The argument over which is better, hand dryers or paper towels is an age old debate.

The preference of which one you want to use should come down to pure choice, where you simply prefer one type of drying method over the other.  It’s every individual’s right to have a preference.  However, we believe the choice shouldn’t be one based on poor misguided information. 

This post intends to give you an overview of the facts of both methods, so that you are free to choose by inclination rather than fiction or indeed scaremongering.

Of course, we are going to have a degree of bias because we want to promote the most cost effective and sustainable methods as the preferred option because we have a passion for the environment. But as a "hand drying" company, where the key to improved hand hygiene after washing is making sure the hands are dry, 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!

The factors you should consider when deciding on installing a hand dryer or using paper towels include the following:

1. Cost comparison
2. Hygiene
3. The environment
4. Noise
5. Convenience
6. Enjoyment

These will now be discussed in more detail. 

There is also a case study at the end of this article highlighting examples of annual cost savings and carbon production for offices of various sizes when comparing energy efficient hand dryers, paper towels and conventional hand dryers.

Cost comparison

Take the example of an office with 200 people using hand towels:

• Each person would use 3 hand towels on average 4.5 times a day. Over a year this would be 702,000 paper towels 
• It would cost approximately £2106-£3510 (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.

An energy efficient hand dryer such as the G-force MKII servicing the same amount of people:

• Would use 2.7 - 5 watt/hours per dry, totalling 627.9 – 1170 Kw/hours of electricity a year.
• A normal tariff would be about 12p per kW/h so that's just £75.35- £140.40 a year to run.
• Quite a difference! Saving £1,965.60 - £3,434.65 a year

- 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.

Please see the case study at the end of this article highlighting examples of annual cost savings and carbon production for offices of various sizes when comparing energy efficient hand dryers, paper towels and conventional hand dryers.

Hand dryer running 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. Each product page also has its own unique calculator

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 unhygienic 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 high speed, fast drying hand dryers, came in that 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.

Kelly Reynolds, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Community, Environment and Policy; Director of the Environment, Exposure Science and Risk Assessment Center (ESRAC) at the University of Arizona's Zuckerman College of Public Health has been quoted to say "Consumers may only read [sensationalized] headlines which can influence public opinion toward biased or erroneous conclusions, [but] the fact is, the breadth of data available does not favor one hand drying method as being more hygienic or safer." 

The quote is based on Reynolds et al (2020) scoping review - Comparison of electric hand dryers and paper towels for hand hygiene: a critical review of the literature 

In reality, good hand washing practice and thorough drying is the most important factor and there are various technologies and modifications such as HEPA filters, which are enhancing hygiene even further.

You have to remember air is all around us and the thought that you are drying your hands with air that 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. If the towels become stuck you have to reach in the dispenser and touch it, or the next paper towels someone else will use. This has been shown as a way germs can transfer from your hands, to the dispenser and then back again to another pair of hands. However, automatic paper towel dispensers are a way of minimising this risk.

Also, hand towel dispensers are often not stocked up and an empty hand towel dispenser is definitely the most unhygienic. People will leave with wet hands or use items of clothing that really haven't been in sterilised areas!

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! 

A scientific study has found various amounts of bacteria, including toxin producers, in unused paper towels which transferred easily to hands.  Not really a surprise as they're not manufactured in the most sterile of environments.

We are not saying paper towels are dangerous or unhygienic, but it's not really a study you hear about for various reasons, so we are just adding some balance to the debate.

Related posts – you may find of interest

• A post we have written about the influence of lazy journalism and fake news on this topic through sensationalising and scaremongering stories can be found by clicking here.
• 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 above, 627.9 Kw/hours equates 339 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:

1. Chopping down virgin trees
2. Transporting raw materials for processing
3. Energy to process
4. Further transportation to finishing mills
5. Energy consumption to manufacturer the particular paper product and packaging
6. Further transportation to main warehouse
7. Distribution to local warehouse
8. Distribution to the customer
9. The constant replenishment cycle. 

The same office is creating a whopping 5265kg/CO2 per year by using paper towels!

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.

Please see the case study at the end of this article highlighting examples of annual cost savings and carbon production for offices of various sizes when comparing energy efficient hand dryers, paper towels and conventional hand dryers.

How can schools maximise school budgets and minimise their impact on the environment? (video)

Quick video of our school savings hand dryers v paper towels infographic

Short video of school cost savings and carbon reduction switching from paper towels to energy efficient hand dryers

Energy efficient hand dryers can be viewed here

Hand dryer carbon production 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.  Each product page also has its own unique 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 instance 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. 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 are choosing for royalty or a particularly high maintenance rock star!

It is important to remember the facts about paper hand towels so that they don't get lost in all the hype from the paper towel industry's relentless scaremongering, when making a hand drying choice for your facility.

I think thats covered it, there is plenty in our washroom 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

*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

*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

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

*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

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

*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