Portable Hand Hygiene: Smart Investment or Short-Lived Trend?

The world is currently preoccupied with one thing: germ and infection control.

With the potential for the current global pandemic to continue for several years, the need for methods to control infection spread and kill potentially deadly germs continues to be top-of-mind. In the past, the only option for truly portable germ control was basic hand sanitizer, which needed to be a certain potency (at least 70% alcohol) to kill most bacteria. Now, new creations like mobile hand hygiene stations remove the ambiguity of possibly-but-not-definitely effective hand sanitizers, providing a completely portable station that furthers the ultimate goal of hand hygiene.

The need for portable hand hygiene is increasing rapidly and will soon become the norm for any and all companies that require face-to-face interactions to conduct their business. Below, we break down the concept of a portable hand hygiene station and what it means for today’s businesses, as well as a walkthrough of what people can expect hand hygiene stations to look like in the future.

What Does Mobile or Portable Hand Hygiene Mean?

At a basic level, portable or mobile hand hygiene stations are easy-to-transport units containing various items that help users wash and dry their hands hygienically and safely. Handwashing is something people are doing more often than ever before, and as more people start venturing out of their homes, they’ll need more locations to continue their new habits.

Whereas handwashing was once something done only after using the restroom in public, it’s now a practice someone may want to engage in when entering and leaving a business. In the past, handwashing was also more common in restaurants or eateries, but now someone simply entering a clothing store may wish to wash their hands to help stop the spread of viruses. In cases like these, where there likely isn’t a public restroom to begin with, a portable handwashing station can work exceptionally well, providing a service that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.

Bottom line: businesses that do not have easily accessible handwashing stations may feel the effects of patrons not returning.

What Kinds of Portable Hand Hygiene Stations Exist?

There are many configurations of handwashing stations available today. Some include water hook-ups, whereas some seek to eliminate the use of paper towels.

The XLERATOR® Mobile Hand Hygiene Station, for example is sturdy, easy to move, touchless, and includes an XLERATOR® hepa filter hand dryer. Together, that combination results in a 99.999% removal of viruses from the airstream, according to a study performed by LMS Technologies in 2020. The study pitted the XLERATOR® HEPA Filtration System against approximately 380 million viruses of differing size and severity all at the same time, and it removed 99.999% of the viruses. This means that the XLERATOR® dries a user’s hands with HEPA-filtered air.

The mission of the XLERATOR® Mobile Hand Hygiene Station, however, runs deeper than air purification. One of the key benefits of this unit is that it completely eliminates the need for paper towels. Paper towels are currently in short supply, require significant on-going costs to purchase, and create a germ-laden mess that someone needs to dispose of. This hygiene station seeks to eliminate those drawbacks while also providing a sanitary Microban® antimicrobial wall guard and an optional hand sanitizer bracket to provide a one-stop-shop for hand hygiene.

Hand hygiene is now a global concern and requires constant cooperation and innovation. Portable hand hygiene stations will be a permanent fixture moving forward, not a short-lived trend. Implementing a tool like the Mobile Hand Hygiene station from Excel Dryer does part in controlling germ transfer and infection spread and provides much-needed peace of mind to patrons that health and safety are top priorities.

To learn more about portable handwashing and hand drying or request a quote, contact us.