The average cell phone carries more germs than a toilet handle, but that hasn’t stopped 65 percent of Americans from sleeping beside their devices on a nightly basis.
Now that studies have shown there’s really no place a smartphone won’t go (including the bathroom), a little concern over mobile cleanliness could go a long way. Thanks to a new project from Kickstarter, sanitizing a germy cell could soon become as easy as plugging it in to charge.
With PhoneSoap, charging and cleaning becomes a simultaneous process. Dirty iPhones or micro USB charged devices are inserted into a box that soaks them with UV-C light, killing any bacteria the stream encounters. Since the product must be plugged in, PhoneSoap powers phones up while stripping them of germs.
The device uses technology similar to the self-sanitizing keyboard found in doctor’s offices and hospitals—both utilize UV light at specific wavelengths in order to break down and eradicate germs.
The sanitization process only takes three to five minutes so once complete, the machine shuts off and continues charging the phone separately.
If PhoneSoap’s creators manage to get the product off the ground, they plan to sell the devices for $40 a piece. In the meantime, it might be wise to break a few of those unsanitary smartphone habits.
[via Digital Trends]
Image: CNET
