BATHROOM BLOG 005 - Dyson AirBlade Hand Dryer
And we’re back! New York was a busy time, with too much press and not enough bathrooms. Excuse my tardiness.
Last time we met here, we talked about the Xlerator, which was a successful attempt to perfect the automatic hand dryer that we all know and have mixed feelings about. Today, I’d like to talk about one company’s quest to reinvent the hand dryer industry as we know it.
Dyson is a company that is best known for its work in the field of vacuum cleaners. I’ve never actually used one of their products, but the late night TV infomercials make them seem like pretty sturdy machines. Having achieved success in the vacuum market, Dyson has started branching out into the hand dryer business, hoping to prove that they can blow as good as they suck. And thus, the AirBlade was born.
With the AirBlade, Dyson replaces the traditional “hold your hands under the dryer while it blows pathetically on them” design with a futuristic “move your hands up and down inside a weird chamber” motif. Dyson’s website claims that the AirBlade can dry hands in only 12 seconds, whereas a regular hand dryer takes around 22. I don’t have an AirBlade handy to time, but the hand dryer here took about 49 seconds to dry my hands completely. I don’t know how this affects Dyson’s claim, but at least now I look like I’m willing to put some leg (or hand) work into my writing.
The main problem with the AirBlade is that it confuses people. The design makes sense, and Dyson posts a helpful diagra, but people don’t like change and the AirBlade completely alters the hand drying ritual that people have been performing for years. For that reason, and for the reason that it kind of looks like its going to cut off your hands with a laser, it may be difficult for Dyson to corner the market.
The AirBlade does work, though, but I can’t help but think that theres a serious design oversight. If one AirBlade can dry your hands in twelve seconds, couldn’t two dry them in six seconds? Or three in three seconds? Maybe they should give the design team over at Gillette a call.
Again, I have no particular criteria to rate this on, so I’m going to give them a frowny face on a paper plate and hope that they heed my advice about adding more blades.