Core77

Hell in a Handbasket: The PhoneSoap Ultraviolet Cell Phone Disinfecter

By Rain Noe - December 23, 2013

in Object Culture

The two friends of mine who were raised by germ-freak, super-clean parents are the two who get sick the most often. My theory is that their immune systems were hobbled by them not being allowed to play in filthy sandboxes as kids. And while I'm not one of those anti-vaccination nuts, I'm fine with encountering a certain amount of dirt; hell, I'd better be, as I live in New York City.

Where do you draw the line with personal cleanliness? A company called PhoneSoap claims that your phone is filthy, filthy, filthy, and suggests you buy their $50 ultraviolet phone cleaner/charger to regularly disinfect it. Their website claims, in alarmist tones, that your phone is dirtier than your toilet seat; I've got news for you, I bet most things in most peoples' houses are dirtier than their toilet seats, because we clean toilets with harsh chemicals on a regular basis.

The hyperbole is laid on pretty thick, with the company citing Fox News to point out that "A cell phone has 18 times more bacteria than a public restroom" and claiming that "The way we use our phones makes us... sick" and then dropping this gem:

Not only are the extra bacteria on our phones bombarding our immune systems, they can also cause some serious facial effects. Some types of acne come directly from talking on the phone! Pressing your cheek and chin against your phone can exacerbate acne by allowing bacteria to get into those pores, causing chaos.

I'm not buying it. Are you?

o

Favorite This
Q
4

Comment

Comments

Megan

10 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

I think I will.
!Report as spam
Gregory Paul

10 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

I am buying both the problem and the solution. It doesn't take a rocket scientist, or a pathologist to understand the problem by just sticking with the basic facts. Some bad bacteria / germs make us sick. Sometime we become sick from airborne germs, but most of the time we get sick from what we touch with our hands and then transfer into our system by then touching our eyes, nose, ears and mouth before we have an opportunity to clean our hands. We also know that bacteria, good and bad, multiply on warm surfaces, expecially in dark places. So, a phone in a pocket or purse is the perfect breeding ground for helping unwanted germs multiply. You never know what others have touched and when they last washed their hands and those germs can transfer to us via a handshake or handling money, knobs, handles, etc. It is not uncommon for our hands to pick up germs and then handle our cell phones before we have an opportunity to wash our hands. At some point we eventually wash, but as soon as we pick up the phone again we also pick up the germs. Looking at the PhoneSoap web site I see that anything you can fit into the PhoneSoap device can be completely disenfected in 4 minutes. I don't care so much about the phone charging capability, but I really like the idea of being able to place the phone in the device, close the lid and a few minutes later have a clean phone. I can also think of a lot of other objects I'd like to regularly drop into the PoneSoap too. Yep, I'm buying it! Thanks for bring it to my attention.
!Report as spam
C

11 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

You will need this is if you use the phone while in the bathroom and don't wash your hands before you eat.

If you wash your hands regularly and before you touch food most people of the world are going be just fine.

!Report as spam
Matt Fulghum

11 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

90+% of the cells in the human body are bacteria (although they are much smaller than human cells, so they only make up a few percent of body mass). There are ALREADY absurd numbers of bacteria in those pores you're pressing up against your phone.
!Report as spam