An article regarding an Aussie mum who invented a self cleaning baby bottle which uses a built-in UV sterilizer.
It reminded me of the UV sterlizers which all the barber shops used to clean their tools when I was young.
Nowadays, they place them in a dish filled with some solution and if one asks any of the younger barbers or hairdressers about the UV units, they generally have never heard of them.
My older generation hairdresser said that they removed their UV cabinets as they were found to be ineffective in sterilising hairdressing tools as it potentially only works if there is direct UV light exposure to all surfaces. Such is not possible for such tool as they have areas where light can’t penetrate or surfaces have direct UV exposure…hence move to sterilising solutions as direct contact is guaranteed when tools are immersed.
Not quite yet. Their website states…
"The project team has not yet produced a working demo for their concept. Their ability to successfully produce a prototype may be affected by product development or financial challenges. ’
It will be interesting to see if they do get a working prototype as UV light is absorbed by many materials meaning that there would need to be unobstructed line of sight between the UV lamp and the surfaces to be sterilised. As outlined above, the other challenge will be developing a bottle shape which allows direct UV exposure to all surfaces to be sterilised.
The other challenge will possibly be a safety one…UV light is not good for eyes, especially for young eyes which are more susceptible to UV damage. Putting a UV light, especially one with an intensity which allows surfaces to be sterilised, will have risks.
