It can only kill bacteria it comes in contact with

May 3, 2007 06:18 GMT  ·  By

Meet the most promising germ killer: Halo UV Vacuum. If you're a germfreak, you will probably hail The Halo as the best since the water purifying device hit the market.

The UV vacuum cleaner is purported to kill off the mold, dust mites, germs, bacteria, viruses and other creatures that impress us for their ability to live anywhere, even on your pillow, mattress or your toothbrush.

Halo's maker is telling us they can handle the problem. Their patent-pending Halo UVX Ultraviolet Vacuum contains a UV-C bulb chamber within a vacuum. The goal is to let you kill two birds with one stone: vacuum and disinfect. Vacuum your pillow! Right. Great idea. Since you can only clean the carpet with this, it's probably going to be a waste if you can't sleep knowing that the pillow dust mites eggs are still evolving. Apparently, the Halo passed the Oreck test and easily lifted a bowling ball. The device features a HEPA filter for removing dust particles, a telescoping handle and an automatic height shifter.

I could tell you that this thing will "liberate" you from the invisible gremlin-like creatures that thrive in your pillow, but I don't like lying. Here's the problem with UV purifiers. First, UV light is going to kill bacteria that it can "see" and come into contact with. If the bacteria does not pass in view of the light it's not going to be killed. Another problem is that most UV purifiers use a low level of ultraviolet that can't kill bacteria. Well, Halo's manufacturer said it uses "more light"...more light than the Sun alright.

It looks more convincing than the Hexagonal Water marketing, but I wouldn't pay 400$ for a vacuum cleaner that can kill our almost harmless cousin bacteria.

We are just a few, but there are many of you, Softpedia users, out there. That's why we thought it would be a good idea to create an email address for you to help us a little in finding gadgets we missed. Interesting links are bound to be posted with recognition going mainly to those who submit. The address is .