I’m optimistic about this zippy little hand dryer Dyson’s about to proudly roll out. It’s actually attached to the faucet. So you put your hands under the faucet to wash, and then move them to the side to be greeted by cold air whooshing out at an amazing 430 miles an hour. (Dyson’s big innovation with hand dryers is discovering that fast cold air works better than slow warm air, which you may already know based on its AirBlade dryers — you know, those bottle-opener-looking things frequently seen mounted in restrooms under the paper towels that you use instead.)
In addition to cleverly attaching to the faucet and looking like a tiny windmill, this new dryer has a motor four times faster than other dryers — it revs up to full power in under a second, which uses a lot less energy. It’s so efficient that it can dry 15 people’s hands for the cost of a paper towel. The only problem? It costs $1,200, which is as much as like 8,000 paper towels. So it only becomes cost-effective once you’ve dried your hands 500-plus times.
Still, how cute is this thing? And it probably works great. Ever used a Dyson vacuum cleaner? I did, and afterward, I rounded up all the other vacuum cleaners I ever used and put them in an enormous bonfire. Yes, it’s expensive, but if you are drying people’s hands in bulk, after a while you would see those hot dryer electricity bills come down. Of course, we already like the way we dry our hands, though if Dyson ever makes its own version of “on our pants” we might give it a try.