Noisy Public Hand Dryers!
jodrell
Posts: 51 Forum Member
✭
Time for a bit of a rant.
I can't be the only person who thinks the new so called energy efficient hand dryers in public toilets in shops/pubs etc are excruciatingly loud can I?
I measured a few with a Decibel app on the phone and it got to nearly 100! Which is above the safe level for exposure for hearing not to be damaged.
They are obviously also in rooms with no sound absorption/hard surfaces etc which makes it worse!
It seems to be at its worst when someone has their hands right next to the air stream coming out of the nozzle.
The ones that point down with single jet seem the noisiest.
I've seen poor kids scared by the ear piercing volume they produce.
Is this supposed to be progress? Saving a bit of electricity at the expense of our hearing?
I realise its not an all day constant ear bashing but the old type were not half as loud.
They just have very low heat if any, and lots of air pressure to blow water off your hands.
Rant Over. :-)
I can't be the only person who thinks the new so called energy efficient hand dryers in public toilets in shops/pubs etc are excruciatingly loud can I?
I measured a few with a Decibel app on the phone and it got to nearly 100! Which is above the safe level for exposure for hearing not to be damaged.
They are obviously also in rooms with no sound absorption/hard surfaces etc which makes it worse!
It seems to be at its worst when someone has their hands right next to the air stream coming out of the nozzle.
The ones that point down with single jet seem the noisiest.
I've seen poor kids scared by the ear piercing volume they produce.
Is this supposed to be progress? Saving a bit of electricity at the expense of our hearing?
I realise its not an all day constant ear bashing but the old type were not half as loud.
They just have very low heat if any, and lots of air pressure to blow water off your hands.
Rant Over. :-)
0
Comments
Depends on how you measured it, where you measured it and if the setting on the app were set correctly. Not even allowing for the fact a phone isn't calibrated and can be wildly out. (I measured a phone app against lab calibrated SPL equipment and it was out by a factor of 2.
Most high speed 25 - 35,000 rpm motors on hand dryers are rated in the order of 85dB. Given they are supposed to have a drying time of 10 - 15 seconds, it isn't a threat to hearing.
Haha, I usually wait to pee till someone has the dryer on. I hate it when someone in the cubicle next door is having a very noisy toilet experience when it's quiet. I don't want people to think it's me:mad:
So true. I know that I have waited for the hand dryer noise to come on so that I feel comfortable to make a noise in the cubicle on occasion.
It's annoying that so many people obviously don't wash their hands.
Want one for my kitchen but found out they are about £600.
And the perfect height to dry your penis in!
Presumably your hands and not your, er, ahem?
Both perhaps?
The other day I was waiting outside some and this mother and child came out, the child crying her eyes out. She said to the waiting grandma the dryers gave her a shock.
For me it's not the noise itself, but that it goes from no noise to full blast straight away giving you that shock element, especially for little kiddies.