So, it turns out people are kind of gross, and therefore the things we touch must be cleaned. That’s where a new California-based, Kickstarter-backed sterilizer comes in. ESN Tech based in Newport Beach, California has developed a new sterilizer branded Klistem that promises to use ultraviolet light to eradicate 99.9 percent of bacteria on stuff we use every day like used baby bottles, reusable water bottles, your funky toothbrush, your icky earbuds, and more.
Here’s how it works: the main body of the device uses 253.7nm wavelength UV-C light to completely remove virtually all bacteria within 90 seconds — that includes stuff that can make you real sick, like salmonella, staphylococcus, and escherichia coli. In fact, ESN Tech points out that a study last year from EmLab P&K found that water bottles carry an average of more than 300,000 colony-forming units of bacteria per square centimeter. That’s about six times the number of bacteria found on pet bowls and about the average amount of nasty bugs living in your average household toilet.
The sterilizer also takes a different approach by having users place their dirty products upside down in the device. This allows gravity to pull the remaining water droplets outside the bottle during the drying process. Basically, this also allows air flow to reach all the crevices of the bottle, which doesn’t usually happen during a tradition dish wash. It’s also made of ABS material, which is stronger against shock and heat, and more durable than traditional plastic.
ESN Tech is marketing the device to anyone who wants to pursue more rigorous personal hygiene, but it also emphasizes the usefulness of the sterilizer for parents who want to protect their baby from harmful bacteria on cups, bottles, and tumblers.
Weirdly, the thing doesn’t have an internal battery or a traditional electrical plug. Users can charge via a computer with an included 5-pin cable or plug it into any USB port. The inventor estimates the sterilization lamp to have a life span of about 10,000 hours, meaning it can be used semi-permanently.
“In our busy lives, it is easy to overlook personal hygiene, but cleanliness is a fundamental value that must be preserved,” said ESN Tech founder and CEO Sungdoo Hong in a release. “Through Klistem, we have prioritized that value above anything else.”
They’ve certainly gotten the attention of a lot of potential customers —the Klistem Kickstarter has already raised more than $18,000 on a $10,000 goal in less than three weeks, and the campaign has a little over 40 days to go. ESN Tech is already taking pre-orders for $59 (single early bird), $98 (early bird double pack), and a variety of other packages up to the megapack, which gifts customers 100 Klistem sterilizers for a cool $4,499.
The Klistem sterilizer is looking pretty good so far with a solid team of home-appliance and biomedical engineers operating out of Newport Beach, active manufacturing facilities in Seoul, South Korea and a planned delivery date of December 2018. Yet we still caution, as always, to please keep your wits about you when it comes to crowd-based products.
