Best Hand Dryer: Reviews 2023 (Recommended!)

Even a few years ago, hand dryers were a novelty that were only seen in public restrooms, in exclusive locations and expensive addresses. No one thought that one day, we would be looking to place hand dryers in our own homes and private bathrooms.

But why the sudden change of heart?

The environment is the main reason behind it, of course! A simple hand dryer is much more environment-friendly than the tons of paper towels and tissue papers we go through each year.

The sheer number of trees that we are destroying in the process are enough to shame us. Besides, a classic, elegant hand dryer in the toilets look so much better than the chaos paper towels create, don't you think?

Hand dryers are the new fashion when it comes to the latest bathrooms and trendiest restrooms everywhere!

Editors' Picks for Top Hand Dryer 2023 Recommended

• #
  Preview
  Product
  Rating
• Bestseller No. 1
  
  Goetland Stainless Steel Commercial Hand Dryer 1800w Automatic High Speed Heavy Duty Dull...
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• Bestseller No. 2
  
  CREWORKS Electric Hand Dryer with HEPA Filter, Efficiency Max Touchless Hand Dryer for...
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• Bestseller No. 3
  
  JETWELL 2Pack UL Listed High Speed Commercial Automatic Eco Hand Dryer with HEPA...
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• Bestseller No. 4
  
  XLERATOR XL-SB Automatic High Speed Hand Dryer with Brushed Stainless Steel Cover and 1.1...
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• Bestseller No. 5
  
  AIKE AK2903 Heavy Duty Commercial Hand Dryer with Hepa Filter Polished Stainless Steel...
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• Bestseller No. 6
  
  ASIALEO Commercial Hand Dryer High Speed Automatic Electric Hand Dryers for Bathrooms...
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• Bestseller No. 7
  
  Dyson Airblade dB Hand Dryer AB14
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Summary Table for Best Hand Dryer

Why Should You Prefer a Hand Dryer?

With the advent of time, we are all becoming more and more conscious about the environment. We've been using paper towels and tissues for the bathrooms and restrooms for centuries, but have you stopped to think exactly how wasteful they are?

Both paper towels and tissue boxes are costly choices in the bathrooms, even in your own homes. People tend to be very wasteful when it comes to these paper-made objects, not caring about how many trees we are destroying in the process.

Hand dryers, on the other hand, happen to be the more effective alternative these days. If you are worried about the cost, hand dryers actually happen to be more cost effective than using paper towels.

They may cost more than a few box of tissues to buy and install, but hand dryers won't need to be refilled or replaced. You can place one in your restroom or bathroom and not waste about spending on paper towels ever again.

While you'll need to buy multiple boxes of paper towels for each of your bathrooms for the foreseeable future every month, you probably won't need to worry about your hand dryer for the next few years after installation.

Doesn't that sound much more cost effective, as well as better for the environment than going through millions of paper towels in one lifetime?

Also, paper towels are well-known for creating a mess in the bathrooms. You'll also have to deal with throwing out the used paper towels from your bathrooms, and keeping your counters clean from bits of paper.

With a hand dryer installed in the bathroom, there'll be no more paper towels to clean or throw out. There'll be no chance of a guest trying to flush them down the toilets and ending up with a jammed plumbing line, either.

So, if we think about the environment or the general cleanliness of our bathrooms, a hand dryers seems to be the better option compared to using paper towels or paper tissues in the bathroom.

Top 8 Best Hand Dryer Reviews

Here are the best hand dryers that you can find in the market - designs that are as aesthetically pleasing as they are useful and effective in your bathrooms and restrooms.

1. XLERATOR XL-BW Automatic High Speed Hand Dryer

This sleek and elegant hand dryer is an absolute pleasure to look at. You'll love to see it in your toilets or restrooms, or any public bathrooms, as it will completely blend in with any design. It is a surface mounted device that you can hand on any wall that has an electricity source close to it, and uses 12.5 amps at 110/120V.

The XLERATOR XL-BW is a one-piece device that is completely covered in plastic, and will not rust. You can use it for year after year without any kind of damage or wear to this hand dryer; the thermoset polymer cover protects the motor inside from any kind of outside damage or environmental issues.

Besides, this is almost a noiseless device. The 1.1 nozzle reduces the loud noise of air up to almost 9 decibels and you are not disturbed in the bathroom.

The XLERATOR XL-BW hand dryer also happens to be extremely fast. It can completely dry your hands in under 10 to 15 seconds, which is up to 3 times faster than other hand dryers in the market. This means less time spend in the bathroom trying to dry your hands while the whole world waits outside! It also saves energy.

Features:

• Uses 12.5 amp at 110-120v
• Dries hand is 10 to 15 seconds
• 3 times faster than other hand dryers
• Doesn't rust from water damage
• Protected by thermoset polymer
• Narrow 1.1 nozzle reduces noise
• Saves energy and time
• Uses 80% less energy than other dryers
• Small and elegant design

2. AjAir (2 Pack) Heavy Duty Commercial 1800 Watts

In an affordable price, you are getting two of these stylish hand dryers from AjAir! They are both made from stainless steel as opposed to the plastic ones we see everywhere, suited to a more modern bathroom decor.

Installing these automatic hand dryers are quite easy and effortless as well; you just need to hang them up on a wall where there is an electric source available and it will start doing it's job.

The AjAir 2 Pack is a commercial-grade equipment that runs on 1800-watts, and dries your wet hands extremely fast. You won't have to buy paper towels for your bathroom for the foreseeable future any time soon with two of these in your bathrooms.

They will be able to save hundreds of dollars worth of napkins and paper towels by automatically drying your hand with high-speed hot air. The nozzle is narrow and specific, and the machine doesn't make a lot of noise when operating.

Features:

• Pack of 2 hand dryers
• Stainless steel body
• Easy to Install
• Runs at 1800 watts
• High speed drying
• Automatic air flow
• Commercial-grade motor and outer casing
• Almost noiseless

3. Dyson 307174-01 Air Blade 301829-01

This hand dryer may look like something out of a science fiction, but it is one of the most environment-friendly and time-saving hand dryers you can find in the market. It's sleek and elegant design is quite different to any other hand dryers you can see everywhere and will look great with a modern bathroom.

The Dryson 307174-01 Air Blade 301829-01 leaves the least negative impact on the environment, almost 62% less carbon-dioxide that using paper towels! The entire device is covered with an antimicrobial coating that seals the hand dryer from external factors. The product is protected by this coating so that it cannot be attacked or infested with microbes or any other similar germs.

One more unique features makes the Dryson 307174-01 Air Blade 301829-01 quite different and one of the best hand dryers in the market: the two sheets of air that comes out of the device, drying both your hands at the same time.

You can dry both your hands together within seconds instead of patiently holding them up to the machine one after another. This is what makes this device a time-saver, too! Besides, this is a no-touch device that will automatically sense your presence and start working.

You won't have to touch the machine with your dirty or wet hands to start it; the capacitive sensors will automatically sense when you are holding your hands up to the machine and start blowing out hot air.

Features:

• Sleek, elegant design
• 62% less negative impact on the environment than paper towels
• Antimicrobial coating keeps machine protected
• Dries both hands separately and at the same time
• Two sheets of hot air
• Touch-free operation/Capacitive sensors
• Protrudes only 4 inches from the wall
• Easy to install
• Lightweight at 6 pounds

4. Penson & Co. AHD-2001-00 Super Quiet Automatic Electric Hand Dryer

This beautiful hand dryer is a product of Penson & Co., one of the leading names in bathroom fittings, tools and equipments, and cosmetic makeup.

It's unique feature and selling point is speed; this hand dryer can send up to 95/s wind to dry your hands. It'll not take this machine more than 10 seconds to completely dry your wet hands, which is a record number in itself.

This unique feature of the Penson & Co. AHD-2001-00 makes it perfect for public restrooms and busy bathrooms, but also for your homes. It is a time-saving device that will cut our bathroom time by a lot, as you won't have to spend any more time inside the bathroom than is absolutely necessary.

Besides, this hand dryer is also one of the quietest machines in the market at the moment. The noise level is reduced by about 10 decibels compared to the other similar hand dryers you can see around, which means that it is almost silent.

The Penson & Co. AHD-2001-00 is also automatic and sanitary. It can sense your presence and turn on, which means you won't have to touch this hand dryer at all. This is quite important as manual operation of hand dryers in public restrooms are one of the biggest reasons of transmission of germs from one person to another.

Besides, the high-efficiency filters on this hand dryer actually absorb 99.97% of the bacteria in the air surrounding the device, so that your hands are actually cleaner after dried.

Features:

• Impressive high speed
• Takes only 10 seconds to dry both hands
• Quiet operation
• Automatic, no-touch operation
• Can blow up to 95m/s hot air
• High-efficiency filters absorbs bacteria
• Durable cover
• Doesn't rust or tear
• No operational cost
• Very little electricity consumption

5. Blue Storm High Speed Hand Dryer by Palmer Fixture

This is a compact yet extremely efficient hand dryer from Palmer Fixture. The design is absolutely gorgeous and unique, and this hand dryer has all the important features that you might want in one.

Installed once, you won't have to spend hundreds of dollars on paper towels and tissue boxes every year, especially if you are installing it in a business or a shop.

The Blue Storm hand Dryer by Palmer Fixture will not only save you money, but also time. It takes this machine less than 15 seconds to completely dry your wet hands, which means less time spent in the washroom.

The machine shuts off automatically when not in use, and consumes very little electricity every year. This is also a completely touchless device; you will just have to stand in front of this hand dryer and place your hands under it for the device to get automatically activated; this means absolutely no chance of getting any kind of germ on your hands from previous users.

The Blue Storm by Palmer Fixture is completely made from stainless steel and extremely durable. You can be sure of years of use without any wear and tear, or any need for maintenance.

Features:

• Takes less than 15 seconds to dry wet hands
• High speed drying
• Automatic shut-off when not in use
• Environment- and budget-friendly
• Made from stainless steel
• No-touch operation
• No maintenance needed

6. Awoco Heavy Duty Stainless Steel 1450W 120V Automatic Hand Dryer

This hand dryer by Awoco is one of the fastest and hand dryers at the moment, strong enough to completely dry your hands in 7 to 10 seconds.

The hot air that comes out of this hand dryer is warm and extremely safe, always between 68°F to 104°F. Even small children can easily use this hand dryer without getting hurt or burnt.

This hand dryer consumes extremely low amount of electricity, but gives out excellent service. One machine in a bathroom or public restroom eliminates the need for hundreds of dollars worth of paper towels and tissues, and is safer for the environment.

This hand dryer by Awoco doesn't need maintenance or even regular cleaning; just occasional dusting with a brush is enough to remove any lint buildup or dirt from the machine.

The Awoco Heavy Duty hand dryer works from a distance of 6 to 8 inches away, so that you can keep your hands away from the heat. The cleanable air filters doesn't only dry your hands, but also picks up 99.97% of the bacteria in the air, making your clean hands cleaner than before.

The entire body is made from stainless steel and extremely durable and strong.

Features:

• Extremely fast
• Dries hands in 7 to 10 seconds
• Safe temperature between 68°F to 104°F
• Filters clean 99.97% bacteria from surrounding area
• Quiet operation
• Can dry hands from 6 to 8 inches away
• Automatic shut-off when not in use
• Only 70dB noise level
• Can be used in public places with heavy use
• Made from durable stainless steel
• No-touch operation

7. PENSON & CO. AHD-2017-01-K TCBunny Super Quiet Automatic Electric Hand Dryer

The AHD-2017-01-K TCBunny is another hand dryer from PENSON & CO. that delivers an amazing service for an affordable price.

This is an automatic hand dryer that you have to install once and forget about completely; with this hand dryer in your personal toilet or business restroom, you can eliminate hundreds of dollars worth of toilet tissues, paper napkins and tissue boxes. Safe for the environment and for your pockets, both!

The outer body has a plastic covering, but the motor and the inside parts are all made from stainless steel. This hand dryer consumes very little electricity and uses 10A current, and 110V/60Hz power supply. Installation is easy and takes only minutes.

This hand dryer can sense your presence from 5 inches away, which means that you can keep your hands away from this machine if you are worried about the heat, and it will still dry your hands.

The temperature of the hot air that this machine gives out is extremely mild and safe, always under 113°F to 149°F. Only 10 to 12 seconds is all that this machine needs to completely dry your hands, even from a far away. The hand dryer is lightweight at only 14lbs, and comes in an attractive design.

Features:

• Automatic shut-off when not in use
• Fast drying under 10-12 seconds
• Uses very little electricity
• Can dry hands from 5 inches away
• Temperature safe always under 113°F to 149°F
• Stainless steel body with plastic covering
• Lightweight at 14 lbs
• Easy installation with no maintenance required

8. Alpine Hazel Automatic Hand Dryer | ABS Polycarbonate Hands Dryer

These classic hand dryers from Alpine Hazel are designed like the ones we see all around the world, stylish and elegant in white. They fit in perfectly with any kind of bathroom or restroom decor, and looks efficient and minimalistic.

Installation is easy and takes not more than a few minutes. You can hang them in the wall close to a source of electricity or hard wire them into your building's electricity line.

The Alpine Hazel Automatic Hand Dryers are made from a ABS Polycarbonate covering on the outside, and gives out fast, high-speed hot air. Drying your wet hands would take only a few seconds under this hand dryer, and the entire operation is quiet and noiseless.

These hand dryers work on a no-touch basis. You won't have to touch these devices with your hands or any other body parts; simply putting your hands under the machine will activate it, and hot air will start to come out of it. The entire procedure is fast, cost-effective and easy.

Features:

• Classic elegant design
• Fits with any modern decor
• Automatic, no-touch operation
• Cost-effective and fast
• Made from ABS Polycarbonate covering
• Easy Installation
• Can be hardwired into your building
• Quiet Operation

Buying Best Hand Dryers: Factors that Matter

Hand dryers might be a very small part of your bathrooms, but they are nevertheless an important one. These hand dryers are saving you a lot of money on paper towels, and beneficial for the environment.

Therefore, before you decide on a particular brand or a model, these are sine if the factors that are important in your hand dryer.

1. Noise

When there's a lot of hot air coming out of your hand dryer in a high speed, there is bound to be some noise from the machine. However, no one actually likes the noise these hand dryers make, so a good one will be almost silent.

There are no absolutely silent dryers that you can buy for your bathrooms, but an almost noiseless one would be quite good.

Most hand dryers make noises of various sound levels: 70 to 75 decibels to up to 90 decibels. A machine with 90 decibels would be quite noisy, and it is better to avoid them.

The less noise the model makes, the better it is for your restroom, especially if it is a small bathroom. Alternatively, if you buy a hand dryer with adjustable settings, you can lower the power so that the hand dryer makes a lower noise level.

2. Power

The more powerful your hand dryer is, the faster it can dry your hands. This is a feature that everyone looks for in a hand dryer, as it can also reduce the amount of time you have to spend inside the restroom.

Besides, when a hand dryer is fast, it means that it is doing its job quickly and using up less power than other machines that take longer. A powerful hand dryer, therefore, also costs considerably more than one with an average motor, so it depends on your budget.

3. Use of Energy

It is usually the more powerful - at the same time, expensive - hand dryers that uses electricity/power more efficiently. These hand dryers take less time to dry your hands, and then automatically shuts off and stops consuming power further.

Also, some hand dryers only give out cold or room temperature air instead of heated air. These dryers do not have a heater inside them, and therefore, uses less energy. Since hand dryers are installed to save both money and energy, these powerful machines are the most sought out ones as they try to consume as less energy as possible.

4. Design

Design is of course a huge factor. Some hand dryer machines completely stand out from the rest of the bathroom fittings and this is not something homeowners want, if they are installing one in their personal restrooms. Not all designs can blend in effortlessly with the decor.

Most hand dryers have a sleek, modern look that only looks good beside other modern equipments. While this is not a problem in public restrooms and business centers, for personal toilets, homeowners prefer a design that's small, not very conspicuous and subtle.

5. Adjustable Temperature

Only a handful of hand dryers come can be adjusted. If your hand dryer is adjustable, it means that you can adjust the temperature or the air flow, the use of power and the speed of hot air that comes out from the hand dryer.

6. Budget

Of course, this is the most important factor: budget. The kind of hand dryer that have the more powerful motor costs comparatively more than the others, but they also use less electricity.

This means that once you've installed these comparatively expensive hand dryers, you won't have to worry about a significant rise in your electricity bill for later.

Besides, the more expensive ones also need less maintenance and lasts more. With an one-time expenditure, you can be stress-free about the hand dryer in your bathroom and completely forget about it..

Buying and installing a hand dryer in your restrooms and toilets are more of an investment than a purchase. With a hand dryer installed, you are making sure you don't have to buy any more paper towels for a very long time.

There won't be any significant change in your electricity bill, and you will be making a positive contribution to the environment. These days, it is a good idea to install a hand dryer instead of going through a huge amount of paper towels every year.

An OverView: How does a Hand Dryer Work?

Basically, we know a hand dryer as the small but important bathroom fixture in most public restrooms and even in some private homes. We use a hand dryer to dry wet hand after washing instead of paper towels or a napkin.

They are environmentally friendly because we are not wasting paper towels simply for wiping our wet hands, and also financially helpful as we don't have to buy paper towels anymore if we have a hand dryer in our bathrooms. You can also use it to dry your clothes if you've accidentally spilled water on them, or anything else.

A hand dryer is a rather simple device, with only one job to do: blow hot air into your hands so that they get dry within a few seconds. These hand dryers basically use two different technologies to do this: the technology the older models had of evaporation and the newer technology that is more power-efficient.

In the older models, there used to be a motor inside the hand dryers that turned on whenever you needed to use the machine. The motor blew the fan across a heating element which made the air hot, which explains the hot air on your hands.

This was known as an evaporation model, as the hot air was used to evaporate the hot air from your wet, dripping hands. Some machines with this technology had to be activated with a push button that was conveniently placed on the machine; some machines had sensors hidden under the hand dryer that would sense your presence when you put your hands up to the hand dryer.

Needless to say, most of these older hand dryers were relatively bulkier in size. The more modern hand dryers that we see everywhere these days use a completely different technology; they are smaller and more aesthetically pleasing.

First of all, the modern hand dryers all have sensors under them. One of the most important reasons behind using hand dryers is to stop the spreading of germs from one person to another, which happens the most in bathrooms.

If hand dryers have to be activated using your hands, then it actually denies one of the main reasons of using them. Therefore, all hand dryers have powerful sensors these days and can immediately sense your presence the moment you hold your hand up to the machine.

This is the same technology used in automatic doors in shopping malls that open up whenever you are in front of it. The sensors in hand dryers are quite sophisticated and triggered when your hands are moved in front of a ray of infrared light that is emitted from the machine. The infrared ray is invisible but can detect your hand the moment it is disrupted.

As soon as the machine detects your hands, an electrical signal is sent to the motor inside the hand dryer by the circuit, telling the "Sleeping" machine to start working. The process starts when the motor draws power from the electrical supply to start the procedure.

The newer models have multiple blades inside the machine that start running extremely fast, creating air that is rushed through a narrow nozzle and straight into your hands.

Instead of hot air evaporating the water as in the older models, the high speed air from the newer models uses extreme pressure to remove the water from your hands by scraping them from your skin. The process works fast and takes only 10 to 5 minutes before your hands become completely dry.

The newer models are missing a heating element in them, which makes the hand dryers smaller and more energy efficient. They are less expensive to run and uses less electricity, but at the same time, faster. Your hands become dry faster but you don't have to deal with unnecessary heat, making these hand dryers safe for children and sensitive skin.

Another important feature of these newer models is that they also manage to destroy the microscopic bacteria from your hands while drying them. While this was done more efficiently with heat from the older models, the newer versions will also leave your hands extremely clean.

This is done by extremely powerful HEPA filters or High-Efficiency Particulate Air Filters that are inside these hand dryers. With these filters, the hand dryers manage to suck in the air from their surroundings, and trap 99.97% of the airborne bacteria.

The air that is forced out of the machine into the users hands are incredibly clean, cleaner than air anywhere else.

For all these reasons, it is much smarter to use a hand dryer inside bathrooms these days, especially restrooms that you will be sharing with other people.

Frequently Asked Questions: Best Hand Dryers

These are some of the most common questions that you might have about hand dryers.

Q. Can I use a hand dryer at home?

A. We don't see many hand dryers at homes because they are quite expensive. However, if you think long term, installing a hand dryer can mean that you'll not have to buy paper towels for your bathrooms again for a very long time.

If this is something that appeals to you, there is no problem with using a hand dryer at home. On the other hand, they are easier to maintain as you won't have to deal with the mess left from paper towels and tissue boxes.

However, another main reason for using hand dryers in public restrooms is because these toilets are used by a lot of people who are strangers and may carry a number of contagious diseases.

Hand dryers are a great way to stop the spreading of contagious germs between people in public places. This is not something you have to worry about in a private home.

Nevertheless, using a hand dryer in a home can be environmentally responsible and hygenic, and there's no reason that you couldn't install and use one in your private bathroom.

Q. How am I helping the environment by using a hand dryer?

A. By installing and using a hand dryer, you are indirectly helping the environment by not encouraging deforestation. When you are using paper towels to wipe your hands dry, you are indirectly encouraging cutting down of trees to be made into paper towels, and also contributing to garbage.

A single hand dryer can replace thousands of paper towels that you will be using for the several years. So by installing and using a hand dryer instead of paper towels, you are indeed making a small but important contribution to the preservation of nature.

Q. Does it cost a lot to maintain a hand dryer?

A. Some powerful hand dryers can be a little expensive, but that is the only expense you have to make. Installation usually comes free with purchase, or you can do it yourself easily. There's practically no cost involved in maintaining a hand dryer.

These machines doesn't damage easily or need repair. If you can buy a hand dryer, you won't have to spend any money on it for several years at least. Also, the change is your electricity bill is extremely subtle and much lower than the cost of buying paper towels every months.

Q. Are hand dryers very loud?

A. Some hand dryers can be loud, yes, because they have a very powerful motor working inside. If you don't want a noisy hand dryer, always look for the decibel level mentioned with the model. Decibels are used in measuring sound universally. A standard hand dryer has a noise level of 80 decibels, but some can have more.

If you get an adjustable hand dryer, you can turn down the power a little so that both the air flow and the noise level is slower. However, this will also mean that the hand dryer will take longer to dry your hands since air pressure is lower.

Q. Should I get a warm air hand dryer or a non-warm air hand dryer?

A. Both kind of machines have their own advantages and disadvantages. The older models have a heating element inside them that makes the air heated.

The heated air evaporates the water out of your hands, but it takes a longer time to do so. Also, the older models use up a lot more electricity as it runs two different machines inside the hand dryers, which are also comparatively bulkier.

On the other hand, the newer versions uses air pressure to scrape the water off your hand; the air pressure is created by running multiple blades inside the machine with incredible speed.

This technology is faster and uses less energy. So, the choice is yours: do you want warm air on your hands but use up a lot more electricity, or do you want your machine to be energy-efficient?

Buy them at Walmart, Etsy, eBay (subject to availability)

Goetland Stainless Steel Commercial Hand Dryer 1800w Automatic High Speed Heavy Duty Dull - Walmart, Etsy, eBay

VALENS Electric Hand Dryer with HEPA Filter, Efficiency Max Touchless Hand Dryer for - Walmart, Etsy, eBay

JETWELL 2Pack UL Listed High Speed Commercial Automatic Eco Hand Dryer with HEPA - Walmart, Etsy, Ebay

XLERATOR XL-SB Automatic High Speed Hand Dryer with Brushed Stainless Steel Cover and 1.1 - Walmart, Etsy, eBay

AIKE AK2903 Heavy Duty Commercial Hand Dryer with Hepa Filter Polished Stainless Steel UL - Walmart, Etsy, eBay

ASIALEO Commercial Hand Dryer High Speed Automatic Electric Hand Dryers for Bathrooms - Walmart, Etsy, eBay

Dyson Airblade dB Hand Dryer AB14 - Walmart, Etsy, Ebay

Conclusion

The environment these days demand that we replace the use of paper towels with hand dryers, not only in public restrooms but also our private bathrooms.

If all of us start installing and using hand dryers in our bathrooms, we can significantly reduce the use and production of paper towels in the world, and in the end, save a lot of trees from cutting.

Hand dryers are a one-time investment; they don't give you trouble over maintenance, and they are not easily damaged. Once installed, you won't have to buy paper towels for a long time, and ultimately save a lot of your money.