Tanning bed kills bacteria while simultaneously charging cell phone

Last year, thanks to some viral videos and a successful Kickstarter campaign, the folks behind PhoneSoap were able to secure the funding they needed in order to get their novel piece of technology off the testing floors and into buyer’s homes.

And luckily for us customers, they were able to complete this process with a fairly affordable price tag of $49.99. 

For those unfamiliar with the PhoneSoap story, the tanning bed-like device uses the same type of electromagnetic radiation employed in hospitals to obliterate 99.9% of bacteria and viruses stuck to one’s mobile device.

It can do this by way of employing two 254-nm UV-C lamps and a curved, reflective inner surface, which allows the light to surround the phone and destroy all bacteria from all possible angles.

Out of the three UV light wavelength categories, UV-A, UV-B and UV-C, the latter is considered the germicidal wavelength, as it uses short-wavelength ultraviolet radiation which is harmful to microorganisms because it destroys nucleic acids and breaks apart germ DNA (UV-A and UV-B do not have this effect).

Once the DNA is broken, the microorganism loses its ability to function (and reproduce), and so it dies.

UV-C light is blocked by the Earth’s atmosphere, and so its germicidal effects are rarely seen in the natural environment. It’s just as well, since the light is harmful to human eyes, which is why the PhoneSoap folk designed their technology to be an enclosed device.

“Neither of us are germaphobes. But there are really certain types of germs that we really should not be in contact with, and they’re on our phones,” says Dan Barnes who, along with Wesley LaPorte, created the PhoneSoap device.

The noteworthy part about PhoneSoap is that ridding one’s mobile device of malicious bacteria is not the only thing it can do — it also charges phones. So, while it might take a few minutes for it to complete a cleaning (four, to be exact), the device can stay in the bed, plugged in, until fully charged.

PhoneSoap started shipping out late last year. It’s priced somewhat affordably at $49.99, and can be purchased via the PhoneSoap website.