Samsung UV Sterilizer Review: UV-C Can Be Your Ally In The War Against A Deadly Virus
Air purifiers. Water purifiers. Hand sanitizers. The must haves in any modern home in most Indian cities. We can now also add UV-C sterilizers to that list, also thanks to the growing acceptance about better cleanliness and disinfection routines thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. There aren’t many ways to get rid of COVID or most other viruses for that matter, if it happens to be sitting around. The ultraviolet-C (UV-C) is one of those few things that do. Samsung has a new UV Sterilizer box that can completely sterilize your phones, accessories and a lot more. Basically, whatever you can fit inside it. The Samsung UV-C sterilizer is priced at Rs 3,599 and it really is as simple as it gets.
A UV sterilizer uses a germicidal fluorescent lamp to envelop whatever it is that you want to disinfect. Studies have shown that this sterilization method is effective against foodborne pathogens, natural microbiota, molds, and yeasts, for instance. This works by breaking down certain chemical bonds and scrambling the structure of the DNA, RNA and proteins, which renders the microorganism unable to multiply. That is when it is effectively dead.
What you basically get as the Samsung UV Sterilizer is a box that has a nice white colour finish. It is a slightly off-white finish, which looks good when kept clean. Yet, I did notice this catch smudges if your hands aren’t perfectly clean and also dust and dirt just shows up much more. This has a magnetic cover and the lid has a hinge which can be adjusted and left at very angles, and it won’t drop on your hand as you may be keeping stuff inside the box or taking something out. Since there are magnets holding this in place in the closed position, you may have to use a bit more force than you may have initially imagined, to open this. Once the Samsung UV Sterilizer is open, you will see a light grey finish on the inside, which UV-C lamps embedded on the left and right-side walls.
There is a single power key at the front, which enables at 10-minute sterilization session. There appear to be four UV-C lamps in total inside the Samsung UV Sterilizer —two tubes at work on the left and two tubed on the right. There is a translucent grille protecting these, and you will not touch them in an ideal situation. At the base are there rubber bumps that give your phone, earbuds etc. just that extra elevation for the UV-C to be able to circle whatever is you have kept inside completely.
Studies have proven that UV-C can kill the coronavirus. The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine suggests that UV-C light has proven to destroy related Coronaviruses, including the one that caused MERS. But the caveat shouldn’t be missed—UV-C is good for sterilizing objects and surfaces but should not be used on human skin or anywhere near our eyes, for example. The concept of UV actually comes from nature. The sun does send UV-A, UV-B and UV-C out into the solar system, and it is the natural UV-C which has the most energy that could also be dangerous—and therefore the earth’s atmosphere absorbs us from it. But the man-made sources of UV-C, when used in a controlled environment, can be used for sterilization purposes. Such as in this case. UV-C is used to clean water as well.
Once you keep whatever is that needs sterilization inside, press the power button on the front and this starts a 10-minute cleaning session. The Samsung UV Sterilizer will not power on in case the lid is even slightly open. That is because direct exposure to UV-C is not recommended. If anytime during this cleaning session do you open the lid, the UV-C immediately switches off.
