The question is, why is this mess there, and how can things be improved?
Aside from the unmentionables, a good degree of the puddles underfoot will most likely be the result of water dripping from (hopefully) washed hands either en route from the sink to the hand dryer (or towel dispenser) or around and under the dryer itself.
Wet washroom floors are not only messy and unsightly, but they obviously present health and safety issues in the form of what some officials lovingly call a ‘slip hazard’.
The issue of mountains of dirty, wet used paper towels all over the place is an easy one to solve – throw away your paper towel dispenser and get a hand dryer – there is no competition whatsoever when it comes to running costs (please see some of our other blog entries for a full explanation). Hand dryers pay for themselves quickly. Fact.
The question is, which dryer will help (or hinder) the wet washroom floor problem?
To answer this, we need to sort out why these puddles are there.
Most of the splashes, drips and small pools in the vicinity of the drying area tend to be down to one of three reasons:
- People simply not shaking enough excess water into the sink before setting off to dry.
- Water leaking out of a high-demand ‘hands-in’ dryer (yes, despite all the claims, some are prone to this problem, and can cause more mess than you’d imagine)
- Modern ‘hands-under’ dryers tend to use ultra-high speed blasts of air, often without a heating element so they’re getting rid of water by blowing and pushing it off your hands rather than warming it and helping it evaporate. That water generally ends up on the floor.
Human nature and force of habit is probably one of the hardest things to try to change or deal with, so I don’t think it would be appropriate to try and tackle that one in a brief blog, so let’s park that one up and move on to the next reason.
So, these high-priced top of the range hands in dryers – do they really have issues with puddles of water appearing under them from collected water? Well, yes. At least that can be the case in busy areas like airports and motorway service stations – they often simply don’t have a chance to evaporate or dispel the collected water before the next coachload of loo-desperate motorway enthusiasts are unloaded.
Some hands-in dryer manufacturers have addressed this by incorporating a drip collection tray/tank to keep the water off the floor. There are Veltia and Biodrier models that have this feature – they also let you know when the tank needs emptying. It’s been demonstrated that this improves things dramatically.
As far as modern hands-under dryers go: yes, they’re energy efficient - yes, they have good, fast dry times and yes, they take up far less space, but they will always blow water off your hands onto the floor or perhaps the wall. However, they will continue to be the popular choice due to lower capital cost reasons – and there are plenty of well-priced excellent models out there.
It’s well worth mentioning that there’s a new concept just launched – a combination of the speed and efficiency gained from a modern hands-under with the benefit of water collection beneath – Biodrier’s new baby - the G-Wave. Read our recent blog here. Could this be the start of the end to wet washroom floors?
One last idea – if your budget will run to it, the ultimate answer to keeping drips, puddles and slips from your washroom floor is to keep washing and efficient drying in one location – over the sink. For this, you will require the services of the Dyson Airblade Tap, the latest creation from the Dyson stable. But as I said… only if the contents of your wallet are not amongst the deciding factors!
Electrical Deals Direct will be more than happy to help talk you through all the alternatives – we are the Independent Hand Dryer Experts – we have a stamp to prove it:
