What is a UV Disinfection System? 

Each year, rates of cell phone usage continually increase. Almost all Americans reportedly own cell phones and use them on a regular basis. However, the statistic is much lower for Americans who regularly disinfect and clean their cellphones, despite the fact that making sure your cellphone is disinfected and free of bacteria remains a crucial part of cellphone ownership. 

Cellphones are integral components of the daily lives of most Americans, especially in the midst of a pandemic where face to face interaction is often not possible. Though the world is beginning to open back up after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, cellphones remain a central part of life, important in both the personal and professional spheres. The importance of cellphones in modern life is not going away any time soon—and neither are the bacteria that crowd cellphone screens, making cellphone users ill without them even realizing. 

How many germs are on your cellphone's screen?

Though incredibly useful, cell phones also come with an inherent flaw—they get very dirty. Your cell phone is actually one of the dirtiest items that you come into contact with on a daily basis because it interacts with a variety of household and public surfaces. On a day-to-day basis your phone might rest on the kitchen counter, brush against door knobs, or accidentally touch your toilet seat, all the while accumulating more bacteria content. Because of this, our cell phones have actually become some of the primary vessels for the spreading of harmful microbes, and in many cases cell phones are making people sick and spreading viruses.

Thankfully, ChargeTech offers convenient and effective solutions to this problem. ChargeTech’s various UV-C disinfection products are simply the best way to ensure your cell phone is completely pathogen-free in an effective and timely manner. Our safe and efficient UV Disinfection Systems are designed to disinfect cellphones, laptops, tablets and other consumer electronics. Our UV-C Disinfecting products such as our line of UV Clean & Charge AC Carts and iCleanse's Swift UV, a product for which we are a proud partner. 

The ChargeTech UV-C Clean and Charge Carts are ideal for disinfecting large numbers of devices at once.

 

How UV Disinfection Systems Work

UV Disinfection Systems are versatile tools that help keep your electronics clean. But how do they work? The process is actually relatively straightforward:

UV Disinfection Systems utilize UV light (a form of electromagnetic radiation present in sunlight) in order to kill bacteria and pathogens. UV-C disinfection refers to the use of UV light to kill the microbes and viruses on an object or in an environment. Ultraviolet (UV) light is a form of light that is invisible to the human eye.

UV light has a shorter wavelength than visible light, meaning it has higher energy than visible light. On the electromagnetic spectrum, UV light sits in between X-rays and visible light. UV light is divided into three categories: UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C. UV-A is defined as light with wavelength 315-400nm, UV-B is 280-315nm, and UV-C is 100-280nm. With the shortest wavelength band, UV-C is the highest energy light in the UV spectrum. 

UV-C wavelengths of 250-280nm are considered to be germicidal. In nature, light that is emitted by the sun in the 250-280nm spectrum is fully absorbed by our atmosphere. This means that, naturally, none of it reaches the Earth’s surface and none of it is absorbed by living organisms. Because of this, microbial cells do not possess any natural resistance or defense mechanism against this type of light. 

CleanCharge by ChargeTech 30 Bay UV-C Clean and Charge Cart

When emitted by a UV-C disinfection device, high-energy light penetrates and is absorbed into the cells of harmful bacteria and microbes. The most harm is done to microbial DNA and RNA. Specifically, nucleic acids are damaged because UV-C absorption facilitates the formation of new bonds between nucleotides called “dimers.’ The nucleotide thymine is most significantly damaged, as formation of thymine dimers damages the DNA of the organism to the point where it is unable to replicate and is effectively killed.

The EPA describes the process of UV Disinfection thusly:

"An Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection system transfers electromagnetic energy from a mercury arc lamp to an organism's genetic material (DNA and RNA). When UV radiation penetrates the cell wall of an organism, it destroys the cell's ability to reproduce. UV radiation, generated by an electrical discharge through mercury vapor, penetrates the genetic material of microorganisms and slows their ability to reproduce."

With ChargeTech UV-C Disinfecting products, this process is undergone in only five minutes, keeping your cellphone pathogen-free in a quick and timely manner, working within your busy schedule and with efficacy you can trust. 

The interior of ChargeTech's 2nd Generation UV-C Clean and Charge Carts showcasing the manner in which UV Light is used inside the UV-C Carts.

 

UV Sanitization vs. UV Disinfection

Also important to note is the difference between UV sanitizing and UV disinfection. ChargeTech UV-C products disinfect, killing the majority of bacteria and pathogens on a cellphone or other electronic device. However, other cleaning products that utilize UV light to kill germs merely sanitize, which is a different process. According to PC Mag that difference is hugely important:

"Most commercial UV products are sold as sanitizers, and it’s important to note that sanitation and disinfection aren't synonymous. Sanitization reduces the number of germs on a surface. Disinfection, on the other hand, 'eliminates many or all pathogenic microorganisms, except bacterial spores, on inanimate objects,' per the CDC."

With ChargeTech UV Disinfection Systems, like our Clean & Charge Cabinets and Swift UV, complete disinfection is occurring with an efficacy that can rival all other UV cleaning products on the market. ChargeTech keeps your devices disinfected, as opposed to merely sanitized, as many other UV-C cleaning products do. ChargeTech's line of UV-C cellphone disinfecting products make sure your cellphone is pathogen-free with absolutely no risk of transmitting viruses to yourself or others.

The Swift UV can disinfect a cell phone in just 14 seconds. Click on the image to learn more.

 

The Many Applications for UV Disinfection Systems

In practice, UV-C disinfection is incredibly simple. Any object or space which is subjected to UV-C light for a sufficient amount of time will be disinfected. This is why it has grown so popular—it is easy, effective, and comes with no real downsides. UV-C technologies have been adopted in many different spheres:

• Air disinfection for classrooms, hospitals, airplanes, etc. 

• Water disinfection at treatment plants

• Disinfection of surfaces and objects placed in a defined chamber

• Disinfection of factory equipment 

• Food and beverage disinfection

In all of these cases, UV-C disinfection has been effective in eradicating harmful microorganisms. Even for just UV-C cellphone disinfection, the amount of different uses and ways a UV cellphone disinfection machine can be used is staggering. 

In one usage of UV-C cleaning products in the public sphere, a study in My American Nurse looked to utilize a UV-C disinfection device in the NICU in order to standardize their system of cellphone disinfection in order to keep cellphones and tablets used by the staff while tending to patients, as electronics were increasingly used by the nurses in order to effectively do their job.

Previously the hospital workers had been using germicidal wipes, which they found worked intermittently and were ultimately insufficient for keeping their smartphones clean, particularly in the busy and potentially germ-filled environment of the hospital. The results of their study confirmed the efficacy of using UV-C disinfection products in healthcare spaces:

 

"The tested UV-C disinfection device, which was well received by hospital staff and patient families, provided a convenient, consistently effective method for disinfecting mobile devices. Continued use of this device is planned in the NICU and gynecology surgery unit, with expansion to additional departments. For a facility with consistently full occupancy and over 3,000 deliveries a year, the device could significantly impact infection prevention."

The professional applications for a UV Disinfection System in the workspace are unlimited and can have a huge impact on staff health and happiness as proven by The Women's Hospital in Southern Indiana, the location where the study took place. ChargeTech's UV-C Disinfection Products have many more applications beyond the healthcare industry however, including in schools, businesses, libraries, airports and anywhere people encounter a large number of germs that they then transfer to their smartphone accidentally.

Below are some of ChargeTech's UV-C disinfection products that effectively and quickly disinfect cellphones, keeping pathogens away from your cellphone.

 

ChargeTech UV-C Products

10 Bay UV Clean and Charge Cabinet 2.0

$1,595.00

The 10 Bay UV Clean & Charge Cabinet 2.0 conveniently charges and cleans up to 10 devices at once. This unit is ideal for charging a high volume of cell phones or other personal devices. The simple One-Touch control system makes it easy to control the charging and UV-C disinfection cycles with the touch of a button. With a cleaning cycle of only five minutes, the 10 Bay UV Clean & Charge Cart 2.0 is the perfect personal device disinfection solution for schools or the workplace.

Also available in 20 Bay, 30 Bay and 40 Bay options. The larger cabinet options are ideal for a high volume of cell phones or other personal devices. With a cleaning cycle of five minutes, the 20, 30 and 40 Bay UV Clean & Charge Cart 2.0 are perfect personal device disinfection solutions for schools or the workplace. 

CleanCharge by ChargeTech 10 Bay UV-C Clean and Charge Cart

Swift UV Quick Cell Phone Disinfector

$1,995.00

ChargeTech is also a proud partner ofiCleanse, a worldwide leader in UVC personal device disinfection. Through this partnership, ChargeTech is now a licensed reseller of iCleanse’s newest cell phone disinfection product, the Swift UV. 

The Swift UV is just what we need as we prepare to re-enter fast-paced environments like restaurants, shopping centers, retail stores, entertainment venues, airports, hotels, hospitals, schools, corporate campuses, and all corporate or public sector facilities. ChargeTech has partnered with iCleanse to distribute their suite of patented UVC disinfection products in order to provide our clients with the best options available to keep their schools and workplaces pathogen-free.

The Swift UV Cell Phone Disinfector by iCleanse