Cell phones are now an integral part of everyday life, but many people do not seem to realize that the gadget is also a perfect breeding ground for bacteria and germs. One study has even claimed that cell phones harbor as much as up to 18 times more germs than a flush handle that is found in a standard men’s bathroom.
In order to keep hands clean, we generally wash them with both soap and water, but that is not applicable when it comes to sanitizing cell phones. Wesley LaPorte and his team have come up with a novel idea to start a clean cell phone revolution in the form of PhoneSoap, a prototype for a device that sanitizes mobile devices.
PhoneSoap is a small box that simultaneously both charges and sanitizes a cell phone by making use of ultraviolet-C light, which is a form of electromagnetic radiation that has germicidal effects. The developers claim that the device is both safe and up to 99.9 percent effective when it comes to killing bacteria and viruses, but at the same time holds no risk of causing any kind of damage at all to the cell phone itself.
In order to recharge the battery of the cell phone and to sanitize it at the same time, you simply open the box, put the phone on the special UV transparent platform and then shut it. PhoneSoap is expected to hit the market in the US later this year, priced $40.