July 21st, 2023 by Shauna Hammond

There has long since been debate around whether hand dryers or hand towels are the best options for your restroom, with debates around hygiene, sustainability, and energy efficiency at the forefront of this debate. Well for the most part this tends to fall under preference after all both methods have a lot of advantages to offer. So, let’s take a look at some of these advantages so you can decide which is the best option for you!

Hand Towels

Let's first take a look at hand towels and what they have to offer, you will find hand towels more often used in washrooms with limited space or those where lower volumes and safety are of key importance such as schools, but what else do they have to offer?

Energy Efficiency

Starting with perhaps the greatest advantage that hand towels have over hand dryers is energy efficiency since they do not rely on a source of power such as electricity to work – unless you opt for an automatic dispenser, this means they will not contribute towards your energy usage or increase your energy bills. That being said this does not necessarily make them the eco-friendliest option, which we will discuss further in this blog. 

Cost

Another contributing factor that can affect your decision while making the choice for the right-hand drying method for your restroom is cost. Paper towel dispensers have the edge over electric hand dryers in their initial cost with high-end robust stainless-steel options available for as little as £60 and more budget-friendly options available for as little as £15. This can certainly make them seem more desirable for those looking for a way to cut costs when opening their business or designing their restroom. That being said the cost of keeping these dispensers stocked is often overlooked, while your initial cost will certainly be lower it has been shown that on average re-filling your paper towels can cost two to three times more than the cost of running a hand dryer per month. This will be an even bigger cost difference if you consider more high-traffic areas where restrooms will be used more frequently.

So, while it may be tempting to be swayed by the initial idea of spending £60 rather than £100 – don’t be too easily swayed and be sure to consider the restocking costs and foot traffic and you may soon that it is actually a relatively more expensive choice in the long run.

Hygiene

For the most part hand towels are largely considered to be more hygienic, this is for a couple of reasons. Number one is that there is usually no need to touch the unit itself so you don’t need to come into contact with any potentially bacteria-covered surfaces. They are also considered more hygienic since they are single-use items which are disposed of after use so there is less chance of transferring bacteria. In fact, it has long since been acknowledged that hand towels are the most hygienic method of drying your hands which is why both the NHS and WHO (World Health Organisation) recommend using hand towels in their hand-washing guides.

Maintenance

Hand towel dispensers also carry very little maintenance cost since they do not have any delicate electric components so you don’t need to worry about these breaking down over time unlike with hand dryers.

However, this does not necessarily mean they do not require any maintenance at all, they will still require regular cleaning with the correct products and since most towel dispensers are made of stainless steel these can become rusty or begin to corrode if not taken care of correctly. They are still arguably much easier to maintain than electronic alternatives.

Environmental Impact

So, as you can see there are plenty of advantages to paper towels however arguably their biggest downfall comes with their environmental impact. For those looking to be eco-friendlier and environmentally conscious paper towels are not always the best option. This is due to their single-use nature and their contribution to deforestation, they also contribute to chemical pollution and will often end up in landfills. This understandably can be a big deal breaker for those looking to lower their impact on the environment.

There are more environmentally friendly options available such as bamboo or sugar cane since they are made from renewable materials they have less impact on the environment however these products do often carry a larger price tag which can make paper towels an even more expensive investment for the business.

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Hand Dryers

Electric hand dryers have come a long way from their energy-guzzling origins, with many modern models being energy-efficient and eco-friendlier. They also have many new features such as quick dry functions that make them more efficient for busier areas where people are in a rush and even lower volume models for those places where volume control is important and hand dryers may not have been the most appropriate choice. So let’s take a long at what other advantages they have and where they fall short.

Energy Efficiency

Hand dryers have come a long way in recent years and while older models could be quite expensive to run, they are actually very energy efficient these days which means they no cost considerably less to run than they did. In fact, modern hand dryers have come a long way across the board, not only do they consume less power but they perform better too, which means it does not take as long to dry hands in turn this means that they do not need to draw as much power. So while they can’t necessarily beat hand towels in terms of energy use they certainly have come a long way from the power-consuming units they once were.

Cost

The initial cost of a hand dryer will likely set you back a little bit more than a hand towel dispenser. Depending on the brand, make, model and features included you can be looking to pay anywhere between £60-£1000 for your hand dryer. This initial cost can be pretty daunting especially if you are looking to kit your restroom out on a budget however, where the initial price point is higher electric hand dryers are generally more cost-effective than paper towels. This is because once they have been purchased and installed you are pretty much set. You don’t need to worry about constantly purchasing refills and while there is the energy cost to consider this is more often much cheaper than the cost of regularly bulk purchasing paper towels.

Hygiene

As we have already mentioned above it is widely considered that hand towels are a much more hygienic way to dry your hands and are largely recommended by the NHS and the WHO. We have long since been informed of the unclean nature of hand dryers with studies showing that older hand dryers would circulate bacteria-filled air through the room and this would in turn be used to dry your hands transferring the bacteria onto your skin while there were certainly some truth to these claims things were quite so dire and with newer models of hand dryers contain HEPA filters this is largely not as much of a concern as it previously was. However, areas dealing with food preparation or medical procedure would certainly do well to consider paper towels over hand dryer even in light of this fact.

Maintenance

Hand dryers will also come with some maintenance fees, although again this will largely depend on the make, model and frequency of use. You can often go for years at a time without experiencing any issue at all with hand dryers however in high-traffic areas it is understandable that components within the hand dryer will eventually break down over time as is common with most electrical products.

Some manufacturers also recommend annual maintenance checks on their hand dryers to be conducted too so this is something that should also be considered when making your choice.

Environmental Impact

In terms of environmental impact, it may surprise you to find out that electric hand dryers hold the advantage of traditional paper towels here. While they do require electricity to run and depending on the energy supply this can contribute to carbon emissions, these still have a much smaller impact on the environment than the landfill and deforestation that comes with paper towels. So, for those who place importance on being eco-friendlier (and honestly, we all should be to a degree) then an electric hand dryer is the best option for you.

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There you have our breakdown of the strengths and weaknesses of hand dryers and paper towels. Now as mentioned at the beginning of this blog the final choice will largely fall down to a point of preference and practicality – for example, a hand dryer may be what you want but you may have a small restroom area to work with where only a towel dispenser will fit. The biggest takeaway is for those who long to save money overall and opt for a more environmentally conscious option a hand dryer is the way to go on the other hand if you want something that has a low initial cost with no maintenance fees and is slightly more hygienic then paper towels may be the best choice for you.