Updated 27/01/25
At first glance it seems like an odd choice, installing a hand dryer in your home. They are more often associated with commercial spaces, bars and public toilets. But when looked at a little deeper, installing a hand dryer in your home makes a lot of sense. A lot of this is to do with how bad towels can be for your health and wellbeing, and how hand dryers remedy a lot of those issues.
Why are towels so bad?
According to a study carried out by the University of Arizona, found that coliform bacteria, bacteria present in feces which can lead to outbreaks of food poisoning and diarrhoea, is found in 89 per cent of kitchen tea-towels and E. coli in 25.6 per cent of towels.
Why is it so bad? Because they retain moisture allowing bacteria to breed and are used in the most germ ridden areas of the house; collecting feces and other bacteria substances from the hands, face and body. These bacteria can be spread from person to person as the towel is used by multiple people. Just washing a towel is not enough to get rid of this bacteria, you have to do it at the right temperature which is said to be 60 – 90C, to sterilise completely.
And, to keep on top of it and ensure that towels are kept clean, they need to be washed every 3-5 uses according to the American Cleaning Institute. Depending on the size of your family, this is a steady flow of towels needing a high temperature wash. The costs of which quickly add up (not including the cost of new towels to keep up with this volume).
Some quick hits on towels:
- Bacteria populations on a wet towel can double in size in just 20 minutes
- A mouldy towel can cause allergic reactions or skin infections
- You should wash your towel after 3-5 uses
- If you can’t wash your towel every day, spread out your towel so that it isn’t scrunched up and can air out
- Wash it the right temperature of 60-90c
- Make sure everyone in the home has a towel each and only uses that towel
When all of this is taken into consideration, the humble towel suddenly starts to seem like a lot more hassle than we first realised. It also makes hand dryers in the home make a lot more sense.
How do hand dryers in the home help?
When compared to towels, hand dryers actually have a lot of benefits:
- Cheap to run – the average hand dryer costs about 0.02p per use, much less than most people realise. This is because modern hand dryers use high-powered air to blow the hands dry, rather than passing the air over a heating element to evaporate the water off the hands.
- Dries hands quickly – depending on the model, a hand dryer can completely dry the hands in less than 20 seconds.
- Much more hygienic – as alluded to earlier in the article, hand dryers are much more hygienic than towels, improving your health and wellbeing.
- Fit and forget – as most hand dryers are built with commercial use in mind, even the cheapest models will be able to deal with household usage without breaking a sweat. Unlike towels which need regular cleaning, a hand dryer should be fit-and-forget for thousands of hours.
What are the best hand dryers for the home?
Below is a list of the hand dryers we think would be best suited to the house environment.
- Dryflow Slimforce - If you are looking for something that wouldn’t take up too much wall space, provides a relatively fast dry and would complement the décor of any private bathroom then look no further than the Dryflow Slimforce. It’s just 10cm deep and with adjustable settings it is super energy efficient to keep those household bills down. In fact, you can get approximately 2500 dries per £1 spent on electricity. View the Dryflow Slimforce here.
- Turboforce Junior PLUS - Low noise and compact, this low energy, fast drying hand dryer comes with some real bonus features including an intelligent heating system and internal UVC cleaning protection. With approximately 2400 dries possible per £1 of electricity used it’s another unit that keeps running costs low. View the Turboforce Junior PLUS here.
- Jet Force Junior HEPA - A bonus feature of the Jet Force Junior HEPA is the fact it has a water collection tray. This adds to the already energy efficient and good performance aspects of the hand dryer by making sure your bathroom floor stays dry from any residual water blown off the hands when in use. A bladed air outlet provides fast drying and approximately 2181 dries are possible per £1 spent on electricity. View the Jet Force Junior HEPA here.
One thing to be aware of when considering a hand dryer for the home, is the IP rating. More information has been written about the IP ratings of hand dryers and locations in a bathroom here.
Integrated tap and hand dryers
For those who are looking for a more luxury item, the team at Dyson have invented a unique piece of kit that combines the water tap with a hand dryer. This scrapes moisture off the hands at the rapid velocity you would expect from a Dyson hand dryer. The beauty of the Dyson Tap is it means your hands do not have to leave the sink area to wash and dry. It also means that you do not have to have a hand dryer mounted to the wall. This technology has since been adopted by a number of other brands and is now readily available. A sensor tap can also save a considerable amount of water waste in the home.
Sensor taps we stock include:
- Bi-Tap Wash & Dry Series - View the Bi-Tap Wash & Dry Series product page here.
- Tri-Tap Wash & Dry Series - View the Tri-Tap Wash & Dry Series product page here.
- To view our full sensor-tap range please click here.
Book a demo and samples
We recommend you take advantage of our “book a demo” service where one of our UK wide representatives will come and show you how a hand dryer in your home works as well as letting you take notice of the noise levels throughout your home. We can also send you out a sample to try, giving you total satisfaction and peace of mind before you commit to buying.
For more information or for help in finding your ideal hand dryer or washroom product, please call our experts direct on 0113 498 026, use our contact us page or visit our main hand dryer category page and use the filers to match your requirements. You can also use our Intelligent Search Tool.
In the trade? Don’t forget we can set you up with a trade account for your purchases. We have wholesaler, contractor, public sector and charity discounts available, please don’t hesitate to ask.
