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“Hand dryers provide an excellent source reduction alternative by eliminating the creation of paper towels. It takes 17 trees to produce 1 ton of paper, according to EPA statistics. You also have to factor in the pollution caused by paper production and the fact that paper is not biodegradable,” says Gagnon.

Hand dryers also use little electricity, keeping operational costs to a minimum. While past units needed special circuitry in the restroom to use, today’s hand dryers mainly use standard voltages.

SPEED

The amount of time it takes for a hand dryer to dry your hands is no longer a deterrent to using them. Many hand dryer companies have units that claim they can dry your hands in eight to 20 seconds. This is about the same amount of time it takes to use a paper towel.

“Our goal is to have our units dry your hands as fast as possible,” says Ruiz. “Our fastest unit dries your hands in 10 to 15 seconds depending on the individual user. More and more companies are offering fast drying units. I hope the manufacturers don’t get into a war over two or three seconds of drying time.”

Despite the fast speeds, hand dryers now create less noise. “Where you hold your hands under the unit can make a difference in the sound level because it can create deflection noise,” says Gagnon. However, our units are installed in libraries and office buildings with no complaints.

According to Kampschroer, a large state office building recently was concerned with meeting OSHA decibel standards for noise. “They were satisfied that the noise generated by our hand dryers was well within the acceptable OSHA levels for prolonged exposure.”

SANITARY DEBATE

Some studies, paid for by paper manufacturers, have claimed that hand dryers increased bacteria counts on the hands. However, other researchers have indicated that electric air drying produces reduced numbers of bacteria and viruses on washed hands when compared to cloth or paper towels.