CLEVELAND — Imagine being able to disinfect everyday items just by waving a wand? No more messy wipes or chemical sprays. We found two products that claim to do just that. So then we found two specialists from the VA Medical Center here in Cleveland to test the bacteria busters.
A 2014 study from the American Journal of Infection Control found that commercial grade handheld UV lights, can kill several types of bacteria. But is that true for ones consumers can buy? We wanted to know if they're worth your money.
That's because, as you know, germs and bacteria are just about everywhere. Toys and technology like cell phones and computer keyboards are full of them. Even the bottom of your shoes can get you sick, since some of us put them where they shouldn't, like on top of tables or counter tops.
Infectious disease specialist, Dr. Curtis Donskey explains, "Viruses and other bacteria can survive on these surfaces for hours, or some bacteria even longer than that...weeks or months." Which means touch it and you could be in trouble, if someone who is sick touched it before you.
The two hand held wands we gave our experts were The Germ Reaper and the Germise. Both use UV lights to sanitize and sterilize.
Our scientists swabbed several products, including a cell phone, the bottom of a sneaker, some Sticky Icky brand kid's toys and a communal keyboard in our newsroom, to get a baseline level of germs. They then put the samples in Petri dishes, before trying to blast away the gems with the wands. And when everything was done, they swabbed all the products again, to see if there were any germs left behind. From there, our scientists took the Petri dishes back to the VA labs, and put them into their 37 degree incubator.
Three days after our unscientific-but-practical germ study, we took a look to see what developed. For this to be a study accepted by medical journals, we would have had to put the same amount of germs on each item.
But Dr. Donskey said, "For demonstration purposes, I think what this nicely shows is that these devices are not really great."
There were fewer germs on the running shoes, but not anywhere near the 99.9% promised by either blaster.
Lab Supervisor Jen Cadnum told me, "We would almost expect it to eliminate all of the bacteria that's there, but there's still some that remains."
It was the same thing with my cell phone and the toys.
Only the keyboard showed a significant reduction of germs.
"Because there are so many nooks and crannies," says Cadnum, "It's hard for us when we use a wipe to get in there and clean. So that's one place where UVC is really an advantage."
It's also why the VA uses it for their keyboards. But get this - the doctor says safety issues with these online products outweighs worries over germs! Because UV lights can be dangerous.
Dr. Donskey explained, "I feel safer just using a disinfectant wipe than I would using this type of a device that you could potentially be exposed to UV with your eyes and your skin." .
We tried to contact the makers of the Germ Reaper and the Germise, but weren't successful. For what it's worth, in 2015 the FTC settled with two companies that sold handheld UV lights for more than half a million dollars, alleging they didn't have solid science backing up their claims.