Phone Sanitizer Can Kill 99% of Bacteria and Germs
This is Obsessed: my weekly column devoted to sharing all the things I’m loving right now—from unique food and gift ideas to travel destinations and beauty products—plus some tips and tricks for living your best life.
It’s no secret: Your cell phone is probably covered in germs. Research says a mobile phone can be 10 times dirtier than a toilet seat. This isn’t all that surprising, considering 74% of Americans use their cell phone on the toilet regularly, according to a survey from BankMyCell. Even if you’re part of the 26% who doesn’t, you probably have it stuck in your hand most other times—like when you’re grocery shopping or reading a recipe while cooking—so you should be cleaning it on the reg. Not to mention, we’re in the middle of the novel coronavirus pandemic right now, so we should be extra cautious about disinfecting.
The CDC recommends disinfecting high-touch surfaces like faucets, remotes, light switches and your phone daily during the coronavirus pandemic. While you could take a disinfecting wipe or a cleaning cloth sprayed with disinfectant to your screen, those are in pretty short supply right now (and, not to mention, super-saturated wipes can actually damage your phone).
PhoneMust claims its UV phone sanitizer kills 99.9% of bacteria and viruses—which, naturally, made me wonder if it could kill the coronavirus. While the coronavirus is a new virus and more research needs to be done, this gadget can kill MRSA, E. coli, staph, salmonella, rhinovirus, phage and influenza (H1N1) in under three uses, so it seems pretty promising against COVID-19.
You just put your phone in the case, zip it up and press the button to activate the sanitizing UV lights. The case can be charged, and each charge lasts for up to 70 uses. I absolutely love this sanitizer because it’s large enough to fit my oversized iPhone, glasses, credit cards and car keys, but it’s still portable enough to throw in my purse. While it’s unclear how long coronavirus can live on surfaces, my thoughts are: “It certainly can’t hurt, right?” (Buy it: $80, Bed Bath & Beyond)