Quote from Carmine_Difazio on 10/01/06 at 5:35pm:Hand driers/blowers are a conventional device in all USA restrooms already. And have been for many years. Am I missing something here with a "bold" prediction?
I know from spending time in Germany MANY years ago that the conventional way to dry hands int he WC was using a cloth towel. I would think the WC's in the UK/Europe have progressed beyond that stage to paper towels and air dryers (like the USA). Am I wrong?
What you are missing, Carmine, is that current American hand dryers are disgustingly unsanitary. Try this experiment. Take a clean plate, put some clean water on it, then dry it under a hand dryer. When the water has evaporated, you will find that the plate is covered with urine crytals. How did these come to be there? Simple - the air dryer deposited them there from the air in the room. When I use a restroom, I will not use a standard air dryer, even if that is the only drying choice.
The air-blade, by contrast, appears to be sanitary. It removes the bulk of the air by a squeegee effect, rather than evaporation. It also HEPA filters the air, unlike a conventional dryer, so it will not blow filthy air onto your hands.