Research

Preparing the content for this site, we engaged in a lot of research; comparing the Mediclinics hand dryers with the competition.

We found that the Mediclinics products were class leaders right across the board – and we were especially excited by some of the results. Which brings us to our ‘outrageous claims’.

You may also be interested in the Speedflow Comparison page of this site, where we provide a detailed comparison between the Mediclinics Speedflow and four other competitors.

Disclaimers

The product data we have used in our research is manufacturer’s data published in the public domain. We haven’t done any controlled testing to confirm this data, so we don’t guarantee its accuracy. Note also that the market shifts all the time, with new models introduced regularly etc, so it’s possible that our information may, at times, be out of date.

We have endeavoured to be accurate and honest with our use of statistics, but we are relying on third party sources so we can't guarantee that the information is accurate. Our understanding, based on a wide review of good quality material, is that the information we have documented is a fair summary of what is currently held to be true.

The claims

Here they are:

1. The Mediclinics Speedflow is greener than the leading competitors:

By ‘greener’, in this context, we are referring to the energy used to dry a visitor’s hands. We assume that there is no significant difference in the energy invested in the manufacture or installation of the machine itself (which has neglible impact on the total energy used over a period of ten years anyway). The Mediclinics Speedflow uses 12.7 kJ, which is 20% less than the Dyson Airblade (16.0 kJ).

2. The Mediclinics Speedflow makes less than half the noise of the leading competitors:

High-speed machines are notoriously noisy – but the Mediclinics Speedflow and the Mediclinics Dualflow are stark exceptions.

Measurement of sound is a surprisingly complex science. In broad terms, however, a difference of an extra 10dB equates to a doubling of the perceived noise level. The Mediclinics Speedflow runs at 74 dBA (on the highest speed setting) while the Dyson Airblade produces 85 dBA. The difference of 11 dBA, therefore, represents a doubling of the perceived noise.

It’s important to note that we are talking about perceived noise, the human experience of sound intensity. This is, obviously, the relevant measure for people drying their hands in a washroom.

Note also that the Mediclinics Speedflow has a variable speed setting, allowing for a reduction in noise level down to 64dB. Yes, that’s down to a quarter of the noise level of the other high-speed units (although the drying time would increase, of course).

3. The Mediclinics Speedflow costs down to a third of the price of the competition:

This price difference is astounding, given the comparison in performance figures. At Nov 2009, the retail price of the cheapest Speedflow model was around a third of the price of the cheapest Dyson Airblade. The price of the Speedflow does increase when you add a Stainless Steel casing, but the point remains that you still get the full performance advantage of the Mediclinics Speedflow in the cheaper model; making the claim fair.

4. The Mediclinics Dualflow makes less than half the noise of the leading competitors:

The Mediclinics Dualflow is another high-speed machine that runs much quieter than the leading competitors. It produces 70 dBA, which compares to the Dyson Airblade, at 85 dBA

See note #2, above for an explanation.

5. All Mediclinics hand dryers are backed by the best warranties in the country:

The Mediclinics hand dryers are such high quality machines, and require so little maintenance or repair; that they all come with class-leading warranties. There are conditions, of course - warranties all vary in their terms, exclusions, inclusions etc but we don’t think there’s any argument that these warranties are the best available, by a country mile.

6. The Mediclinics high-speed units are three times faster than conventional hand dryers:

This is just mathematics. Conventional hand dryers take between 45 and 25 seconds, while the high-speed units take between 10 and 15 seconds. These figures are averaged out to make a claim that we feel is a reasonable, real-world summary.

7. The Mediclinics high-speed units are up to five times more energy efficient than conventional hand dryers:

In terms of energy required to completely dry hands, the high-speed units use between 11.5 kJ and 17.5 kJ. Most conventional hand dryers use between 65 kJ and 85 kJ.

8. Hand dryers vs. paper towels:

There is some debate over the actual numbers, but no one argues with the fact that electric hand dryers are more environmentally friendly than paper towels in almost every situation.

Hand dryers also cut running costs by up to 99% compared to paper towels, which means that the increased cost of the hand dryer is usually paid back in the first year.

In terms of environmental impact, there are many variables involved, but they can be summarised:

Carbon footprint: This includes everything that creates some impact on the environment, including total energy consumed during operation, manufacture, transport, waste removal etc. It is measured in kgCO2 produced to dry a number of hands over a set period of years. The key assumptions for the following figures are: A 10 year period, 260 days pa, 100 drying sessions per day, 2 sheets of paper per session, conventional dryer using 69 kJ per session and high speed units using 12 to 18 kJ per session. Conventional hand dryers generally have a carbon footprint that is 85% that of new paper towels (or roughly equivalent to fully recycled paper towels). High-speed hand dryers have an even smaller footprint, ranging from 20% of new paper towels to 30% (25% to 33% recycled paper). If you use electricity generated using 100% renewable resources, you dramatically reduce the environmental impact of the hand dryers even further, bringing the carbon footprint of both conventional and high speed units down to around 5% of that for new paper towels (6% for recycled towels).

Environmental pollution: Paper towels create much more pollution than hand dryers. This pollution ranges from the chemical and thermal pollution involved in creating the paper, the packaging process and materials, and the transport pollution involved in delivery and removal, through to the enormous landfill impact of the waste paper, which generally can’t be recycled because of hygiene requirements.

In terms of cost, the variables include:

Actual amount of paper towels used per drying session: Most calculations assume that each drying session uses two sheets of paper. The truth is that people will often use more sheets to dry their hands. Paper towels are also used to dry faces, clean glasses, wipe mirrors, clean shoes, tidy up make-up, soak up spills etc. Paper towels are also popular with vandals, who will often use them to redecorate the washroom. The figure of two sheets should be considered to be the minimum.

Maintenance: This includes hours spent and space required. It covers ordering, receiving and storing of replacement paper, washroom inspection, loading replacement paper, cleaning up waste paper from washroom (often an issue), removing waste paper from bin, storing waste paper, transferring waste paper from storage to waste removal service.

Purchase cost: Including paper and delivery.

Waste removal: Including packing, storing and waste removal service.

Summary of hand dryers vs. paper towels:

There are some situations where paper towels are, indeed, the best option – despite the increased cost and environmental impact. However, in the vast majority of commercial situations, hand dryers are, by far, the most eco-friendly and cost effective solution.