UV light kills keyboard germs

The spread of disease in the workplace has long been a problem for employers. Falcon Industries along with the University of Hertfordshire have developed a product to kill germs from keyboards using UV light. The product, known as ‘Germ Genie’ will be launched next week.

Keyboards can be very easily damaged, traditional cleaning products are not designed for use on such equipment. Falcon Industries have developed a product, which can kill well-known germs on the keyboard without physically touching it.
The Germ Genie sits above the keyboard and when the keyboard is not in use – shines out UV rays, which kill the surface germs. The effectiveness of the product has been tested by the Biodet division of Hertfordshire University. Richard Smith, Director of Biodet said: “We were given a Germ Genie and we did the testing to show that it worked. The science of UV light being anti-microbial is well established, but the Germ Genie had not been tested thoroughly to show that it worked on computer keyboards.”
The tests from Biodet show that within two minutes 99% of germs are killed from the main body of the keyboard, and the whole keyboard is cleaned within 10 minutes. The speed is of significant importance – with many companies and authorities employing ‘shared desk’ policies. The UV light is turned on after the keyboard has not been used for two minutes and sanitises the keyboard by preventing the spread of germs such as flu, MRSA and E.Coli.
James Louttit, Managing Director of Falcon Innovations said: “We were very pleased to work with the University of Hertfordshire. They have been very responsive in answering the question “does Germ Genie work?” and bringing a scientific rigour to the testing. We expected the results to be good, but it is invaluable to us to be able to demonstrate a ninety-nine percent kill across the keyboard. The University of Hertfordshire has really lived up to their reputation as a business friendly institution, and as a start-up entrepreneur, I have been very pleasantly surprised at what can be achieved when academic institutions work with business.”
The Germ Genie will be demonstrated at Total Workplace Management show on 6-7 October and the Hospital Infection Society Conference in Liverpool on 11-13 October.

Published: Friday, 1st October 2010 by Adelle Kehoe