Touch-free, Hygienic and Sustainable Hand-Drying Solutions for Commercial Restrooms
Learning Objectives:
- Explain how air knife hand dryers can reduce energy, carbon emissions, cost, and resource use.
- Describe how the technological components of hand dryers reduce waste, energy use, and improve their hygiene performance.
- Describe some of the common misperceptions surrounding the use of commercial hand dryers and the differences in energy consumption and waste reduction amongst hand drying solutions.
- Enumerate the sustainability advantages of air knife hand dryers over paper towels and how waste reduction can conserve natural resources.
- Discuss new safety guidelines for reopening restrooms in existing commercial spaces and protocols to follow for new builds; while earning multiple credit categories in green building programs such as WELL v2 and LEED v4.1, BD+C, ID+C and O+M.
Credits:
This course is approved as a Structured Course
This course can be self-reported to the AANB, as per their CE Guidelines
Approved for structured learning
Approved for Core Learning
This course can be self-reported to the NLAA
Course may qualify for Learning Hours with NWTAA
Course eligible for OAA Learning Hours
This course is approved as a core course
*State-certified members self-report 1 ADA State Accessibility/Barrier-Free
This course can be self-reported for Learning Units to the Architectural Institute of British Columbia
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hand washing is one of the best and easiest ways to prevent the spread of germs. Effective hand drying is an important consideration in commercial restrooms. There are two main options: disposable paper towel dispensers and hand dryers. Air knife hand dryers, which use a concentrated, flat sheet of high-velocity air to blow or scrape liquid off of wet hands, are a hygienic and sustainable option. This course will introduce the reader to air knife hand dryers and their main features and discuss how the technical components of these dryers, such as HEPA filtration, touch-free operation, and fast dry times, contribute to their hygienic performance. This course will also discuss how air knife dryers contribute to overall sustainability by reducing energy usage, carbon emissions, operational costs, and resource use, and how to select dryers with sustainability in mind. Included will be a discussion of relevant standards and certifications and how specification of hand dryers can contribute to LEED points and other green building programs. Finally, this course will address common misperceptions about air knife hand dryers and compare their performance and sustainability with paper towels.
Photo courtesy of Dyson