I guess the reason that I'm a semi-germophobe stems from the fact that I am a former Science teacher and in college I've seen things you can't imagine growing in Petri dishes and test tubes.  I'm also a first-time mommy and we all know that first-time mommies are a tad on the overprotective side!  :)

I am thankful to say that because of our constant vigilance to sanitize areas my daughter comes in contact with, she is 18 months old and has never been sick!  This is why I was completely intrigued when I heard about the Verilux UVC Sanitizing Travel Wand with CleanWave Technology.  Would it be able to help me easily sanitize objects we come in contact with when we go out?  Let's see...

The CleanWave® UV-C Portable Sanitizing Wand lets you sanitize your home away from home. Hotel rooms contain billions of germs, bacteria and viruses left by countless guests. Fresh towels and sheets don’t always assure clean. Use the Portable Wand on hotel room bedding, telephones, remote controls, door knobs and bathroom surfaces to eliminate the germs and bacteria waiting for you when you check in. Outside the hotel, it’s invaluable too. Public restrooms, headrests on planes and trains, all benefit from the sanitizing properties of UV-C light.

The Verilux CleanWave® UV-C Portable Sanitizing Wand utilizes advanced UV-C light technology to eliminate dust mite eggs, viruses, bacteria, flea eggs and household germs.
The wand features:

• Push button operation
• Built in light to indicate unit is active
• Wrist strap for ease of use
• Uses four AA batteries (not included)
• Low battery warning light
• One year limited warranty
• 30 day money back guarantee
• Dimensions: 10.39” H x 1.5” W
• Weight: 0.3 lbs

I was very excited to receive the Verilux UV-C Sanitizing Travel Wand to review.  The first thing I really liked was how lightweight the wand was and how it had a convenient wrist strap so that you could hold it securely and not risk dropping it.  It is very easy to operate.  Simply push down the blue button on the front and wait for the light to come on.

Next, you slowly wave the lighted wand over surfaces which you would like to sanitize, such as restaurant tables, silverware, and drinking glasses.  You could literally use this on hundreds of different items, like cell phones, toilet seats, faucets, door knobs and handles, steering wheels, laptop keyboards, computer mice, remote controls, etc.

You are instructed NOT to use this sanitizing wand on your own skin, because it kills by penetrating cellular membranes and dismantles cells' reproductive capabilities.   Since we are comprised of cells as well, we want to make sure that the light does not come into contact with our skin or eyes.  The sanitizing wand has an automatic shutoff, so that if the wand is tilted in any way, we cannot accidentally turn it on ourselves or look directly at the light.

The great thing about the Verilux UV-C Sanitizing Travel Wand is that it is lightweight and fits easily into your larger purse or baby bag.  It is chemical-free and odorless and will not irritate your skin, eyes or lungs.  It also doesn't leave behind any toxic residues, but merely eliminates the disease-causing microbes that live and multiply on everday surfaces.  It also is effective against dust mite eggs, E. Coli, rotaviruses, H1N1 (swine flu), MRSA, flea eggs, bacteria and 99.9% of household allergens and germs.  The wand requires 4 AA batteries.

Top of the UV-C Sanitizing Travel Wand

Underside of the UV-C Sanitizing Travel Wand

Riley will be potty training soon and I love that I could use this to help sanitize the public potties for her.  She's way too little to "hover" like us big girls do, and so this would be a great alternative.  Also, this is a must-have for the public changing tables that I absolutely HATE using!  Now, I won't have to wipe down every inch of it with hand sanitizer before I change Riley on one of those things!  I will also be using this instead of the hand sanitizer when we eat out and Riley sits at the table with us.  Restaurant tables carry a myriad of germs and it will be nice to know that I can protect her from some of these germ "hot spots".

The only thing I don't like about the Verilux UV-C Sanitizing Travel Wand is that it takes SO LONG to actually sanitize these surfaces.  The packaging suggests waving this wand over a toilet seat for 2 full minutes before use.  It also says for excessively polluted environments, that you need to use the wand for 5 full minutes to achieve peak performance!  Now I don't know about you, but a toddler or anyone else for that matter, is probably not going to wait 5 minutes to use the potty.  Here are the suggested sanitizing times for some common surfaces:

• Telephone - 1 minute
• Steering Wheel - 2 minutes
• Keyboards - 2 minutes
• Toilet Seat - 2 minutes
• Faucet - 1 minute
• Light Switch - 20 seconds

In my opinion, this is way too long to use to be convenient.  You also have to remember that if a surface is especially contaminated, you should use the sanitizing wand for 5 minutes.  The wand also should not be handled at all by children, since the lamp contains mercury, a poison.

I really like the Verilux UV-C Sanitizing Travel Wand with CleanWave Technology because it is extremely lightweight and portable.  It also sanitizes by emitting a light and so is odorless and leaves behind no toxic chemicals on your surfaces.  There is an auto shutoff feature, so that it is impossible to turn the light upward and look at it or direct it toward yourself.  The UV-C Sanitizing Travel Wand is effective on 99.9% of household germs and allergens, including dust mite eggs, influenza viruses, E. Coli bacteria, flea eggs and H1N1.

This wand uses 4 AA batteries, so you must remember to keep a spare set of batteries with you, just in case.  The only thing I really didn't like about the UV-C Sanitizing Travel Wand is that it takes several minutes of constant use to sanitize most surfaces.  That kind of time isn't really convenient for me and so I am leaving the decision on whether or not to purchase this up to you.  If you don't mind the time needed for proper sanitization, then I think this is a terrific product.

Additional Products from Verilux:

Disclosure:  I received the UV-C Sanitizing Travel Wand from Verilux in order to facilitate my review. No other compensation was received. This product review is based on my own personal experiences with this item and is completely honest and objective.