I’m not one for gadgets, but sometimes I find one that I think might be useful.  I do not have germaphobia, at least the germs in my home, but I do get paranoid putting my kids in shopping carts and on public toilets.  Really, does that thin piece of paper used as a toilet seat protector really work?

I was recently sent a Pocket Purifier Handheld UV Ultraviolet Germ-Eliminating Light.

Kill germs and stay healthy! Built in 4 watt germicidal ultraviolet light, deactivates the DNA of bacteria, viruses and other pathogens destroying their ability to multiply.

Eliminate 99.99% of E-coli, staphylococcus, salmonella, germs that cause the flu and the common cold.

UV light will kill germs in as little as 10-15 seconds. The specially designed UV-LidTM helps avoid any harm of ultraviolet light to eyes and skin and also enhances the germ-killing function.

Compact size you can take with you everywhere.

No harmful chemicals are necessary, so great for toys, pacifiers, and food items.

Like any gadget, I question the need for them in my attempts to live the simple life.  Eco Dad thinks this is a cool gadget that would be useful to use in the kitchen occasionally.  My daughter thinks it is neat and just wants to go around the house sterilizing everything!  The fact is I do trust UV-light as a disinfectant.  From the Pocket Purifier package:

Many variables take place in a real world environment that make actual calculating of the UV dosage very difficult.  However, it is proven that UV-light will kill any DNA-based organism given enough UV dosage and that UV light breaks down DNA on a cumulative basis.

I can see that the Pocket Purifier would be very useful in my preschool classroom, where we have toys that are difficult to sterilize when we have a cold, flu, or staph outbreak.  We currently rely on the Thieves Blend of essential oils and vinegar for surfaces that can handle it, but a UV-light would be very useful for the soft, cuddly toys that can’t handle repeated washing.