The argument over which is better, hand dryers or paper towels is an age old debate. Of course we are going to have a degree of bias but we hope you can see from the information we provide that we present balanced and logical arguments. The reason why it is such a heated debate is obvious, because both hand dryer manufacturers and paper towel manufacturers stand to make money by convincing people that their method is best!

Cost comparison

Take the example of an office with 50 people using hand towels. Each person would use 2.5 hand towels on average 4.5 times a day. Over a year this would be 146,250 paper towels at an approximate cost of £731-£1200 (depending on the cost of towels). Each time a hand dryer is fitted in its place that ongoing stream of revenue is lost forever for the paper towel manufacturers.

The total cost of using an energy efficient hand dryer using 2-4 watt/hours in the same scenario as above would be the cost of 117 to 235 Kw/hours of electricity. A normal tariff would be about 12p so that's just £14 to £28 a year to run. Quite a difference! There is also the cost saving of reduced staffing time used to replenish and maintain the paper towels and dispensers, which would be put to good use elsewhere.

So, in terms of costs the consumer benefits greatly from installing hand dryers.

Cost calculator

Work out your own unique cost savings using our handy cost comparison calculator. See which energy efficient hand dryers save you the most when compared to paper towels, conventional hand dryers and roller towels. Click the picture or here to be taken to the calculator

For more in-depth calculations and comparisons of typical annual costs and carbon production of paper towels, conventional hand dryers and energy efficient hand dryers please see the case study below titled: Examples of annual cost savings for an office - energy efficient hand dryers compared to paper towels and conventional hand dryers

Hygiene

The paper towel industry cannot fight the cost argument so it has always commissioned its own purpose built studies to discredit the hygiene of hand dryers. So are they right?

Well strangely those studies conducted by the paper towel industry always say they are and those conducted by the hand dryer industry always say there is no difference.

The paper towel companies certainly had a point when they argue that quick, effective drying is the key to good hand hygiene. If the hands remain wet, then bacteria can breed more readily. This argument rather fell down when the new generation of fast dryers came in and if anything produced a more thorough dry than using hand towels, which unless used correctly fail to really dry between the fingers and under nails. A good hand dryer is less reliant on the user to do the job than using a hand towel.

One thing is certain, that the paper towel industry have never conducted their tests to any established protocol, they always devise testing with huge bias. They also remain quiet on this and mainly focus their attention on discrediting the more, well-known hand dryers like the Dyson Airblade. Dyson of course refute the paper towel industries studies as unrealistic and scientifically unsound. See the video below for more information.

There are reports from both sides and various independent studies, all of which vary in their opinion.

In reality, good hand washing practice and thorough drying is the most important factor and there are various technologies, particularly cold plasma which are enhancing hygiene even further. You have to remember air is all around us and the thought that drying your hands with air is unhygienic is not really logical, bacteria are really spread by direct contact with surfaces and hand dryers are largely all sensor operated now, hand towel dispensers are not usually.

Also hand towel dispensers are often not stocked up and an empty hand towel dispenser is definitely the most unhygienic!

You may see more negative articles about hand dryers than about paper towels online, but you have to consider that paper towel companies are multi-billion pound global giants and until Dyson entered the market, most hand dryer manufacturers were family run SME's. So you know who has the most resource to throw at protecting their vested interests!

We have written an article with links to other information on the topic of “are hand dryers hygienic?”. The links include what the scientific literature actually says about hand dryers and paper towels. This can be viewed by clicking here

Hand dryers with enhanced hygienic properties can be viewed here

The Environment

Most, modern hand dryers that use as little as 2-4 watt hours per dry have a negligible effect on the environment. In the office example we mentioned previously, 117Kw/hours equates 63.18 kg/Co2 per year.

Based on Dysons life cycle research into the carbon emissions produced by paper towels and the estimates we have for paper towel usage, drying your hands with paper could create at least 22.5 grams of Co2 each time. This is generated from chopping down virgin trees, transporting raw materials for processing, energy to process, further transportation to finishing mills and energy consumption to manufacturer the particular paper product and packaging, further transportation to main warehouse, distribution to local warehouse, distribution to the customer and the constant replenishment cycle.

The same office is creating 1287 kg/Co2!

You have to remember paper towels cannot be recycled, they can only be made of previously recycled paper, so they generally end up in landfill too.

25,000 paper towels equates to one average virgin tree for paper production.

I think you can see who wins this argument.

Energy efficient hand dryers can be viewed here

Carbon calculator

Work out your own unique carbon savings using our handy comparison calculator. See which energy efficient hand dryers save you the most carbon when compared to paper towels, conventional hand dryers and roller towels. Click the picture or here to be taken to the calculator

Noise

Paper towels definitely win here. A hand dryer will always be louder than a paper towel and we would always say there are certain locations where unfortunately you may have to pay more and have hand towels. An example would be a hospital ward, where people are sleeping or recovering and require the least disturbance possible or in an area that had very thin walls backing onto a noise sensitive area.

There are definitely considerations that need to be made for young children, people with autistic conditions, wheelchair users and some elderly, thats why we offer a range of quieter and adjustable hand dryers that still remain effective.

We like to think we don't blindly recommend products in our commercial interests and present good logical arguments, we have the sense to recognise that our products are 99% a better solution but in the odd instant are not!

Interestingly in Japan, there is almost always background music in toilets to hide the silence and potentially embarrassing noises. Silent public toilets can actually cause great distress for anxious toilet goers, particularly young children so the noise of a hand dryer can be a welcome distraction.

There are a host of good performing, quiet hand dryers on the market which can be viewed here. Many of which have been awarded the Quiet Mark meaning they are one of the quietest in their class.

Convenience

A good reliable hand dryer has to win. They mean no one has to remember to restock them so they are always available. They also mean clean, tidy washrooms and no need for bins to take up room. Paper towels create a job no facilities manager, school caretaker or cleaner wants.

Enjoyment

This is quite divided; some people prefer paper towels, some people like hand dryers, surprisingly there are actually 1000's of people who regularly post updates and pictures on their favourite hand dryers. We love hand dryers but even we think this is a bit too much love, but each to their own!

At the end of the day, there are too many benefits for your business costs, operations and the environment to be derived from buying a good quality hand dryer, so a mild preference in this instance probably isn't the most important factor, unless of course you a choosing for royalty or a particularly high maintenance rock star!

I think thats covered it, there is plenty in our blog about this subject which is regularly updated and published on social media, so join our hand dryer and environmental obsessed community if you want to know about the new technologies and advancing debate.

Who would of thought something so everyday could make such a difference!

Case study: Examples of annual cost savings for an office - energy efficient hand dryers compared to paper towels and conventional hand dryers

1. Office that services 10 people, 260 times a year

Number of toilet visits a year: 11,700
Number of paper towels used per year (based on 3 towels per visit): 35,100

	Paper Towels	Conventional hand dryer	Turboforce Junior PLUS	Ecoforce	Jet Force Junior
Rated Power	-	2500W	500W – 1150W	500W – 1250W	750W – 1850W
Drying Time	-	40 seconds	18 seconds	21 seconds	14 seconds
Watt-Hours per Dry	-	27.78Wh	2.5 – 5.75Wh	2.91 – 7.29Wh	2.92 - 7.19Wh
Annual kW/h	-	325	29.25 – 67.28	34.13 – 85.31	34.12 – 84.18
Annual Cost	£105.30 – £175.50*	£39^	£3.51 - £8.07^	£4.10 - £10.24^	£4.10 - £10.10^
Annual saving against paper towels	-	£66.30 - £136.50	£97.23 - £171.99	£95.06 - £171.41	£95.20 – £171.41
Annual saving against conventional hand dryer	-	-	£30.93 – £35.49	£28.76 - £34.91	£28.90 – £34.91
Annual carbon production	263Kg/C02**	176Kg/C02^#	16 - 36Kg/C02^#	18 – 46Kg/C02^#	18 - 45Kg/C02^#

*Price of paper towel range from 0.3p – 0.5p per towel
^Based on 12p per kW/h
^#Based on Carbon Trust standard of 1kW/h = 0.54 Kg/C02
** Carbon production for paper towels is based on 22.5gms/Co2 per dry

2. Office that services 50 people, 260 times a year

Number of toilet visits a year: 58,500
Number of paper towels used per year (based on 3 towels per visit): 175,500

	Paper Towels	Conventional hand dryer	Turboforce Junior PLUS	Ecoforce	Jet Force Junior
Rated Power	-	2500W	500W – 1150W	500W – 1250W	750W – 1850W
Drying Time	-	40 seconds	18 seconds	21 seconds	14 seconds
Watt-Hours per Dry	-	27.78Wh	2.5 – 5.75Wh	2.91 – 7.29Wh	2.92 - 7.19Wh
Annual kW/h	-	1625	146.25 – 336.37	170.63 – 426.56	170.63 – 420.88
Annual Cost	£526.50– £877.50*	£195^	£17.55 - £40.37^	£20.48 - £51.19^	£20.48 - £50.51^
Annual saving against paper towels	-	£331.50- £682.50	£486.14 - £859.95	£475.31 - £857.03	£476 – £857.03
Annual saving against conventional hand dryer	-	-	£154.64 – £177.45	£143.81 - £174.53	£144.50 – £174.53
Annual carbon production	1,316Kg/C02**	878Kg/C02^#	79 - 182Kg/C02^#	92 – 230 Kg/C02^#	92 - 227Kg/C02^#

3. Office that services 200 people, 260 times a year

Number of toilet visits a year: 234,000
Number of paper towels used per year (based on 3 towels per visit): 702,000

	Paper Towels	Conventional hand dryer	G-Force MKII	Dryflow Viper	Stealthforce PLUS	Dryflow Tri-Jet
Rated Power	-	2500W	420W – 1500W	600W – 2000W	750W – 1650W	1760W
Drying Time	-	40 seconds	12-23 seconds	15-20 seconds	16 seconds	11 seconds
Watt-Hours per Dry	-	27.78Wh	2.68 – 5Wh	3.33 – 8.33Wh	3.33 - 7.33Wh	5.38Wh
Annual kW/h	-	6,500	627.9 – 1170	780 – 1950	780 – 1716	1,258.40
Annual Cost	£2,106– £3,510*	£780^	£75.35- £140.40^	£93.60 - £234^	£93.60 - £205.92^	£151.01^
Annual saving against paper towels	-	£1,326 - £2,730	£1,965.60 - £3,434.65	£1,872 - £3,416.40	£1,900.08 – £3,416.40	£1,954.99 – £3,358.99
Annual saving against conventional hand dryer	-	-	£639.60 – £704.65	£546 - £686.40	£574.08 – £686.40	£628.99
Annual carbon production	5,265Kg/C02**	3,510Kg/C02^#	339 - 632Kg/C02^#	421 – 1,053Kg/C02^#	421 - 927Kg/C02^#	988Kg/C02^#

4. Office that services 500 people, 260 times a year

Number of toilet visits a year: 585,000
Number of paper towels used per year (Based on 3 towels per visit): 1,755,000

	Paper Towels	Conventional hand dryer	eXtremeAir GXT	Dryflow Elite MKII	Dryflow Classic PLUS MKII	Turboforce
Rated Power	-	2500W	300W – 1500W	1000W	1400W	350W – 1600W
Drying Time	-	40 seconds	11 – 23 seconds	22 seconds	18 seconds	12 – 24 seconds
Watt-Hours per Dry	-	27.78Wh	1.92 – 4.58Wh	6.11Wh	7Wh	2.33 – 5.33Wh
Annual kW/h	-	16,250	1,121.25 – 2,681.25	3,575	4,095	1,365 – 3,120
Annual Cost	£5,265 – £8,775*	£1,950^	£134.55 - £321.75^	£429^	£491.40^	£163.80 - £374.40^
Annual saving against paper towels	-	£3,315 - £6,825	£4,943.25 - £8,640.45	£4,836 - £8,346	£4,773.60 – £8,283.60	£4,890.60 – £8,611.20
Annual saving against conventional hand dryer	-	-	£1,628.25 – £1,815.45	£1,521	£1,458.60	£1,575.60 – £1,786.20
Annual carbon production	13,163Kg/C02**	8,775Kg/C02^#	605 – 1,448Kg/C02^#	1,931Kg/C02^#	2,211Kg/C02^#	731 – 1,685Kg/C02^#