Hand Sanitizer Dispensers

Touchless hand sanitizer dispensers that appeared in every building on campus during the pandemic have become permanent fixtures. Four years later I still use them reflexively when I walk through a door, reaching my hand under the sensor and getting a blob of alcohol gel without thinking about it. It Is exactly how behavioral change works when the infrastructure makes the desired action easier than the alternative. Dispensers are mounted at about chest height, which is the right position for most adults but too high for wheelchair users unless the building installed a second lower unit. About half the buildings on campus have the dual-height setup while the others have only the standard mount. Gel formula in most campus dispensers is 70% ethanol with aloe vera. Scent is sharp and clean and fades in about 30 seconds. I have developed an association between that smell and entering a building that is so strong I feel slightly uncomfortable in spaces that don't have a dispenser near the door. Design of the dispensers ranges from sleek wall-mounted units with stainless steel housings to cheap plastic floor stands that look like they were chosen by someone whose only criterion was price. Aesthetic difference between those 2 approaches says a lot about how an institution thinks about the objects it puts in public space. I think the most interesting design question is whether these dispensers will become as invisible and permanent as fire extinguishers. Embedded into building codes and architectural plans, or whether they will slowly disappear as pandemic urgency fades. Batteries last about 6 months and the refill cartridges are universal across most brands, and the maintenance is low enough that the dispensers essentially run themselves once installed. My hand skin is definitely drier than it was before I started using these 15 times a day. I've not gotten a cold since sophomore year, so the trade-off seems worth it. Touchless mechanism is the key design choice, because a push-pump dispenser in a high-traffic area becomes a surface that undermines the purpose of the product it dispenses.