Hand Dryers

[Tork UK]

Hi there - I am just wondering what kind of hand dryers people have in their offices? It would be great to know!

Thanks,
Chris

 

[shredder]

Paper towels and a thing attached to the wall that is very noisy and blows hot air when you push a button. Hope this helps.

 

[Mike Lewis]

Chris,

This doesn't answer your question, but I can tell you that I hate hot-air dryers. They're either much too feeble, or very noisy, or both.

Typically, there might be maybe four to six wash basins, but only two dryers, on one of which is out of order. You take five seconds to rinse your hands, then at least a minute to dry them - and, even then, you don't get them completely dry. You end up drying them on your trousers or coat, which is probably nearly as unhygeniec as not washing them in the first place.

Hand dryers are also useless if you need to dry your face.

Give me paper towels any time.

Mike

 

[Tork UK]

Thank you for your feedback!

Mike, would you say that it is convenience or hygiene that is your main concern regarding your preference?

 

[Scottish Business Owner]

I would agree with Mike on this. Most places I work in have a simple paper towel set up and it always feels hygienic. Like Mike I've never felt dryers really dry things properly and I always seem to get the dryers that dont work again as Mike had mentioned.

Just my 2p

 

[shredder]

Are paper towels not both convenient and hygienic ?

 

[Tork UK]

Are paper towels not both convenient and hygienic ?

Hey Shredder - This is true - paper towels are a lot quicker at doing the job AND they reduce bacteria on your hands, in comparison to warm air dryers, which cause the bacteria on your hands to double... quite scary. They also spread contamination around the room. I am just intrigued - as a lot of places have both towels and air dryers - as to what people prefer to use? And how aware are people of hygiene issues - do people care? Call me a geek, but I am just doing some personal research...

Thanks,
Chris

 

[abs]

I prefer paper towels. I agree; driers either take ages to dry your hands or the skin on your hands ripples! I also see people losing patience and walking out before their hands are dry which means water (not always clean) on the door handles. Yuck!

Theresia

 

[Tork UK]

Thank you for contributing Theresia! Nice to meet you.
Chris

 

[Mike Lewis]

Mike, would you say that it is convenience or hygiene that is your main concern regarding your preference?

I would say convenience first, and hygiene a close second.

Mike

 

[Gouldie0]

I find the hand dryers very unhygenic, they often make more of a mess than if you used a paper towel.

Are you researching for something inparticular?

Kind Regards

Neil

 

[Tork UK]

I would say convenience first, and hygiene a close second.

Mike

Thanks Mike! Interesting.

I find the hand dryers very unhygenic, they often make more of a mess than if you used a paper towel.

Are you researching for something in particular?

Kind Regards

Neil

Hi Neil - This is very true; the water has to go somewhere... I am not researching for anything in particular to be honest. Tork, the company I work with, is a supplier of wiping and hygiene products. I want to chat to people on my favourite forums to find out what their opinions are to distinguish how people feel about different dryers. I suspect this research will be of use for a specific cause, but at the moment it's really out of interest. For me personally, hygiene has the most impact on my preference for paper towels, so interesting to hear that some would be persuaded more so by convenience.

Thanks. Chris

 

[Mike Lewis]

Chris,

I think part of the problem is that there is often no business relationship between the supplier (of the hand dryer or towels) and the end user (the person with the wet hands).

The supplier's customer is the restaurant, local authority, business or organisation that owns and maintains the toilet. The supplier's selling point is that that a dryer will save money, will not require constant attention, will not require towels to be ordered, stored, etc. and so on. These are all valuable benefits to the customer.

But it is the end-user, not the customer, who suffers the disadvantages of the dryer. The end-user has no clout with the supplier, and there's no incentive to meet his requirements.

Anyway, good luck with this research. If it ends up converting a few bathrooms from electric to paper, you will have done a good service.

Mike

 

[Tork UK]

Hi Mike - thank you for your comments. You have a very good point that needs to be taken into great consideration in the future. The contributions from the members here has been extremely valuable! Thanks!

I hope to see more comments over the coming weeks.

Chris

 

[dmuir]

well Im for paper towels, more hygenic and surely they can be recycled, I either pick the hand dryer that does not work or the one blowing cold air

 

[Mike Lewis]

well Im for paper towels ... they can be recycled

I admit I hand't thought of the environmental aspects.

It's true that paper towels can be recycled, but I wonder if, in practice, they are. I suspect they go into the general rubbish.

There's an environmental cost in manufacturing paper towels, not to mention transporting them to the site. On the other hand, they don't actually use energy at the point of use, unlike an electric dryer.

I wonder if anyone's worked out the overall envrironmental costs of the two methods.

Mike

 

[Tork UK]

I wonder if anyone's worked out the overall envrironmental costs of the two methods.

I am going to find out!