Germ Guardian EV-9-102 UV-C Air Sanitizer, Stainless Steel
|
List Price: Our Price: Calculated in a shopping cart Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Health Care See more product details |
|---|
Customer Reviews of Germ Guardian EV-9-102 UV-C Air Sanitizer, Stainless Steel
Customer Review: light bulb only lasts a few weeks then burns out
Summary: 1 Stars
The light bulbs don't last very long. This product is not a very good value for the money.Customer Review: Poor construction, extremely noisy, bulb failure
Summary: 1 Stars
I'm a sustainable building consultant in Hawaii where we have very high humidity levels and indoor air quality issues are very common. I purchased two Germ Guardians recently. My purchase was both for personal use, and to provide a consumer review for my clients.
After less than a month of use, the bulb started to flicker and died in one unit. I am very familiar with UV-C sterilizing lights and have used them reliably for years in koi pond, potable water, and HVAC applications. I've never seen a bulb fail so quickly. In fact, quality UV bulbs typically last for several years even though their effectiveness diminishes over time. Note, that the bulbs are extremely expensive for UV C applications.
Additionally I find the fan units of these devices to be very loud, so much so that they cannot be used in a room if the room is occupied, and certainly not in a bedroom. I measured the sound at 5 feet at 50 decibels. And yes I take sound measurements professionally. Thats 4 sones! The industry standard threshold for bathroom fans for example is one sone.
I have not yet disassembled one, but expect to find poor construction and cheap components.
I don't feel I have received a quality product for the price.
The concept is great, and there is a market, but the quality of this particular product is not at a marketable level in my opinion.
Customer Review: I Question Manufacturing Quality
Summary: 3 Stars
I ordered two of these from Amazon for use in a large bedroom for a person with ongoing health issues. The order arrived very quickly and I anxiously tried the units to see how they operated initially. As soon as I turned on the first I could hear the fan literally rattling loud enough to sound like it was on the verge of failing. And that was when it was set on low speed! On high speed it was obnoxious. The other unit was definitely quieter but not nearly quiet enough to be used in any bedroom. Amazon was superb and sent two replacements via 1-day air without hesitation and paid return shipping for the bad units. I could not ask for better service from them.
Of the two replacements, one fan initially ran with a noticeable rattle and the other rattled very lightly. Possibly as quiet as it may ever be. After 48 hours the rattling sounds have diminished but the units are still too noisy for use in a bedroom. Both have an irritating whine in addition to the sound of air movement and that sound cannot be ignored in an otherwise quiet room. So they cannot be used in a bedroom for anyone but a very sound sleeper. I have kept one in the bedroom but turn it off at night. The noisier of the two stays running in a different room.
I wish I could evaluate these on their effectiveness at cleaning the air but it's too early for that. However, the significant variation between the behavior of 4 units can be evaluated and makes me question their construction quality before ever getting to the germ killing issue. Not a great start and not very impressive. If we see some apparent improvement in air quality or health issues diminish with time I will modify this review. I hope it will be possible to report some very positive results because the concept seems a good one, especially for those with health problems.
There is a definite quality issue here in that 4 units all have noticeable differences in noisiness from their fans and all fans emit a rattling sound as if they are worn or out of balance and on the verge of failing. Fan technology is certainly nothing new and for what these units cost, it is not asking too much to expect a quiet, quality fan.
If you buy these please know that they are not whisper-quiet and don't be surprised if they even sound as if something may be wrong.
Customer Review: Have had one for a couple years, works great!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had one germ guardian at home for two years and no one in my family has been sick. This year, I decided to buy another one for my son's classroom and the teacher is thrilled to have it. No one has been sick in her classroom since it has been there. Hey if this machine can prevent germs in a classroom and prevent me from taking time off of work to care for my sick child, it is more than worth it. Don't understand how it works, but it does and with all the airborne illnesses, I would recommend it to everyone, and I have.Customer Review: Smelled after six months
Summary: 1 Stars
1. Annoying, bright blue light. The light makes it difficult to sleep with (I had this in my bedroom). I put black electrical tape over the two light slits, thereby ghetto-fying a previously awesome looking unit.
2. Noisy fan. The noise is difficult to sleep with. Dialing it down to the lowest speed makes it tolerable, but it feels weird knowing it's at its lowest.
3. Accumulated a lot of dust. The dust on the filter is easy to clean but good luck cleaning the dust from the fan and in the surrounding areas at the bottom. Compressed air only gets the loosest dust out, but on mine there was a stubborn layer of dust that was difficult to get to (and likely impossible without disassembling the unit).
4. Smelled bad. This happened after six months, and may have been partially my fault - I sprayed Chamomile fragrance near it, and I think the unit sucked it in. The smell came from inside the unit, and smelled *bad*. I think the fragrance may have stuck to the accumulated dust and the combo of the two made a stinky odor. I hope it's not mold or bacteria (uh, the unit is supposed to eliminate that?).
I couldn't figure out how to clean the bottom stink out of the bottom of the unit (the top of the unit was easy to clean because it's easily accessible), so I threw it out. I had learned to live with it for the first 6 months that it was odor free, but I'm definitely NOT getting this again for the bedroom.
[UPDATE] Ok, I ended up disassembling/dismantling the thing before I finally threw it out. The remaining odor was mostly around the dust covered fan unit. I did some googling, and I think the smell was from the chamomile spray residue (on the dust and the other surfaces) getting rancid - I am not a chemist but supposedly UV light helps certain things get rancid! On the other hand, disassembling the unit made me appreciate the craftsmanship and design. My only wish was for a way that I could have cleaned out that bottom area of the unit.