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- Warm-air Hand Dryers Still Have Benefits
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Part two of this three-part article examines the role of heat in the hand drying process.Although heated air may speed up the drying process, thereby promoting compliance, it won鈥檛 kill germs, according to research.听鈥淲arm air does not kill bacteria,鈥� says Jason Jones, vice president of sales for听, Norfolk, Virginia. 鈥淭o aid in the hand hygiene process, the air would have to be so hot that we wouldn鈥檛 be able to stand it.鈥漀ot only is the temperature of the air emitted by heated air dryers too low, but also the time of exposure is too short to kill most bacteria or other microbes, says Keith Redway, emeritus fellow in the department of biomedical sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Westminster, London. Over the years, Redway has conducted several studies comparing different hand-drying methods.听鈥淚n theory, a bacterium can survive 1,000 degrees if the exposure time is short enough,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o you have to take into account not only the temperature but the time 鈥� and that鈥檚 true even if you鈥檙e sterilizing something in the hospital.鈥澨鼶istributors and researchers alike agree that the air is heated mainly to provide a pleasant hand-drying experience for the end user.听鈥淚f the air was hot enough to start killing bacteria it would injure people鈥檚 hands, so it鈥檚 a comfort consideration rather than a microbial inactivation,鈥� says Schaffner. 鈥淲e see the same thing with respect to water temperature. You can wash your hands well in cold water, but everyone likes warm water.鈥滱lthough warm air improves a user鈥檚 hand-drying experience, some experts say that dryers with a heating element are less energy efficient than their non-heated counterparts and may require additional maintenance.听鈥淲ithout heat, you don鈥檛 have to worry about maintenance issues with the heating element, so there are no replacement costs or labor costs involved,鈥� says Mark Dowling, an Auburn, Massachusetts-based senior facility sales rep for听.On the other hand, Hicks points out that the energy costs associated with heating the air could be offset by the length of time the dryer is running. Since non-heated, ambient air may take longer to dry a person鈥檚 hands than heated air, the non-heated dryer may use more electricity, because it has to run for a longer period of time.
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