Are Hand Dryers The Green Choice?

Facilities managers and cleaners need to provide a washroom service which is fast, clean, low cost and with minimum maintenance. What they also need to do in today’s world is look at doing all that, but in a greener way. 

This becomes a careful balancing act as managers look to keep within shrinking budgets, run buildings efficiently, and hit green targets in an effort to reduce carbon footprint and wastage.

This is where the decision to go cotton towel dispenser, paper towel dispenser or hand dryer comes in. The old school cotton roll dispensers are very unhygienic with poor drying experience due to the slow absorption of the material. We have also felt that cringe-worthy moment when you grab the towel to dry your hands, and it’s already wet. This leaves the decision to go paper towel, or hand dryer.

Paper towels can be purchased as a green, recycled product, but often at the compromise of quality and more often than not an increased cost. The waste disposal of hundreds, even thousands of paper towels a day can soon add up, particularly if your cleaning team aren’t recycling and separating waste efficiently. You also need to be mindful of using the correct paper towel size as there can be needless waste by pulling one paper towel and 5 or 6, following out of the dispenser and straight into the bin.

But don’t hand dryers suck energy?
Older hand dryers can certainly consume a lot of energy, but new technology in the hand dryer market means a great reduction in energy bills.

When buying, or upgrading to a new hand dryer, look for the following product specs to ensure more efficient energy usage.

High Speed – Quicker drying time
Low noise – less noise pollution and annoyance
Minimise airborne pollutants – Reduce hazards to health
Fast turnover – Less time hand dryer is in operation
Standard voltage – means you can install, plug and go
Cold Hand dryer- less energy needed for colder hand drying
Energy efficiencies and star ratings – compare hand dryers

If you are looking to have a greener washroom, then you may also want to look at where your energy comes from too! Electricity companies offer offsets for businesses and green options so that the energy powering up your hand dryers is also kinder to the environment.