What goes on behind the closed doors of a restroom is the last thing that enters the mind of a business owner. They should; they should consider the money being spent on paper towels vs. the myriad of benefits of industrial hand dryers.
There is absolutely no question that hand dryers are by far the most cost effective way to dry hands, they save the business owner money year after year, within a matter of a few months they pay for themselves. With this being a real fact, why are there still hundreds of thousands of paper towel dispensers still in use?
Speed and noise:
The paper towel industry had a good point years ago; industrial hand dryers took a long time to do their job and they were noisy. This is no longer the truth. There is no technological advances in the paper towel industry, however, in the hand dryer industry new technology has been introduced that brings the drying time down to as little as 10 seconds and reduces the noise, hand dryers today are 50 percent quieter than their predecessors.
Reliability and durability:
Business owners are justifiably concerned with the reliability and durability of all the equipment in the facility. Regardless of whether it is a restaurant or a machine shop, it is imperative that equipment does not fail. An industrial hand dryer, with a minimum of maintenance, can easily last up to ten years and with paper towels costing on average $1,000 per year, the cost savings are apparent.
Hygiene:
Regardless of what arguments are put up about speed, noise of operation, reliability, etc., the paper towel industry continues to put forward the issue of hygiene. The argument that is put up is based on the fact that their product is more efficient at ridding hands of germs and bacteria and industrial hand dryers do little more than blow the bacteria around. There are two points to consider:
- Damp paper towels harbor germs and bacteria; the problem gets worse when the waste containers overflow and the floor is littered.
- High speed, extremely efficient hand dryers are now readily available with HEPA filters installed. HEPA filters eliminate over 99 percent of all bacteria from the air that is blown onto the hands and into the environment. The air that leaves a modern hand dryer is actually cleaner than the air it takes in from the restroom.
It is increasingly more difficult for the paper towel industry to mount any valid arguments. The paper industry is what it is while industrial hand dryers are constantly being improved. Save trees, save money and save the environment by installing hand dryers.
