When it comes to drying hands away from home, people can be very particular about how they do it.
Most office spaces and public restrooms offer individuals the choice between a hand dryer and paper towels for hand drying, however not all paper hand towels are the same.
So, is there any real difference between tissue and crepe? Or is it just down to personal preference when it comes to which perform better?
Cost
When looking at paper towel suppliers for their washrooms, most companies are faced with the choice between tissue hand towels and crepe ones.
Of course, the cost is often one of the more significant factors that is taken into consideration. However, whilst crepe paper hand towels may seem cheaper in the first instance, you may be surprised to find that they are not in the long run.
Durability
Crepe paper hand towels – the type you probably remember from school, often folded in half in the dispenser and difficult to pull out individually – are made from pulped paper that is scraped off the paper rollers. This process is done with a creping blade, hence the name. The paper is thin, flat and, to put it politely, a little bit rough.
There is no doubt that it does the job, and you can undoubtedly dry your hands with it, but the thinness means that it is less absorbent, resulting in the need for more sheets to be used. It is also difficult to remove just a single sheet from the dispenser without it ripping, which is due in part to the way it is packaged, but also it’s thinness.
Tissue hand towels on the other hand are much softer, stronger, and more absorbent, so you should need to use less to dry your hands properly. This means that dispensers will not need to be filled as frequently and that tissue hand towels represent excellent value for money.
Less waste
The higher absorbency rate of tissue paper towels means that they produce less waste because everyone should need fewer paper towels to dry their hands thoroughly.
This means that bins in washrooms will be able to cope with a more significant number of visitors before they need emptying, and of course that there is less likelihood of anyone finding the dispenser empty when they need to dry their hands.
For any business considering the price of refuge removal from their site, and looking to reduce their outgoings – including the cost of paper towels – this is an important consideration.
Hygienic
As tissue paper towels are more effective at absorbing water, this makes them the more hygienic choice. When faced with damp hands as a result of drying with crepe paper towels, many individuals choose to leave their hands damp rather than reaching for another paper towel. Damp hands, unfortunately, are much better at transferring bacteria from one surface to another.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that in situations where handwashing is more frequent, crepe paper towels can result in hands becoming chapped because of constant hand drying and washing. This can be uncomfortable for the individual who may need to apply some form of emollient to stop their hands becoming even more uncomfortable. There is also the risk of the skin becoming infected due to tiny abrasions that are created on the surface whilst drying.
Image Credits: Engin Akyurt
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