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Cleaning without spraying or scrubbing

CREATED Feb. 22, 2012 - UPDATED: Feb. 22, 2012

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MILWAUKEE- Get things clean with no spraying and no scrubbing. Just point a light on any surface and the germs are gone. Or are they? We put the Pocket Purifier under the microscope.

It comes with a lot of promises, but is it really the future of germ fighting or just too simple to be true? We had a local mom give the Pocket Purifier a try.

For less than $20 the manufacturer of this handheld uv-c light claims it destroys germs in just 30 seconds. Skeptical? So were we and decided to put the Pocket Purifier under the microscope, so to speak.

And who better to help us than a mom. Lisette Schnieders has a toddler, a dog, and is 7 months pregnant. She's pretty picky about germs. "Hey, if it works that would be awesome, and i'd get one!" Armed with the Pocket Purifier and swabs from a local lab Lisette targeted things that breed a lot of germs, like her daughter Sofia's toys.

We had Lisette swab one half. On the other half of the toy, she used the Pocket Purifier for the recommended 10-15 seconds followed by a new swab.

Same routine for the kitchen counter. "If it's this easy that would be phenomenal!" She also tested a door knob and a toilet.

We took all those samples to "SF Analytical" in New Berlin and microbiologist Gil Kelley. First up the door knob. The untreated side had a bacteria count of almost a thousand. To be "germ free" in the world of microbiology the *treated* surface should drop to a bacteria count of 100. After using the Pocket Purifier it was 300. "It certainly didn't eliminate the bacteria," Kelley told us.

What about Sofia's toy? No change. Same story with the toilet. The bacteria count only dropped by 250. And the dirtiest surface, the kitchen counter? It was still dirty. Kelley commented "I wouldn't eat off of it; I wouldn't put any food on it."

Lisette just wishes something so simple would have been the answer to keeping things clean. "It just seemed way too good to be true, that cleaning would be that easy. But yeah, it's a bummer!"

Purely Products sent us the Pocket Purifier and asked us to do a story. When they learned we actually tested it no one was available to answer our questions.

So the bottom line? Stick with the traditional germ fighters.

 

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