There is a huge variety of hand dryers available, which is fantastic for consumers as it means that they can find the perfect hand dryer for their needs. However, the differing shapes, sizes and types means that they all need mounting in slightly different heights and positions. We understand that this can be difficult for installers, so we wanted to put this blog together to serve as a guide for the different types of hand dryers available.
Hand dryer height UK regulations
In short, there isn't actually any regulatory height that hand dryers must be installed at in the UK. It is up to the installer to put them at the height that works within any given washroom configuration. That said, there are guidelines as to the appropriate heights and where the dryer will work the best.
We’ve broken down the below sections to suit the three main hand dryer types: hands under, blade and hands in.
Height Guidelines for ‘hands under’ hand dryers
The guideline heights below are for 'hands under' hand dryers where the airflow comes out of an outlet underneath the unit, such as the Dyson Airblade V, the Dryflow Connect and the Warner Howard Airforce. Different height recommendations are made for male, female, children of different ages and wheelchair users. These should be measured from the air outlet at the bottom of the dryer to the floor:
- Men’s washrooms - 1170 mm
- Women’s washrooms - 1120 mm
- Children’s washrooms, ages 4-7 - 810 mm
- Children’s washrooms, ages 7-10 - 910 mm
- Children’s washrooms, ages 10-13 - 1020 mm
- Children’s washrooms, ages 13-17 - 1120 mm
- Accessible Mounting Height - 940mm
Height Guidelines for 'blade' (hands in) hand dryers
For 'blade', or 'hands in' hand dryers such as the Dryflow Steelforce, the Mitsubishi Jet Towel Slim or the Dyson Airblade ab14 the following heights are recommended. Align the top of the hand dryer above the floor to:
- Men’s washrooms - 1050mm
- Women’s washrooms - 975mm
- Children’s washrooms - 875mm
- Accessible washrooms - 875mm
IP Rating
The above are meant to serve as guidelines as we cannot take into consideration the specific dimensions of a washroom. It is always is worth consulting the manufacturers installation guide in case any clearance is needed for the water trays at the bottom or to the side of the unit.
Another factor that needs to be considered is the products IP rating. The IP, or ‘ingress protection’ rating is the rating for how water resistant the products is. The lower this rating the greater the distance from water the hand dryer needs to be. It is vital that manufacturer guidelines be followed in these cases for safety reasons.
As always, if you need further assistance with installation, or any other queries about washroom supplies, please contact us on 0114 322 3663.
