traffic washroom..................1 dryer per washbasin
• 54” wash fountain...........................4 dryers per sink

Dryers should be placed at least 2 feet apart and at least 12” from washbasin. Do not install dryer over washbasin. Automatic dryers should be at least 18” above any projection which may interfere with the operation of the automatic sensor.

We hope you find this information useful. Please call 888-50-DRYER or 888-503-7937 to speak with a true hand dryer expert to get an unbiased opinion on which hand dryer would be a good potential fit for your restroom. ProDryers is a master distributor of all major hand dryers offering the absolute best prices with free shipping to anywhere in the contiguous US.