Which Is The Best Commercial Hand Dryer On The Market In 2022?

Updated 08/5/2022

The ‘Best Commercial Hand Dryers in 2022 list’ has been compiled based on a scoring criterion for speed, energy-efficiency, quiet operation, vandal resistance, life expectancy and overall value. The list provides an overall ‘best’, however it is worth considering the particular needs and budget of your location. The individual product reviews will give you more personalised insights into the best hand dryer for you. If you go to the bottom of the page, you will also find links to the ‘best high-speed’, the ‘best quiet’ and other factors that may be important to you.

Below we have put together a list of the best commercial hand dryers based on customer feedback and our understanding of the qualities most needed in these environments.

The best hand dryers to buy in 2022 are :

Our online hand dryer selector gives you suggestions based on your own unique requirements

Our online hand dryer selector gives you suggestions based on your own unique requirements

Why do we conduct our own performance tests? 

Can you believe the stated dry times you read in some manufacturers specifications?

There are a number of stated dry times on websites and in literature, as well as testing videos, out there from manufacturers claiming their hand dryer has a fast dry time.

However, when you look at how they are performed, the methods used can be unrealistic to what happens in washroom environment or the results are not given with full transparency

At Intelligent Hand Dryers we believe our job is to give you the best possible information, not over state a products performance. Therefore, our dry tests use the following protocol, which mimic real life hand washing practices.

Our hands are fully submerged in water, not just the fingertips.

Our dry times are shown via a stop watch on the actual testing videos – no assumptions on how long we dried the
hands for.
The fronts, backs and sides of both hands are placed on a paper towel, so you can see the moisture left from the entire hand, not just selected areas to give bias.

We show moisture left at various dry stages so that you can compare the amount of wetness left on the hands at each moment in time. This allows accurate comparison against reported dry times in documented specifications.

What is important for your facilities?

The list of best hand dryers above were based on average scores across a number of criteria. However, you may only care how fast or how quiet a hand dryer is? To save you from trawling through all the reviews and, we have also compiled a list of the ‘best hand dryers’ based on specific criteria.

Helpful guides

• Top 10 Quietest Hand Dryers in 2021
• Top High Speed, Quick Drying Hand Dryers
• Best Hand Dryers for Universities
• 4 Great Hand Dryers For The Home
• The Top Eleven Low Energy, High Speed Hand Dryers
• Hand Dryers for Small Children
• Hand Dryers for Schools; A Guide to Selecting the Best 
• Find Me An Alternative To The Dyson Airblade
• The Best Recessed Hand Dryers

The hand dryer accessory that improves hygiene and prevent wet floors

Still not sure?
Speak to an expert.

Which are the fastest hand dryers on the market?  

There are a number of high speed hand dryers available on the market that do actually dry the hands in under 12 seconds in our in-house tests.

If you’re looking for pure speed of drying then theDyson Airblade AB14 has retained this crown with a 10 seconds dry time. This has been shown to be marginally faster than the other leading blade hand dryers.  The Dryflow Vapordri and Mitsubishi Jet Towel Slim came close with a super-fast 11 seconds dry time.  

Not only is the Dryflow Vapordri one of the fastest drying in the world it’s also one of the most compact blade style hand dryers available. In our opinion the Mitsubishi Jet Towel, in the Slim is the most reliable unit on the market as we have had a 0.05% returns rate in 6 years! Mitsubishi have perfected the art of speed, energy efficiency and low noise. Another contender in this category is the D-Flow at an impressive 12-second dry time.

In the hands-under category we now have the new Dyson Airblade 9kJ Hand Dryer – HU03.  This interesting unit has two
Curved Blade™ design apertures which create 388 mph sheets of air that follow the contours of your hands and dry the hands in 12-14 seconds.
The Mitsubishi Jet Towel Smart has produced 11 seconds dry times in our stringent testing. The Turboforce and G-force MKII gave a dry time on full power 12 seconds. 

The Dryflow Viper utilises the type of dual bladed air outlet of the HU02 to good effect, bringing in dry times of around 15 seconds. 
The Dyson Airblade V HU02 have improved the energy efficiency and reduced the sound level when compared the earlier AB08 model, this has cost 2-3 seconds on the dry time, which now stands at 12-14 seconds.

If you have a low-traffic washrooms where the dryers will get less than 100 uses a day, then this high speed, fast drying category includes the JetDri Mark II and Jet Force Junior , both of which will dry the hands in 14 seconds.  These will give long-life service in small offices, restaurants, cafes and warehouses. 

What to look for if energy usage is your main concern 

There are now lots of very low energy consumption hand dryers on the market with fast dry times and sub 1kW rated power. In the not too distance past, dryers were usually 2.4kw and dried in over 30 seconds, using as much as 30 watt/hours per dry! Luckily that’s changed and we have more and more renewable energy being used to power the dryers! 

The Dryflow Ecoslim  can be set at a very energy efficient 180W rated power!  This can still produce dry times of around 22 seconds, comparable with other popular hand dryers on the market that profess to have faster dry times, when in reality they don’t.  The speed of the hand dryer can be increased to produce faster dry times of around 16 seconds, yet it will still only have a rated power of 850W! 

The Dyson Airblade 9kJ hand dryer has been engineered with energy efficiency certainly in mind.  It produces its rapid dry times at just 650 – 900W rated power dependent upon which setting is chosen. 

The Turboforce remains very fast drying at an ambient 700 watt setting, with the G-Force MKII having effective drying using as little as 420 watts.  As stated above, the Dyson HU02 has increased its energy efficiency by reducing its overall rated power from 1.6kW down to a very respectable 1kW rated power, whilst maintaining its high speed dry time.  This now really does come in the classification of low energy hand dryer.   

The Mitsubishi brand has always been known for its reliability and quality, but their hand dryer offerings are some of the most energy efficient on the market.  The hands in version, the original blade style hand dryer, has a rated power between 550W and 1240W dependent upon the settings.  There is now also a hands under version called the Mitsubishi Jet Towel Smart, which can be set as little as 410W but is only 980W at full speed even with the heater element active. 

Intelligent heating systems are now used to great effect in hand dryers. These basically only add heat to the airflow if the temperature of the room is cold, therefore adding comfort to the hands in the winter months.  This means that it will almost always be working at its most energy efficient.  Heated airflows are not required to improve dry times in modern hand dryers as it’s the speed of airflow which dries the hands. 

Examples of hand dryers with an intelligent heating system (with the rated power they will mostly be working at) include Dryflow Bi-Tap (500W) Turboforce Junior PLUS (500W), Dryflow G-Force Eco (750W), Stealthforce Plus (750W), Jet Force (750W), Jet Force Junior (750W) and Dryflow Vapordri (1000W) 

There are other products which excel in this category. For more information about these and the energy used per dry, cost and carbon production per 1000 dries please view the best energy efficient hand dryers blog post here. 

Are electric hand dryers hygienic? 

Hand dryers have been subject to much scaremongering from the paper towel industry about their hygiene, largely based on misleading test protocols. We have written about this topic in detail here.   

The WHO, CDC, UK Government all approve hand dryers for use in public areas, the German and Japanese government conducted a lengthy review following papers published by the paper towel industry and both also came to the conclusion that hand dryers were hygienic. More testing needs to be done but now we are aware that covid-19 is airborne and transmission by surfacer to hands is very unlikely, hand dryers may actually be displacing clusters of infected air in washrooms and aiding the dispersion.   

Whether you choose hand dryers or paper towels, the main thing is to wash your hands thorough and according to the guidance for 20 seconds. If you don’t really dry hands properly then your hands will be a breeding ground for germs, so make sure your hands are dry completely, the more effective the hand dryer the quicker this will be to achieve. 

The Dyson products include high quality HEPA filters that have been rigorously tested to trap 99.95% of particles the size of bacteria to ensure clean air is blown over the hands. The AB14 has been certified by the HACCP International Food Safety certificate and also has, as well as the HU02, been certified by NSF, which is a global authority in public health and safety risk management solutions.  The Mitsubishi Jet Towel and Mitsubishi Jet Towel Smart have also been certified by the third party NSF accreditation. 

The Mediclinics Dualflow Plus Eco Hand Dryer has also recently been awarded HACCP certification which guarantees that it can be installed in any industry / business related to food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic industry and in all types of industries that manufacture materials in contact with food. 

Other units which include a high grade HEPA filter as standard include Dryflow Viper, Jet Force Junior, Dryflow EcoSlim, Jet Force, Stealthforce Plus, Dryflow Vapordri and D-Flow. 

Do High Performance yet quiet hand dryers exist? 

There are now some great good performing yet quiet hand dryers on the market.   

If noise is your main concern but you still want an effective dryer, there are a range of hand dryers that have been approved by Quiet Mark.  An independent body that tests products for low noise while ensuring performance standards are met. 

Not only are the Mitsubishi Jet Towel in both its Slim and Smart options one of the fastest and most energy efficient available, they are also one of the quietest. These are certainly worth a look if quiet noise levels, yet good dry times are your priority. 

The new Dyson V HU02 has certainly come of age in this category.  Not only is it certified by the Quiet Mark, it has remarkably achieved this whilst maintaining a dry time of just 12 seconds.  The now smoother operation created by adjustments to the motor and internal parts, really does bring this unit into contention as being a great performing yet quiet hand dryer. 

There are quieter hand dryers than the HU02 which still have respectable dry times such as the Dryflow Ecoslim, Turboforce Junior PLUS,  Dryflow Elite MK2, Dryflow Viper, Stealthforce PLUS and Jetforce however no one has yet produced a product that can be run at maximum dry speed which is also very quiet.  The Dyson V HU02 has come a long way in trying to achieve this however for even lower levels of sound there is still some compromise on performance. 

What’s new with installation methods? 

A new way of installing hand dryers is a systematic plug-in system.  This has many benefits which have been highlighted in this post here.  Hand dryers such as the Dyson V HU02 and G-Force MKII have incorporated these systems so that install and maintenance are hassle free.  Essentially anyone can fix or remove the main hand dryer unit from the pre-fixed back plate safely, without any exposure to the electrical components.  Therefore, if a fault does occur, the old unit can be removed and the new unit fixed back in place without the need to wait for an electrician, 24 hours a day. It also means electrical work in newly furnished bathrooms can occur without leaving a full hand dryer to get in the way of other professionals such as plumbers, tilers or decorators. 

Need a slim hand dryer? 

Another thing to consider when installing a hand dryer is how much space you have in the washroom.  We have a number of hand dryers which are ADA compliant which means they have a depth of 10cm so have little projection off the wall. 

The Dryflow Elite MK2 and Dryflow Ecoslim are a great examples of hand dryers with this depth. There are also a number of units that have this profile with differing characteristics such as varying motor lives and dry times. To view these see our full slim hand dryer range. 

Over the sink hand dryers 

Installing a hand dryer over the sink has a number of advantages.  Not least it saves a lot of space, especially in small washrooms, but it also means that people have everything they need for hand washing in one area.
This could even be beneficial away from the commercial environment and be used to dry the hands in a domestic household

This means people do not move across the washroom with wet hands, potentially saving water from getting on the floor as they move to a paper towel dispenser or hand dryer that is far away from the sinks. 

The newest products on the market in the hand dryer tap range include the Dryflow Bi-Tap hand dryer and the Dryflow Tri-Tap hand dryer.  They really are up there with the fastest drying hand dryers available that can be installed straight over a sink.

You can read more about benefits of three outstanding products in this hand dryer tap category by reading our blog post which highlights the advantages and disadvantages of the Dyson Wash+Dry hand dryer, the Dryflow Bi-Tap and Tri-Tap wash and dry series 

Still not sure, please check out our main electric hand dryer section or contact one of our experts today on 0114 3540047