I have an aunt who’s a germophobe. When she travels, she cleans the hotel room in which she’s going to stay. She goes so far as to clean the shower rod in the bathroom, lest some terrible contagion fall upon her. This Christmas, I’ll be getting her the Germ Guardian UV-C Mini Wand.
Short version: Ultraviolet light kills bacteria. This thing has an ultraviolet light. Therefore, this thing kills bacteria.
Long version: the reality is, I have no way to effectively test this thing. I’m using it as part of my normal cleaning process, so I feel like my place is cleaner, or less germy, when I’m done, but I simply can’t verify that. I’m not about to use this thing exclusively to clean my house: I like you guys, but not that much, okay?
Usage is simple: press the button for a couple seconds until the green light flashes green. Then press the button again to activate the UV light. Pass the wand over the surface to be cleaned, giving it about 20 seconds to kill the nasty germs. When you’re done, press the button again.
The unit has a level built in, and will deactivate the UV lamp if you try to lift or rotate it up. This is so you don’t blind yourself, or someone else. While I respect that safety feature, in practice I found it rather annoying. If you’re using the wand in your shower, for example, the lamp will end up shutting itself off as you move around the contours of the frame. I’m also not the most careful of users, and would occasionally bump the wand against the wall. *poof* The light would go out. I found, quite by chance, that a gentle shake of the wand would bring the lamp back to action.
Battery life is great. I put in four rechargeable batteries and haven’t had to replace them yet. I use the wand for a couple minutes every weekend. If you’re a really bad germophobe, you might tear through batteries faster than normal, though.
Bottom line: if this gives someone a little extra piece of mind, I say go for it. Speaking solely for myself, I don’t mind living with germs: I don’t want to be so clean that the common cold becomes a life threatening illness to me. I believe we need to be exposed to germs and bacteria to keep our immune systems operating at full strength. But if you know someone who does not share my opinion, the Germ Guardian UV-C Mini Wand might be worth considering.