A new hand-dryer has been launched which, it is claimed, has the potential to transform hygiene in the education section. According to its manufacturer, American Dryer (UK), the eXtremeAir CPC dryer is “germ-destroying”, using technology known as cold plasma clean (CPC) to kill germs including e.coli, novovirus, staph, C.diff, MRSA and salmonella without the use of chemicals and with a 99.6 percent success rate.
Certainly, there is evidence to suggest that easily spread germs cause problems in schools, with canteen trays, keyboards and taps having been identified as germ ‘hot spots’. Traditional hand towels can cause hygiene issues if they’re replenished regularly, not to mention the problems arising when children flush towels down the toilet.
The eXtremeAir CPC features a generator which converts air into cold plasma through a bipolar ionization process. The generator inside the dryer uses steady-state positive and negative discharge points to split water molecules in the air into oppositely charged hydrogen and oxygen ions. These ions, otherwise known as hydroxyl radicals, in turn, clean the air without chemicals.
The technology behind the dry was patented in the USA in November 2013 and has been tested by two independent microbiology labs.
Andrew Cameron, of American Dryer UK, says: “We are delighted to be able to bring cPc technology to the UK with the launch of eXtremeAir CPC. We know that educational bodies have examined the paper towels verse dryers debate for years and this technology has enabled us to provide a real game-changer for the industry. Our cPc technology takes hand dryers from hygienic to ‘germ destroying’ and we all know hand towels cannot be recycled, in turn consuming precious resources and using excessive landfill space, so the debate becomes almost irrelevant.
“It’s an exciting time for the hand-drying industry in the UK and we are looking forward to receive feedback on this innovative product.”
Although it’s never been applied to hand drying before, cold plasma technology has been used to purify the air in commercial buildings since the 1930s. Man-made plasma can be generated at low temperatures by applying a voltage to a gas and more recently cold plasma has been implemented in medical practice to treat surgical incisions and used in the food processing industry to kill bacteria.
