using gadgets to zap germs - uv air purifier

Charles Geba, a college of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona, said that farhad manjoojune 1,11, 11 toilet seats were negatively affected.
In fact, due to what happened there, we tend to think about the bathroom
Even the most decent bathroom
Generally less than sterile.
This view has proved unfair.
In many studies
Gerba and his colleagues found that the toilet seat is usually one of the least bacteria.
There's an infected area in your house.
The rest of the bathroom is not particularly toxic either.
If you're really worried about bacteria, check out the kitchen.
"The cutting board is terrible," said the doctor.
For example, Geba said.
"The bacteria on the cutting board are 200 times more than the bacteria on the toilet seat.
"I talked to the doctor. Gerba —
For a long time, he has been studying the spread of bacteria, viruses and other pathogens in the family, so much so that many of his colleagues call him a doctor. Germ —
Because my brain is clean recently.
I have been testing some gadgets that can reduce or eliminate many home pathogens: equipment that can disinfect mobile phones, toothbrushes, bedding, floors, countertops, even the air circulating in your home.
One ad after another, I put these gadgets through their pace. But then what?
The power of plants comes from their invisibility.
This is the full assessment of these high
Technology bacteria destroyer
How do I know they work well?
I asked the doctor to find out the answer.
Gerba was not paid to endorse any of the products I tested and he said I had to believe it more or less.
The good news is that we have a lot of knowledge about disinfection, but it is difficult to get a clear answer without your own laboratory for the validity of a particular product.
The ad considers Violet UV mobile phone disinfectant, a $40 device that is expected to eliminate 99.
9% of bacteria and other bacteria sitting on your mobile phone.
It claims to do this by using UV rays, a light of a specific wavelength that penetrates and destroys the DNA of microorganisms when focused precisely. Dr.
Gerba says UV
Over the years, basic-based systems have been used in commercial and industrial disinfection applications.
The technology is now getting smaller and cheaper and can be found in many consumer devices.
In fact, most of the devices I tested use UV as the main cleaner.
The cell phone cleaner is a large piece of silver plastic as large as a soap dispenser, and it is simple to use: just put the phone inside and close the lid.
The lights in front keep flashing and tell you it's working.
It was disinfected in about 5 minutes.
When you take the phone out, it doesn't look or smell any detergent --
Hand sanitizer is not used to remove stains-
But it's probably the UV that killed all the tiny things.
On the one hand, ultraviolet rays are a proven disinfectant.
But on the other hand, I really don't know if this cleaner is doing a good job. Dr.
With the phone, Gerba added, it may not matter.
Even if you think disinfectant is destroying tiny residents of your phone, it is unlikely that your phone will be covered by anything that is really dangerous.
"Mobile phones can get pretty old, but it's just your bacteria . "Gerba said.
"Unless you share your phone with others, there's nothing to worry about. ” (Dr.
Gerba is often asked about the need for cell phone disinfection, so much so that he is ready for a playful sentence: "It makes you not swear. ”)
You use another violent device on a slightly hard ground.
$30 toothbrush hand sanitizer
It looks like a standard toothbrush holder, but when you press the button in front of you, the UV rays hit the bacteria on your toothbrush (
Can accommodate up to 4).
According to a 2008 study published in the American Journal of Dentistry, the number of "colonies" of toothbrushes treated with violence decreased by 86%Forming Units "-
Measure of bacteria
More than a toothbrush just rinsed in cold water.
However, the study does indicate that there is no evidence that a cleaner toothbrush can improve oral health.
UV rays can also help with your cutting board, which is the center of household waste.
For this I tried the $70 cleaning wave sterilizer made by Verilux.
The wand looks like a reduced lightsaber and you can play Luke Skywalker in order to attack your germs.
Open the wand and keep an edge on a flat surface
Your plate, your table, your table.
Slowly move it back and forth where you want to disinfect.
Ryan Douglas, chief executive of Verilux, said that when he washed with his wand, he could see that it worked.
"When you use a wand in an area, you smell a 'fresh' smell when the bio-material is killed," Mr. Douglas said.
AdvertisementI confesses I don't smell like that.
Nevertheless, in all UV applications, Dr.
Gerba says research has shown that it is most effective on hard, non-porous surfaces such as cutting boards.
Although I don't know it's working, the possibility of wands washing my cutting board is much better than most other household cleaning products and it doesn't contain harmful chemicals as well.
More importantly, as Sir.
Douglas noted that there is no way to know that traditional spray cleaners are actually also sanitizing.
I do have a problem with my wand: for security reasons (
UV rays can be harmful if you look directly)
, It only works when you fluctuate horizontally, and the UV beam points down.
This means that you can't use it to clean the walls or taps of the kitchen and have to rely on traditional cleaners.
I also tested two other UV gadgets.
Cleaning wave disinfection furniture and bed Vac ($130)
Will disinfect soft plush items you can't attack with traditional sanitizing chemicals. Mr.
Douglas says it works especially well for bugs and dust. mite eggs.
I also ran Honeywell's HEPAClean UV antibacterial air purifier (about $200)
Stayed in my bedroom for a few nights.
Except for a few layers of filters-
Used in many air purifiers-
This device uses ultraviolet rays to kill bacteria passing through the air.
It promises to eliminate 99% of this pathogen.
But, of course, I have no way to test it.
Except for UV, another high
The technical disinfection method is "super
Oxygen-added water used in commercial agriculture.
Lotus home cleaning system ($219)
Equipped with an electronic base and two containers for water
A large bowl and a spray bottle.
You fill one of the containers with water, insert it into the bottom and open it.
The water is circulating at the bottom, where it is hit by a current and forced to accept additional oxygen molecules.
After a few minutes, all the water was converted.
Now it's ready for disinfection.
You can fill the bowl with items to disinfect.
Fruit, vegetable, meat, rag, sponge, baby bottle, pacifier
Or use a spray bottle for general cleaning.
It is harmless and works even for stains.
But how do you know this product actually works using a proven oxidation process?
Again: you don't.
It reminds me of my favorite sanitizing device, the shark elevator --
Professional Steam Pocket Mop (about $200).
This equipment works on floors and countertops and does not require soap or other cleaning products.
Instead, it only uses water: the water in the mop room is heated and converted into steam and then enters the mop head to clean the floor.
I found the mop quick and convenient, it cleared the stains and let my kitchen floor shine.
How do I know it's sanitizing?
I saw the steam coming out of the tile.
This is enough for me.
A version of this article appears on page D4, New York edition, June 2, 2011, with the title: kill bacteria with gadgets.
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