Bugs: prepare to kiss the blade!
October 1st 2006

Using sixty year old technology to blast germs around the washroom – and still leave hands wet – hand dryers have become synonymous with poor hand hygiene. But Dyson has spent £10million to change that.The result is the 400mph HEPA filtered Airblade.

Brendan Coyne reports from the UK launch

James Dyson launched his company's entrance into the washroom market by nipping to the loo, washing his hands, and drying them for 30 seconds under a conventional dryer."They're still not dry,"he told the gathered press, wiping his hands on his backside.

That, he said, is because conventional dryers use conventional technology, some 60 years old."It dries by evaporation, using a heater and a blower – which uses quite a lot of energy, isn't too efficient – and spreads nasty germs around."Then he unveiled the Dyson Airblade.

Blast off bugs..

Two years and £10million in the making, the Airblade's anything but conventional. Shunning evaporative methods, it blasts out air at 400mph through a 0.3mm gap, scraping water off the hands "like a windscreen wiper," according to Dyson.The result? Hands are completely dry in around 10 seconds, using around 80% less energy than a standard dryer (as the unit has no fueldraining heater).

... and destroy them But, as the paper towel industry would rightly ask, what about spreading those nasty germs around? Dyson's answer is a HEPA filter, which it says removes 99.97% of bacteria from the air, while the run-off water is treated by an iodine resin micro filter, which cleans the waste water and removes 99.9% of bacteria.The disinfected water is then atomised and released as a harmless invisible mist. Externally, an anti-microbial coating covers all surfaces, reducing incumbent bacteria and mould by 99.9% – and lowering the possibility of contamination if hands brush against the machine sides, according to the company.

Backed by health bodies Supported by the British Skin Foundation, (whose logo is on the machine), James Dyson says it's also kinder to hands than towels as "paper towels remove outer layers of skin and protective oils". Likewise, whereas conventional dryers advise users to 'rub hands briskly', the Airblade doesn't.That's because rubbing, according to James Dyson "creates an outer-skin layer bacteria cocktail which people then spread to door handles and other surfaces."Dyson's hygiene claims are backed-up by the Royal Institute of Public health, whose certification officer,Anna Zilnyk, says:"[The institute] consider that the hand dryer is a significant step forward in hygienic electrical hand dryer technology." Dyson is more forthright, claiming it is "the first hand dryer that actually works properly".

So what's the catch? For a market largely governed by cost, it might be the price tag.At £549 + VAT the Airblade is significantly more expensive than traditional dryers, which typically cost from £100-£375 to buy.However, Dyson says the Airblade costs up to 83% less to run – and despite the higher purchase price, claims it will still cost at least 20% less to own and run over a five year period.This is largely due to its efficiency, the result of thousands of hours R&D:Mark Scanlon,Dyson general manager, commercial products, says the 100,000 rpm low energy Dyson Digital Motor will also last much longer than traditional counterparts, giving around 1,000 hours working life as opposed to 600."But because the drying time is only 10 seconds, as opposed to over 30 seconds, you're looking at five times longer life than standard dryer motors."

A further benefit is that the motors are brushless, "so there's no carbon blowing out," says Scanlon. In any case, the Airblade is guaranteed for five years, or 350,000 uses.According to the company, the Airblade hardly needs to be maintained, with the filter simply being wiped down as part of normal washroom cleaning.

Compared to paper towels in terms of cost,Dyson claims that if an average washroom uses 200 paper towels per day, the cost is £951 more to run annually than a washroom with an Airblade.

"So it will easily pay for itself inside a year," said James Dyson.

The Airblade has been trialled in hospitals, restaurants, petrol stations and other public places.Amongst other positive feedback,Medirest general manager, Justin Woodley, says the Airblade has performed "exceptionally well" within its new food preparation plant."Hygiene is of the utmost importance," says Woodley."And the Dyson Airblade did not fail to deliver perfect results throughout the trial period, impressing both staff and visitors to the plant."

Available to buy from November, machines can also be leased directly from Dyson.Call for further information.

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