What is W&H’s Eco Dry+ Technology?

The sterilization room is the heart of any practice’s daily operations. The cycle of instrument reprocessing is paramount to ensuring your practice has clean instruments at the ready. However, unexpected hiccups during turnarounds can create frustrating bottlenecks in your workflow. One common issue involves the drying cycle. Many autoclaves rely on fixed drying times regardless of the load size, which can cause problems for your instruments in both the short and long term.

Fortunately, modern sterilization technology continues to innovate and improve upon existing features. In this article, we’ll look at how W&H revolutionized the drying process with their patented Eco Dry+ technology, explore what this system does, and highlight an iconic steam sterilizer that utilizes its benefits.

What is W&H’s Eco Dry+ Technology?

Eco Dry+ is W&H’s patented feature built into many of their recent and larger steam sterilizers—such as the W&H Lara XL and the modern W&H Lexa Plus (available here at SAS). This technology provides an extra layer of efficiency to an already productive machine.

Traditional autoclaves rely on set drying times to ensure consistent treatment after sterilization. However, fixed drying times drag down turnaround speeds when smaller loads don’t require the full duration.

This is where the Eco Dry+ system comes in. Autoclaves equipped with Eco Dry+ intelligently sense the precise mass of the load inside the chamber. With an accurate load assessment, the system dynamically tailors the drying time to fit the exact capacity, ensuring every instrument is dried thoroughly without wasting time.

Saving time is only part of the equation. The Eco Dry+ feature transforms instrument care by reducing thermal fatigue and lowering energy consumption:

• Extended Instrument Lifespan: Exposing instruments to high heat longer than necessary degrades them over time. By matching heat exposure to the load size, instruments receive the precise amount of heat required to dry—without crossing the threshold into damage.
• Lower Energy Usage: When drying cycles adapt to smaller-than-usual loads, the autoclave consumes significantly less energy than it would during a standard fixed cycle.
• Enhanced Safety: Combined with HEPA-filtered, closed-door drying, you get an energy-efficient, time-saving solution that delivers a massive quality-of-life upgrade to your daily workflow.

Key Advantages of Eco Dry+ Technology

• Load-Adaptive Intelligence: Automatically measures the mass of the load to adjust drying times dynamically, eliminating one-size-fits-all inefficiencies.
• Faster Turnaround Times: Cuts out unnecessary minutes on smaller or lighter loads, allowing wrapped loads to be fully processed and dried rapidly (such as a 4.5 lb wrapped load in under 40 minutes).
• Extended Instrument Lifespan: Limits unnecessary heat exposure, protecting sensitive medical and dental instruments from premature thermal stress and wear.
• Optimized Energy Consumption: Lowers overall power draw per cycle by avoiding redundant heating, making the Lexa Plus a more sustainable “green solution” for modern practices.
• Impeccable Drying Quality: Ensures complete moisture removal to maintain strict sterile storage conditions without compromising speed.

What is the W&H Lexa Plus?

One of the standout W&H autoclaves featuring Eco Dry+ technology is the Lexa Plus. The W&H Lexa Plus brings an array of high-performance features to any practice. This tabletop autoclave offers a sturdy footprint (19.3” x 17.9” x 24.4”) paired with a spacious 7.4-gallon (24-liter) chamber built to handle your largest workloads.

The Lexa Plus utilizes Class B sterilization cycles, using pre-vacuum steam injection to sterilize even the most porous instruments with ease and efficiency. It also features versatile cycle options for various load types and an intuitive touchscreen display that guarantees complete workflow control. Automatic water filling further boosts efficiency, while built-in connectivity and traceability options adapt seamlessly to custom compliance needs.

Out of the box, the Lexa Plus emphasizes sustainability. Its environmentally friendly packaging is completely reusable and recyclable, with plastic components reduced to a minimum. By weight, 99% of the packaging is composed of cardboard and fully biodegradable substances.

Here are some of the other incredible features that you get with the W&H Lexa Plus:

• Eco Dry + technology, fast cycles and energy saving
• High capacity, 18 lbs. maximum load and optimized rack holds 5 trays
• Enhanced connectivity and traceability
• Convenient, automatic water filling saves time
• Class B, pre-vacuum sterilizer
• Versatile cycle program options for all types of loads
• Closed-door drying with HEPA filter
• Single-use distilled water management, ensuring fresh water for every cycle

Final Thoughts

Efficiency, sustainability, and reliability are more important than ever across all fields. Whether it’s medical, dental, ophthalmology, veterinary, and tattoo and piercing studios alike. W&H’s Eco Dry+ technology protects instrument longevity, cuts energy waste, and dramatically accelerates turnaround times.

For practices looking to upgrade their sterilization process with a smarter, greener, and more dependable solution. Investing in an autoclave equipped with Eco Dry+ is a clear step forward.

If you have questions about the W&H Lexa Plus, Eco Dry+ technology, or autoclave equipment in general, give our team a call at 704-966-1650, we’re here to help!