germaphobes

In recent years, you may have seen a story or two about how toilet seats are cleaner than your cell phone. Well, there may not be an app for eliminating those teeming germs from your mobile, but Violight, a company that specializes in UV toothbrush sanitizers, has developed something called the Cell Phone Sanitizer to execute microbes.

Violight says it's the first UV sanitizing device designed to "eliminate up to 99.9% of germs and bacteria on your cell phone," as well other small electronic devices, including earbuds and Bluetooth headsets.

According to the company, the germicidal … Read more

Given all the bizarre turntables that show up on Crave, we thought this would be yet another one of them upon first glance. Instead, it turned out to be an example of another popular trend we don't understand: ultrasonic cleaning gadgetry.

The SWV-08AM "megasonic cleaning device" from Conway supposedly will eliminate all the disgusting "dirt and agrochemicals" on the surface of everything from fruit to frying pans with little or no detergent, according to Engadget. And it has a built-in "P-Sediment" filter (doesn't everyone?) to maintain the ultra-purity of its water. Germaphobes, … Read more

Here in the tropics of Singapore where it's perpetually summer, air conditioners are big business all year long. We're happy campers as long as they just do their job, but Samsung is on a crusade to improve our health as well with two new bacteria-killing models.

Using Samsung's proprietary Micro Plasma Ion technology, the Vivace Shadow Mirror pictured here and Neo-Forte pack enough firepower to zap all manner of germs. According to company representatives, MPI is capable of effectively eliminating 78 percent of fungus and 58 percent of bacteria in a 30-minute time frame, within an enclosed … Read more

For reasons that are all too obvious to the OCD community, the toothbrush has been the object of seemingly endless technological innovations designed to sterilize this most hallowed of hygienic instruments. But one product just on the market puts a new spin on the concept, quite literally: It uses ultrasonic waves to clean teeth, not just the toothbrush.

This germaphobe's delight claims to emit nearly 4 million cycles of ultrasonic energy from its head every two minutes while removing up to 95 percent of plaque in the first 60 seconds of brushing. The only thing better would be one … Read more

Just like in the movies, they attack when you least expect it. It had been months since we'd encountered any spherical alien vehicles, but they're back--disguised a harmless air filter.

The "Antibac2K" claims to be a lightweight air-cleaning device that eliminates 99.99 percent of bacteria and other contaminants. That's a whole 0.02 percentage points more than other air filters, and we germaphobes all know how important that difference is.

But benefits aside, this circular menace is betrayed by its LEDs, which we all know the classic alien calling cards. We hope only that … Read more

Believe it or not, one of the most popular items ever featured on Crave was a hand dryer. Not just any old washroom appliance, mind you, but the Dyson Airblade--a supposedly state-of-the-art contraption from the U.K. that "strips water droplets off your mitts in 6 to 12 seconds" with air traveling at 400 miles per hour. (See NYC Craver Rich DeMuro test it out in this video and judge for yourself.)

But barely three months later, it already has competition from another European company that makes the "Veltia," a self-proclaimed "new generation hand … Read more

Sure, we have germ-killing handheld devices in various sizes. There's just one problem, as every germaphobe knows: They require you to get uncomfortably close to the potential contaminants at hand.

That's why we're so delighted to see products like this germ-eliminating vacuum cleaner, which uses a HEPA filter that catches the usual 99.97 percent of cooties as promised by most other gadgets of this kind. (We live in fear of encountering whatever's in that remaining 0.03 percent.)

Best of all, this upright machine with its telescoping wand and crevice nozzle allows us to do … Read more

The hot trend of air-purifying combo gadgetry continues. Just as we saw a few months ago with a lamp-speaker-filter, this convergence juggernaut continues unabated. The latest combination: a purifier with mood lighting.

What better way to relax after a hard day of destroying 99.97 percent of the allergens and contaminants in your immediate vicinity? It's like nalpalm in a bacteria-free morning, or perhaps the perfect setting for a romantic evening shared by two germaphobes. The curiously named "RabbitAir MinusA2 Air Purifier" supposedly can be programmed to target specific areas, with such category names as "Baby,&… Read more

We must admit that, as far as germ-centric issues are concerned, the toothbrush has to rank at or near the top of the list. And even though some uber-devices claim to sterilize practically any object they encounter, we'd feel more comfortable with something that's been developed specifically for oral hygiene.

Now we finally have just such an item that's made for travel--which is ideal because, as any bona fide germaphobe will tell you, the hotel room is the ultimate breeding ground for cooties. The scientific-sounding "Violight VIO200 Travel Toothbrush Sanitizer" is the portable version of … Read more