Do Personal UV Sanitizing Lights Really Kill Harmful Bacteria?

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve seen a ton of ultraviolet light devices on the market, who claim disinfect surfaces and objects in and around your home. But do they work? We bought two and tested them.

A little history

the ultraviolet lights have been used for decades to disinfect water treatment surfaces and plants, including hospitals. The Technology this is nothing new and has been shown to work. But the small UV devices

and personnel are becoming commonplace and the industry is not fully regulated.

The products we test

• We bought the Safe and Healthy UV Sanitizer Light from Walmart for $ 19.88. He claims he can scan everything for 10 seconds to kill 99.9% of harmful viruses and bacteria on the surface. To be fair, the product, a small baguette, looks cheap. We weren’t expecting much.
• We bought the Samsung Electronics wireless charger from Amazon for $ 49.99. It claims to charge your Samsung cell phone and kill 99.99% of bacteria on your phone at the same time. The device is a small box. It claims it will disinfect anything that can fit inside, like keys, jewelry, or small toys in about 10 minutes.

The proof

Lab technicians cleaned a phone and cultured the swab to see how many bacteria were on the device. They then took the bacteria from the petri dish and scanned it with the Safe & Healthy UV disinfection light for 10 seconds.

They put another Petri dish in the Samsung Electronics charging box. Within 48 hours, it was possible to see how many bacterial cultures the UV devices were killing.

The results

Safe and healthy UV disinfectant light: This device was “very effective” in killing 99.9% of the bacteria present in the Petri dish. I could see a noticeable difference in the dish that was scanned compared to the culture that was not scanned with UV light.

Samsung Electronics Wireless Charger Box: This device showed virtually no bacterial or e-coli reduction in the Petri dish.

What is the difference?

The biggest difference between the two products is where the UV light actually reaches the product that needs to be disinfected. The UV lamps on the box are on the sides. This means that they don’t reach all the areas of the phone that you want to clean.

conclusion

UV lights work to kill bacteria and germs (even the cheapest), but you need to make sure that the UV light comes in close contact with the surface of whatever you want to sanitize. Consider this when buying one.

It is also important to note that these personal UV devices are not regulated. They can also be very dangerous if you shine on your eyes or your skin.