Don’t Leave Hygiene Up in the Air

Feb. 18, 2021
How airports can improve their hygiene infrastructure and passenger experience while keeping costs grounded.

The pandemic has raised awareness of the importance of hand hygiene, and businesses across all industries have had to take a step back and examine ways to keep their visitors and employees safe and healthy throughout terminals, in eateries and public restrooms. Airports have had an even more daunting task this year for two primary reasons: the sheer volume of foot traffic that traditionally passes  through them coupled with decreased revenues due to a decline in air travel this year. Facility managers have had to make decisions without sacrificing the passenger experience. A daunting task for sure, but not an insurmountable one when a solution exists to satisfy all the aforementioned demands: high-speed, energy-efficient hand dryers.

Through this narrative, we’ll share some real-world examples of high-traffic airports that have successfully navigated the selection process, having opted to install Excel Dryer Inc. products, and examine some key considerations for airport executives to review when making product selections of their own.

Key Consideration 1: Hygiene

Prior to the pandemic, the term “hygiene” with regard to airport restrooms most likely was in reference to helping to clean patrons’ hands while moving them through the terminal quickly. Now, we all understand that hand hygiene is so much more: a top defense against the spread of germs and a process which entails guidelines outlined by leading health experts.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, both the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have repeatedly stressed that proper hand hygiene involves thoroughly washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds and then completely drying them. In fact, this process is so important that the CDC has called handwashing a “do-it-yourself-vaccine,” while experts from around the globe have echoed that it is the best defense against the spread of germs, like COVID-19.

Completely dry hands are critical for proper hand hygiene, as wet hands transmit germs more easily. While all of the hand dryers in Excel Dryer, Inc.'s product line  — XLERATOR, XLERATOReco, XLERATORsync and ThinAir Hand Dryers — have been proven to completely dry hands in as little as eight seconds per the Global UL Environment PCR testing standards, their design features further help to promote hand hygiene and create a more hygienic restroom experience in the following ways:

  • Automatic sensors provide a touchless drying solution.
  • The HEPA Filtration System was recently tested and proven to remove 99.999 percent of viruses from the airstream. It comes standard in the XLERATORsync and is an available option in XLERATOR and XLERATOReco models—providing an added level of protection against germs. Excel Dryer Inc.'s HEPA Filtration System is the only one with a removable and washable metal mesh pre-filter to block dust and particles which extends the life of the HEPA filter.

Further, anti-microbial wall guards, built specifically to fit under the wall-mounted dryers, have a special coating that protects walls from water droplets and inhibits the growth of bacteria, mold and mildew.

Key Consideration 2: Cost

The hand dryers provide a 95 percent cost savings versus paper towels and provide a typical return on investment in less than one year from installation. This is accomplished by decreasing the frequency of supplies purchased while simultaneously decreasing costs associated with labor, maintenance and waste. 

When they replace paper towels with hand dryers, facilities instantly eliminate all the latter’s associated tasks. That means no more paper towels to buy, no dispensers to constantly monitor and restock, and no scattered, soggy paper waste to pick up and dispose of—not to mention far fewer plumbing calls. The maintenance demands of paper towels can add hours of extra daily labor daily, requiring enough available staff to cover them.

According to the Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE), paper towels and disposable seat covers are the most common cause of clogged toilets, which many facility managers cite as the most problematic and costly issue they face in the realm of restroom maintenance. Beyond its regular staff, a company may be calling in plumbing services, adding extra bills and unexpected hours for all.  With high-speed, energy-efficient hand dryers, you’ve got a sanitary solution that requires no supplies and keeps a restroom looking great—and that translates to a dramatic reduction in operating expenses.

Key Consideration: User Experience

Certainly, restroom aesthetics are of concern, however, optics have changed a bit in light of the pandemic. Restroom patrons must feel comfortable when using a shared space, so facility executives need to consider a product’s form and function and how it makes user’s feel about interacting with it.

Certainly, touch-free restroom fixtures can alleviate fears of germ-transmission, as can signage that Excel Dryer, Inc. provides to accompany new product installations that communicates the hygienic efficiency of their products.

Key Consideration 4: Sustainability

Unfortunately, sustainability may not be a top consideration as hygiene, cost and user experience are considered. With hand dryers, as previously stated, one consideration need not be sacrificed at the expense of another. Excel Dryer, Inc.'s XLERATOR reduces the carbon footprint of hand drying by up to 75 percent when compared to traditional hand dryers and even 100 percent recycled paper towels, making hand dryers the clear winner on this front. 

The XLERATOReco Hand Dryer takes the matter of sustainability a step further, using 80 percent less energy than conventional hand dryers and running on 500 watts or less. 

Real World Case Study 1: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

The Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport is located in Carolina, Puerto Rico, three miles south of San Juan. Seeing over four million passengers a year, it is the busiest airport in the Caribbean.

Constructed in 1959, the airport has seen substantial renovations over the years, most recently the addition of a new terminal in 2016, and with ongoing renovations and improvements since.

“Puerto Rico has always been interested in going green, but since Hurricane Maria, efforts have increased. We’re part of a movement as a country and as an organization. We opted to install XLERATOReco [hand] dryers from Excel because they were ecofriendly and could save us money. We have been happy with the results and would recommend them to other airports.” Paul J Rodriguez, PJ Distributors, Inc. said on behalf of Aerostar Airport Holding, LLC that manages the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

Real World Case Study 2: Madrid-Barajas Airport

Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas was the first airport to be constructed in Spain and is the fifth busiest European airport and the fifteenth busiest in the world by passenger traffic.

Airport leaders have long-recognized that high-speed, energy-efficient hand dryers make for easier, more cost-effective maintenance, but wanted to add a level of protection with regard to hygiene to combat COVID-19. To that end, in 2020, they upgraded the subassemblies of their existing XLERATOR units to add HEPA throughout the airport. In addition to offering users peace of mind with 99.999 percent of viruses filtered from the airstream, they also improved the overall user experience with adjustable sound, speed and heat controls.

Being such a busy airport and seeing so many passengers, facilities managers needed a solution to handle traffic, and the XLERATOR has proven to be a sound choice since their installation. When the pandemic hit, the decision was made to keep the XLERATORs in place and add HEPA. Now, the terminal is handling traffic and heightened hygiene.

Real World Case Study 3: Canary Islands’ Airports: The Aeropuerto de Menorca & Aeropuerto de Fuerteventura

XLERATORs likewise have benefited both the Aeropuerto de Menorca and the Aeropuerto de Fuerteventura, two busy airports located in the Canary Islands seeing over five million travelers a year. Like the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, sustainability was of concern as was a solution’s ability to capably handle the foot traffic. These are just two more examples of facilities who found the considerations they were seeking in products from Excel Dryer.

We’ll all come out of the pandemic stronger and more educated. A lesson to learn in the here and now is how to address matters of hygiene, cost, user experience and sustainability with hand-dryers.

William Gagnon is the vice president of marketing and sales at Excel Dryer in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts.