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An employee of the Chilean-Brazilian airline LATAM monitors the operation of a robot that uses UV light to clean the interior of the aircraft.
Photo: Nelson Almeida/AFP via Getty Images
We first heard about the disinfecting powers of UV-C light (ultraviolet light with a wavelength between 200 and 280 nanometers &#; and the same light that causes sunburn and skin-cell mutation in humans) while talking to certified sex coach Gigi Engle about the best rabbit and bullet vibrators you can buy online. She uses a UV-light sterilization pouch to clean her sex toys of bacteria that could lead to yeast infections or bacterial vaginosis. According to her, UV light is much more convenient than soap and water. &#;You just need to wipe off your toys and pop them in the pouch and you&#;re done,&#; she says.
That made us wonder: If UV light is better than soap at cleaning sex toys, what else might it be useful for cleaning? To find out, we talked to five medical professionals (and one Strategist staffer who swears by her UV-light-blasting water bottle). Eric Lee, a St. Louis&#;based physician, says that &#;UV light, the type used in most common devices on the market to clean household objects, has been shown to be effective in laboratory studies at killing bacteria on computer screens, toothbrushes, and other objects. It has also been shown to affect viruses in similar ways that it affects bacteria.&#; According to Alex Berezow, a microbiologist and senior editor at Big Think who has written on the topic, &#;UV light is lethal to bacteria and viruses because of its high frequency that scrambles and damages their nuclear material. When it damages the DNA (or RNA) code of these pathogens, it also triggers lethal mutations that prevent them from reproducing properly.&#; (As we all protect ourselves from unnecessary coronavirus exposure, we also asked if the existing technology was effective against it. According to Dr. Aaron Glatt, the chair of medicine at Mount Sinai South Nassau and a spokesman for the Infectious Diseases Society of America, &#;there&#;s just not enough evidence to say whether [UV light devices] are an effective tool against COVID-19 or not.&#; Berezow, however, says, considering that &#;UV light kills everything &#; bacteria, fungi, viruses &#; it should kill coronavirus.&#; What we do know for sure is that it is effective against other viruses like the flu.)
With their advice in mind, we found a number of devices that use UV light to kill a range of dangerous bacteria and viruses from MRSA to E. coli. One of them is a UV-light-emitting robot that quite literally zaps operating rooms clean of all pathogens. Another is a giant UV light wand designed by Boeing to disinfect the insides of airplanes.
Outside of those industrial uses, there are a bunch of portable UV sanitizing boxes, wands, and water bottles that claim to kill 99.9 percent of bacteria and viruses on phones, toothbrushes, pacifiers, and a number of other surfaces. We&#;ve found the best available online and included them below. Note that, while none have been proven to kill the coronavirus, a number of them have been put through rigorous third-party lab testing to support their claims. And just in case we need to say it, UV light should never be used on the skin or any other part of the body. Also, you should be careful not to look at it when using a UV-light device to clean objects or surfaces.
[Editors&#; note: No matter how effective these devices are at killing germs, none of them can replace frequent hand-washing, social distancing, and wearing face masks.]
Munchkin Portable UV Sterilizer
$21
Linda Lee, environmental health expert and chief medical affairs and science officer at UV Angel, says UV light and chemicals like bleach or ethanol are equally effective methods for sanitizing surfaces. She suggests using whatever cleansing method is available to you, but points out that, in some situations, UV treatment can be superior. &#;For instance, chemical treatment might be difficult for a baby&#;s pacifier, because the way chemicals work, there&#;s a residual left behind that continues to treat the surface,&#; she says. So maybe don&#;t scrub your baby&#;s pacifier with a Clorox wipe and then hand it right back to them. Another benefit of UV light over wipes or paper towels is that you create less waste. Although Linda Lee has not tested this product, Munchkin claims that it has been put through rigorous testing by an independent lab.
$21
at Munchkin$20
at Bed Bath & Beyond59S Nursery Sterilizer
$130
This sanitizer, also made by Munchkin and 59S, is designed to sanitize larger things like kids&#; toys, baby bottles, cell phones, or other household items. It takes just five minutes to kill 99.9 percent of bacteria and viruses. Plus, it&#;s lightweight and folds down for easy carrying.
$130
at MunchkinCoral UV Sterilizer and Dryer
$169
$169
Here&#;s a similar sanitizer from Coral UV that fits up to four bottles with caps and nipples. And its effectiveness has been tested by an independent laboratory.
$169
at Coral UVHoMedics UV-Clean Portable Sanitizer
$80
Berezow, Eric Lee, and Linda Lee all agree that UV light is most effective when used to disinfect something that is likely to come into contact with germs from multiple people. So under normal circumstances, or if you&#;re staying mostly home due to social distancing and not touching anything from outside your personal bubble because of coronavirus, &#;the germs on your are most likely the same germs that are normally found on your hands,&#; says Berezow. Since most people touch their phones thousands of times a day, killing those germs is rendered pointless once you pick it up and start swiping again. That said, if you leave the house to go grocery shopping, you should be cleaning your when you return &#; preferably before cleaning your hands. You can do that with an alcohol or Clorox wipe, or you can drop your in a box like this (though, again, UV light has not yet been proven to kill the coronavirus). And in general, if your baby drops their pacifier on the grocery-store floor or shares a toy with every kid on the playground, disinfecting it with UV light could reduce the spread of germs. This UV sanitizer from 59S can be used to disinfect phones and keys as well as small objects like pacifiers, toys, or even teething rings.
$80
at Amazon$80
at Amazon59S UV Light Sanitizer Wand
$120
$120
&#;I think these devices would make more sense in public places,&#; says Berezow, who strongly believes that industrial UV-light devices could reduce the transmission of diseases on a large scale if used in airplanes, restaurants, and other places where people congregate. &#;Unfortunately it&#;s an inconvenience and expensive,&#; he says. For now, and as an alternative to chemical cleaners, many UV sanitizing wands have been shown to work about as well as a Clorox wipe at killing bacteria and viruses on smooth nonporous surfaces like airplane tray tables or cell phones. After looking into the research around UV wands for the Strategist, Berezow says, &#;I would say that UV-light wands may be useful as an alternative to chemical cleaners on tabletops or other &#;plain&#; surfaces.&#; But he couldn&#;t find any information regarding rough services like fabric or hotel bed sheets. Purvi Parikh, an immunologist and allergist with Allergy & Asthma Network, says that portable devices such as this &#;are helpful on surfaces and objects such as your but should not be used on your skin.&#; 59s recently came out with this folding UV-light wand that shuts off automatically to protect your eyes when it is turned upside down. According to the manufacturer, its lights have a life span of 10,000 hours, and it can kill up to 99.9 percent of germs on keyboards, desks, sofas, and bathtubs in just three minutes.
$120
at 59SVeriClean Portable UV-C Wand
$110
UVDF supply professional and honest service.
$110
Like the options above, this portable UV-light wand is designed to kill 99.9 percent of surface bacteria as well as most viruses and mold spores. For best results, the brand recommends holding it two to three inches away from the object you want to sterilize, for at least ten to 20 seconds. It&#;s also important to note that this wand will not shut off when turned upside down. So you should use caution to not look directly at the light when using it.
$110
at Oak & HearthThere are also several water bottles and bottle caps that harness UV light to kill germs in your water, reducing bad odors and in some cases making the water safer to drink. Strategist associate director of audience development, Stephanie Downes, who is immunodeficient and extra sensitive to bacteria due to her Crohn&#;s disease, got a Larq water bottle as a gift from her sister after several water bottles with built-in filters didn&#;t work for her. She says &#;because of my Crohn&#;s I can&#;t drink water from the tap. At home, I have a Berkey filter, but it&#;s nice to have this with me when I am out of the house so I can pour tap water in, press a button, and make it drinkable.&#; For a slightly less expensive way to sanitize your water, you can purchase this UV bottle cap that fits most S&#;well-shaped water bottles.
Katadyn Ultra Water Purifier
$120
$120
The rechargeable Katadyn SteriPEN water purifier uses UV-C light to kill 99.9 percent of protozoa (including diarrhea-causing Giardia and Cryptosporidia), bacteria and even viruses. It was designed for backpackers and travelers as a waste-reducing alternative to buying bottled water. The company claims it can sterilize 16 fluid ounces of hot or cold water in less than a minute and 32 ounces in 90 seconds.
$120
at REIActually good deals, smart shopping advice, and exclusive discounts.
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By Shannon Bauer
Before you start waving a handheld wand over every nook and cranny in your home, find out what experts have to say about UV light&#;s disinfection abilities, including whether or not it can kill coronavirus.
After months of frantic hand washing, social distancing, and mask-wearing, it seems that the coronavirus has dug its claws in for the long haul in the U.S. And since the few parts of this scary experience you can control are your own actions and environment, it&#;s no wonder that you &#; and practically everyone else &#; have become cleaning-obsessed. If you didn&#;t stock up on Clorox and disinfectant wipes back in March, you&#;ve likely become a pro at navigating Google to find answers to questions such as &#;can steam kill viruses?&#; or &#;is vinegar a disinfectant?&#; Your missions down the research rabbit hole might&#;ve even led you to other novel ways of killing germs: namely, ultraviolet (UV) light.
UV light has been used for decades (yes, decades!) to reduce the spread of bacteria, such as that which causes tuberculosis, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As for its ability to kill COVID-19 germs? Well, that&#;s not so well-established. Keep reading to find out the expert-backed truth about UV light, including whether or not it can actually prevent coronavirus transmission and what to know about the UV light products (i.e. lamps, wands, etc.) you&#;ve seen all over social media.
But first, what is UV light?
UV light is a type of electromagnetic radiation that&#;s transmitted in waves or particles at varying wavelengths and frequencies, which make up the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum, says Jim Malley, Ph.D., a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of New Hampshire. The most common type of UV radiation? The sun, which produces three different types of rays: UVA, UVB, and UVC, according to the FDA. Most people are familiar with UVA and UVB rays because they&#;re to blame for sunburns and skin cancer. (Related: Ultraviolet Radiation Causes Skin Damage &#; Even When You&#;re Indoors)
UVC rays, on the other hand, never actually make it to the Earth&#;s surface (the ozone layer blocks &#;em), so the only UVC light humans are exposed to is artificial, according to the FDA. Still, it&#;s pretty damn impressive; UVC, which has the shortest wavelength and the highest energy of all the UV radiation, is a known disinfectant for air, water, and nonporous surfaces. So, when talking about UV light disinfection, the focus is on UVC, says Malley. Here&#;s why: when emitted at certain wavelengths and for specific amounts of time, UVC light can damage the genetic material &#; DNA or RNA &#; in bacteria and viruses, inhibiting their ability to replicate and, in turn, causing their normal cellular functions to break down, explains Chris Olson, microbiologist and program manager of Infection Prevention and Emergency Preparedness at UCHealth Highlands Ranch Hospital. (Note: While UVC rays from artificial sources can also pose risks including burns of the eye and skin &#; similar to UVA and UVB rays &#; the FDA upholds that these injuries &#;usually resolve within a week&#; and that the chance of developing skin cancer &#;is very low.&#;)
In order for UV light disinfection to be effective, however, several critical factors must be controlled. First, the rays need to be at the correct wavelengths for the target virus. While this usually depends on the specific organism, anywhere between 200-300 nm is &#;considered germicidal&#; with peak effectiveness at 260 nm, says Malley. They also need to be at the proper dose &#; UV intensity multiplied by the amount of contact time, he explains. &#;The proper UV dose typically needed is very broad, ranging between 2 and 200 mJ/cm2 depending upon the specific conditions, the objects being disinfected, and the desired level of disinfection.&#;
It&#;s also essential that the area is free of anything that could interfere with the UVC light getting to the target, says Malley. &#;We refer to UV disinfection as a line-of-sight technology, so if anything blocks the UV light including dirt, stains, anything casting shadows then those &#;shaded or protected&#; areas will not be disinfected.&#;
If that sounds a bit complex, that&#;s because it is: &#;UV disinfection is not simple; it&#;s not one size fits all,&#; emphasizes Malley. And that&#;s just one reason why experts and research are still unsure exactly how effective, if at all, it can be against the coronavirus. (See also: How to Keep Your Home Clean and Healthy If You&#;re Self-Quarantined Because of Coronavirus)
Can UV light disinfection be used against COVID-19?
UVC has a track record of being very effective against SARS-CoV-1 and MERS, which are close relatives of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Several studies, including reports cited by the FDA, have found that UVC light may have the same effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2, but many have not been extensively peer-reviewed. Plus, there&#;s limited published data about the wavelength, dose, and duration of UVC radiation required to inactivate the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to the FDA. Meaning more research is needed before anyone can officially &#; and safely &#; recommend UVC light as a trusted method for killing coronavirus.
That being said, UV lamps have been and continue to be widely used as a means of sterilization within, for example, the healthcare system. One such reason? Research has found that UVC rays can cut transmission of major superbugs (such as staph) by 30 percent. Many (if not most) hospitals use a UVC-emitting robot that&#;s about the size of a dorm room refrigerator to sterilize entire rooms, says Chris Barty, a physicist and distinguished professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. Once people leave the room, the device gets to work emitting UV rays, self-adjusting to the size of the room and variables (i.e. shadows, hard-to-reach places) to administer the light for as long as it deems necessary. This could 4-5 minutes for smaller rooms such as bathrooms or 15-25 minutes for larger rooms, according to Tru-D, one type of this device. (FWIW, this is done in tandem with manual cleaning using EPA-approved disinfectants.)
Some medical facilities also use UVC cabinets with doors to disinfect smaller items such as iPads, phones, and stethoscopes. Others have actually installed UVC devices in their air ducts to disinfect recirculated air, says Olson &#; and, given the fact that COVID-19 spreads primarily through aerosol particles, this set-up makes sense. However, these medical-grade devices are not intended for individual use; not only are they prohibitively expensive, costing upward of $100k, but they also require proper training for effective operation, adds Malley.
But if you&#;ve spent ample time researching COVID-19 disinfectants, you know that there are at-home UV gadgets and gizmos hitting the market at warp speed right now, all of which purport sanitizing potential from the comfort of your home. (Related: The 9 Best Natural Cleaning Products, According to Experts)
Should you buy UV light disinfection products?
&#;Most home UV light disinfection devices that we have examined and tested [through our research at the University of New Hampshire] do not achieve the levels of germ-killing that they claim in their advertisements,&#; says Malley. &#;Most are under-powered, poorly designed, and might claim to kill 99.9 percent of germs, but when we test them they often achieve less than a 50 percent kill of germs.&#; (Related: 12 Places Germs Like to Grow That You Probably Need to Clean RN)
Barty agrees, saying that the devices do in fact emit UVC, but &#;not enough to really do anything in the amount of time claimed.&#; Remember, for UV light to really kill germs, it needs to be shining for a certain period of time and at a certain wavelength &#; and, when it comes to effectively killing COVID-19, both of these measurements are still TBD, according to the FDA.
While experts are unsure of the effectiveness of UV disinfection devices against coronavirus, especially for at-home use, there&#;s no denying that, pre-pandemic, UVC light had been shown (and even used) to kill other pathogens. So, if you want to give, say, a UV lamp a try, it&#;s quite possible that it&#;ll help slow the spread of other germs hiding in your home. A few things to keep in mind before you buy:
Mercury is a no-no. &#;Hospitals often use mercury vapor-based lamps because they can make a lot of UVC light and disinfect in a relatively short time,&#; says Barty. But, ICYDK, mercury is toxic. So, these types of UV lamps require extra caution during cleaning and disposal, according to the FDA. What&#;s more, mercury lamps also produce UVA and UVB, which can be dangerous for your skin. Look for mercury-free devices, such as Casetify&#;s UV sanitizer (Buy It, $120 $100, casetify.com) or those that are labeled &#;excimer-based,&#; meaning they use a different method (sans-mercury) to deliver UV light.
Pay attention to wavelength. Not all UVC products are created equal &#; especially when it comes to wavelengths. As mentioned earlier, the UVC wavelength can impact a device&#;s effectiveness at inactivating a virus (and thus killing it). It may also impact the health and safety risks associated with using the device, leaving you with the challenge of finding a UV light disinfection device that&#;s powerful enough to kill pathogens without presenting too much of a health risk. So what is the magic number? Anywhere between 240-280 nm, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That being said, a study found that wavelengths ranging from 207-222 nm can also be effective and safe (although, not as easy to come by, according to the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection). TL;DR &#; if it gives you peace of mind or comfort to kill even a few germs on your , go for gadgets that emit, at most, 280 nm.
Consider your surface. UVC light is most effective on hard, non-porous objects, according to the FDA. And tends to be ineffective on surfaces with bumps or ridges, as these make it hard for the UV light to reach all the places where the virus might reside, explains Barty. So, disinfecting a or desktop screen might be more productive than, say, your rug. And if you really want to wave around a UV light sanitizing wand (Buy It, $119, amazon.com) as if it&#;s a lightsaber, your best bet is to do so over, for example, your kitchen countertop (think: smooth, nonporous, germy).
Choose products that close. A wand-like UV device isn&#;t your best bet, says Malley. &#;Living tissues (humans, pets, plants) should not be routinely exposed to UVC light unless it&#;s in a carefully controlled setting with well-trained and experienced medical professionals,&#; he explains. That&#;s because UVC radiation can potentially cause eye injuries (such as photophotokeratitis, essentially a sunburned eye) and skins burns, according to the FDA. So instead exposed light products like a wand or lamp, opt for &#;enclosed devices&#; that come with &#;safety features (automatic shut off switches, etc.) the eliminate the potential to expose living tissues to stray UVC light,&#; says Malley. One good option: &#;A container for your , especially if [your is] left in there for a long time (while sleeping),&#; such as PhoneSoap&#;s Smartphone UV Sanitizer (Buy It, $80, phonesoap.com).
Don&#;t look into the light. Since the long-term effect of UVC on humans is unknown, it&#;s important to be extremely cautious while using a device. Avoid continued contact with the skin and steer clear of staring straight at the illumination, as direct exposure to UVC radiation may cause painful eye injuries or burn-like skin reactions, according to the FDA. But, ICYMI earlier, the UV disinfection devices you can buy off the &#;gram or Amazon are, in Malley&#;s words, &#;underpowered&#; and come with automatic shut-off features, limiting risks. Still, better to be careful, considering we don&#;t fully understand the risks. (Related: Could Blue Light from Screen Time Be Damaging Your Skin?)
Bottom line: &#;Look for a product with a well prepared and thorough user&#;s manual, clear specifications of what the UV device delivers for dose, and some evidence of independent third-party testing to confirm the performance claims being made by the product,&#; suggests Malley.
And until there&#;s more research and concrete findings that UVC light can in fact kill COVID-19, it&#;s likely best to just stick to cleaning on the reg with CDC-approved products, stay diligent with social distancing, and, please wear that mask.
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