by Shane Henson — September 2, 2013—Creative thinking yielded valuable results when American Dryer’s engineering team took on the challenge of creating a better way to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards to assure that restroom users living with disabilities can easily access American Dryer hand dryers.
American Dryer’s new patent-pending Wall Guard is ADA compliant, achieving the four-inch-or-less unit protrusion guidelines without the need to recess the accompanying dryer into the wall, thus eliminating the need to cut holes into restroom walls. This is especially valuable when walls are cinderblock, masonry or other difficult-to-modify surfaces, says American Dryer.
The standalone Wall Guard is designed to sit below the dryer and is easily installed using just the four screws provided. It achieves ADA compliance and provides safety for users living with disabilities because its curved lower edge assures that the “leading edge” of the dryer-with-wall-guard unit is 26″ or less from the finished floor, a distance that meets ADA standards to protect people using wheelchairs or walking aids.
Wall Guard will likely be well received in senior care and healthcare facilities, but is suitable for restrooms in virtually every type of building that must adhere to ADA restroom compliance. The product features elegant, seamless one-piece stainless steel construction, and can be paired with American Dryer’s high-speed, energy-efficient EXTREMEAIR, its ADVANTAGE and its GLOBAL SERIES for ADA compliance.
American Dryer Wall Guard, constructed with strong, 19-gauge stainless steel, measures a compact 9-3/8″ wide, 8″ high, and 3-1/2″ deep to pair with American’s physically compact line of dryers.
“Architects and specifiers have long told us that they prefer a smaller, less obtrusive dryer to the larger models on the market,” says American Dryer Vice President of Sales and Technology Michael Robert. “Fortunately, all the engineering needed to achieve best-in-class performance fits nicely into that smaller profile, for both American Dryer’s hand dryers and now its coordinating new Wall Guard.”
