The H1N1 Destroying UV Wand
November 17th, 2009 2:36 PM | by Christen da Costa | 1 Comment
Where there is fear there is sales, right? And hence the The Verilux H1N1 Destroying UV Wand. I’m a little disturbed by any device that’s success depend on a pandemic, but then again that’s pretty much the medical industry on the whole.
This $70 device, which uses a hospitable grade UV light, can destroy up to 99.98% of the H1N1 virus after a five-second exposure when held 3/4″ above the contaminated surface. And before you suggest a liquid cleaner, consider the prospect of cleaning a couch, keyboard or other difficult to penetrate surfaces with a spray or over the counter cleanser.
Total run time on an 8 hour charge is about 90 minutes, but they’ve tossed in some tech to make it auto shutoff when held vertically.
I bought one of these things6 months ago. After reading the user manual I sent it back. Too many negatives to discuss, but the main drawbacks are that the light isn’t strong enough to kill germs without minutes of exposure in one spot. If you look at the chart they supply of the recommended times to kill certian things, you will take hours to clean things like a couch.
Second, the UV light is extremely dangerous to your skin (cancer) and your eyes (blindness). I certainly didn’t want something like that in my house. They don’t tell you that on the box or in their advertising.