With handwashing becoming an international obsession, it’s no surprise that people are now focusing on sanitizing their smartphones as well. There’s a good reason: Your smartphone is likely the most filthy thing you can carry around, and you handle it almost constantly. It may be hard to imagine, but your phone carries more harmful pathogens than a public toilet, harboring some 20,000 discrete types of bacteria. Because we now know how critical it is to keep smartphones clean, UV sanitizers have come into vogue as another way to zap germs.
Ultraviolet light, especially UV-C — with a wavelength of between 200 and 280 nanometers — can be harnessed and deployed to kill off germs on surfaces like your smartphone and other small personal items like keys and credit cards. UV phone-sanitizing cases won’t damage your device, but they will help to eradicate bacteria and viruses. Here are a few of the best ones we’ve found.
PhoneSoap 3
PhoneSoap doesn’t just use UVC technology to kill germs and bacteria on the surface of your phone; it also charges your phone during the process. Designed to fit in almost anywhere you need it — on your nightstand, in the kitchen, or at the office — the unit’s 360-degree disinfection takes just 10 minutes. PhoneSoap 3.0 was designed for cell phones, but you can use it to sanitize other small objects like phone cases, keys, and credit cards. It comes in a variety of pleasing colors to fit your space.
Casetify UV Sanitizer
The Casetify UV Sanitizer was designed to sterilize smartphones with six UV lights that promise to obliterate nearly 100% of microbes in three minutes flat. The UV-C case can accommodate so much more than your phone. Use it to sanitize jewelry, glasses, wallets, watches, and any other small item you feel uncomfortable handling.
HoMedics UV-Clean Phone Sanitizer
HoMedics UV-Clean Phone Sanitizer — with a pop-up design to maximize light coverage — promises to eliminate nearly 100% of bacteria and viruses, even while you’re on the go. After it’s done, the unit collapses back down into its original compact form to tote anywhere. You get 70 uses per charge, so there’s plenty of juice in it. It also sanitizes other heavy-use items like keys, credit cards, pens, eyeglasses, or your computer mouse. There’s no mercury or chemicals, and the device’s safety lock prevents UV exposure.
59S UV Light Sanitizer Box
The 59S Light Sanitizer Box zaps nasty germs from the surface of your smartphone in just three minutes. This UV lightbox disinfects safely by emitting ultraviolet light with eight UVC LEDs. It switches off automatically when it completes the cleaning cycle, saving battery, and the device is also compatible with glasses, keys, and a number of other everyday items.
Vinpie Cell Phone Sanitizer
If you’re intent on killing nearly 100% of microbes on your phone, consider the Vinpie Sanitizer, which operates without liquids, heat, or chemicals, to get deep into the small crevices of your handset. If you’re an aromatherapy aficionado, you’re in luck, because this unit can accommodate essential oils as well. The Vinpie can clean any phone that’s 7.2 inches or smaller in diagonal length, as well as credit cards, jewelry, watches, and keys. It automatically shuts off after two minutes as the process winds down. It also doesn’t hurt that the Vinpie sports a simple, stylish, and lightweight design that’s ideal for home, office, or on the road.
Lambor Studios Portable UV Phone Sanitizer
This portable UV sterilizing box, with its two UV lights, can eradicate almost 100% of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli in 18 minutes, and Candida albicans in 30 minutes. That’s not all. The cell phone cleaner can also wirelessly charge any Qi-enabled phone, either on top of or inside the box — with or without a few drops of your favorite essential oil. It accommodates smartphones up to 6.5 inches in diagonal length, but you can also sterilize masks, glasses, jewelry, watches, car keys, and earbuds. UV lamps inside the box switch off automatically for safety when you open the magnetic switch cover.