Restroom Safety & Savings

After more than a year of social distancing, the public is eager to return to recreation centers, fitness clubs, sports facilities, parks, aquatic centers and other recreation-focused facilities. Facilities have learned that many of the measures put in place to protect people's health and prevent the spread of disease are long-term, rather than temporary, solutions.

While it's difficult to know what the "new normal" will look like for recreational facilities, it is clear that hand hygiene will play a crucial role for all venues moving forward. With that in mind, how can you focus on both safety and savings in your facility's restrooms? Your best opportunity is to reduce the touchpoints with which your visitors interact while also cutting back on waste—by installing a touchless, energy-efficient hand dryer solution.

Q: In the wake of COVID-19, what is the safest hand-drying option for our facilities?

A: Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) name proper hand hygiene as one of the best defenses against spreading germs. These groups stress the importance of washing hands for at least 20 seconds and then thoroughly drying with paper towels or a warm air dryer. The last step is imperative, as wet hands have been shown to be 1,000 times more likely to transfer germs than dry hands. But which of these two options offers the most hygienic solution?

With a warm air hand dryer, you can opt for touchless fixtures to cut down on the surfaces and touchpoints that collect germs. The fewer points that visitors touch, the less likely germs are to spread throughout the restroom. While paper towels can be left in damp piles on countertops, floors or overflowing trashcans, warm air hand dryers leave no such mess behind.

Q: How do hand dryers stack up against paper towels when it comes to savings?

A: For a product frequently touted as recycled, the paper towel is surprising costly. The life cycle of a paper towel consists of harvesting from trees, transportation on trucks, manufacturing through a pulping process, restroom use and finally delivery to a landfill (even paper towels made from recycled materials are bound for this destination after use). Conversely, energy-efficient hand dryers can provide a 95% cost savings over paper towels, completely eliminating the labor, maintenance and waste associated with paper.

While the "new normal" is still in question, hand hygiene should not be. Warm air hand dryers are a safe and cost-efficient solution you can provide your visitors moving forward.