So my one "What are they thinking" observation

[surferdave]

I wonder how the dryers compare to nothing (as in, paper towel dispenser is empty so shake your hands off or dry them on your pants).

 

[ucfknight]

The majority of restrooms at Walt Disney World theme parks do have air dryers of some sort. Some have the old blowers, some have jet dryers, and a few newer (or newly renovated) ones have Dyson Airblades.

However, all of the restrooms (at least that I've encountered) also provide paper towels as well. I've yet to find one where the air dryer is the only option.

 

[Schmeck]

I'm sure there's a lot of guests who prefer the paper towels, especially when there is an accident or a food spill or something you need to clean up. Finding a bathroom with paper towels is probably a quick and easy solution for that.

However, for a place that claims to be environmentally conscious - so much so that they try to talk me into reusing towels in my room - it does seem kind of strange the haven't gone the air dryer route. Not to mention, I think attendants would have to tend to the restrooms moreso with the paper towels to clean them up off the floor and empty trash cans more frequently. They must have an internal reason (maybe the sponsorship) that they haven't switched over. I can't imagine the minuscule differences in sanitary-ness would be the reason.

The air dryers use electricity, which comes from power plants, so they really are no more environmentally friendly than paper towels. The paper towels can be recycled, or burned to produce energy.

 

[Ariel on Land]

Agreed! I will leave my hands wet before I use the dryers. Now I much prefer the paper towel dispensers that use the motion sensor vs. the crank, but at least it's a paper towel!!! Plus, the dryers are just too stinkin' loud!!!

 

[2Tiggies]

I can't stand air dryers. I will not use them. Anywhere there is an air dryer I wipe my hands on the back of my jeans. So I'm good with the crank paper towels

 

[tweetylori]

The majority of restrooms at Walt Disney World theme parks do have air dryers of some sort. Some have the old blowers, some have jet dryers, and a few newer (or newly renovated) ones have Dyson Airblades.

However, all of the restrooms (at least that I've encountered) also provide paper towels as well. I've yet to find one where the air dryer is the only option.

I disagree...Based on my experience this week at both the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, I saw only ONE air dryer in ONE restroom. And NO automatic paper towel ones.

 

[yeheyprincex2]

Mythbusters did an experiment on whether hand dryers are more sanitary. They definitely ARE NOT. Turns out that old-fashioned paper towels are 3 times more effective at keeping hands free of bacteria than the dryers. Paper towels are keep colonies of bacteria IN the bathroom at bay more than hand dryers. Go figure!

Eew, I do prefer the paper towels. But not the ones that are on the counter next to the faucet. The ones that are on the wall dispenser.

 

[GAN]

Without bacteria how are you supposed to build up an immune system?

My sentiments exactly.

 

[Laketravis]

Without bacteria how are you supposed to build up an immune system?

 

[JillyBean1899]

After reading the "funny things you've seen working at a theme park" reddit thread, I'd say some genius probably did the ol' "poo in the hand dryer" trick one too many times.

But that's just my twisted mind at work

 

[shepd]

The air dryers use electricity, which comes from power plants, so they really are no more environmentally friendly than paper towels. The paper towels can be recycled, or burned to produce energy.

Let's also not forget that when they go in the garbage, you are actually burying all that CO2 the tree soaked up during its life. Due to this, using hand towels decreases global warming, and using hand driers increases it!

 

[mistysue]

My DD was so afraid of the noise from hand driers in public bathrooms she would have "accidents" on purpose until she was 6. I still hate them after living through that enough times. At 10 she still runs in and out of bathrooms because she can't take the noise. She sits on the toilet with her hands on her ears just in case and has gone so far as to ask people to wait until she leaves to dry.

As far as washing with soap vs just water, many soaps are bad for your skin and natural defenses enough that a good wash with water might do you more good than using harsh anti-bacterial soaps. Anybody who needs soap that badly every time is doing something wrong in the stall.

 

[luvthemouse71]

You should be using soap to wash your hands, preferably non antibacterial. Most people don't wash for long enough as well.

 

[bumbershoot]

My DD was so afraid of the noise from hand driers in public bathrooms she would have "accidents" on purpose until she was 6. I still hate them after living through that enough times. At 10 she still runs in and out of bathrooms because she can't take the noise. She sits on the toilet with her hands on her ears just in case and has gone so far as to ask people to wait until she leaves to dry.

I strongly urge you to invest a few bucks in a container of ear plugs. It will make her life infinitely better. I promise. I'm sad for her that this wasn't thought of years ago. I started using them with DS at Disneyland when he was 5, when I realized just how LOUD the ambient noise of the parks can be. Happened to have a pair (I use them for sleeping) in my purse, he was having a huge tantrum, I stuck them in his ears, and just like that, peace. Ahhhhh. If he's tired and we're riding something I know is noisy, I'm sure to take them. Haunted Mansion is one where he needs them.

The Dyson dryers (few and far between at Disney, but all over Universal) don't bug him, but if they did, it would be ear plugs for the bathroom, absolutely!

Anywhere there is an air dryer I wipe my hands on the back of my jeans.

Oh, ew. I think of all the women I've seen at the parks wearing almost nothing covering their bottoms (some very very obviously not wearing underpants). As they walk you can just about see bits and pieces. When they sit, you KNOW their, um, parts, are on the seat. They leave the ride, you get on the ride, you sit right there in your jeans or shorts. And then later you wipe your hands on those jeans. Ew ew ewie ew.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Personally, I don't get why anybody uses either in WDW. (Except on those rare days where it's below 60.)

If I rub my hands for five seconds after I rinse, they air dry in about 20seconds in the sun. I rarely cause more than a drop to drip anywhere. (I also don't understand folks who dribble water all over the place either?!?!) It is actually WAY faster than using a blower or a towel, most sanitary, and best of all for the environment.


Then again.....typically, within ten minutes of leaving a bathroom....I hate to say it, but in a place like WDW, you will most likely touch something very public: a handrail, a lap bar, a tray, a shared table, your credit card, your own backpack...something that is likely to be very contaminated but others'.

 

[nkereina]

The air dryers use electricity, which comes from power plants, so they really are no more environmentally friendly than paper towels. The paper towels can be recycled, or burned to produce energy.

The paper towels are still a giant waste, when you consider how many people are using them and how many some people use in one shot. I'd be curious how many paper towel rolls they go through in one day. And they are paying someone to replenish them and clean them all up, and taking up storage. At least with the hand driers, the amount of electricity they use is minuscule at best. Why do you think so many "green" places and high traffic places have gone the air dryer route? Those Dyson ones that you put your hands down into are energy efficient and also more sanitary. I'd imagine they have a large upfront cost but would pay for themselves over time.

 

[davedmaine]

...and I will preface this with I know it's a minor thing, but why the heck are they still installing old-fashioned crank paper towel dispensers in the restrooms?

I have a teeny tiny bladder, so I hit up way more of the bathrooms than Husband cared to wait outside of, and through all of them I saw exactly ONE hand dryer in ONE bathroom in all of the Magic Kingdom. Even if Disney didn't want to go with those for some reason, why not at least do the hands-off dispensers you just wave at?

I can see the old stuff in the old bathrooms, but even Gaston's Tavern has the crank dispensers.

As a result, there was water puddles everywhere under these dispensers where wet hands were cranking out those towels.

I just wonder what the thought process is for this.

From what i see, 50% don't wash their hands anyway

 

[mistysue]

I strongly urge you to invest a few bucks in a container of ear plugs. It will make her life infinitely better. I promise. I'm sad for her that this wasn't thought of years ago.

She has had ear plugs for years. She hates them as much as the noise so it doesn't help much. The funny part about it is that when she was little she actually had trouble hearing and had a resulting speech impediment so that most people couldn't understand her until 1st grade. The situations where noise bothers her are not common, the hand driers seems to be as much an irrational fear as the actual loud noise.

 

[AllyBri]

Take the paper before you wash your hands and I also use that to open the door and then throw it away outside in the nearest trash,

 

[Sur]

I bought a hair dryer that is specifically made to be quieter. Why is this not available for hand dryers? It has great heat too!