GermGuardian GG1000 Pluggable UV-C Sanitizer and Deodorizer, Kills Germs, Freshens Air and Reduces Odors from Pets, Smoke, Mold, Cooking and Laundry, 2-Pack

I used to get these from Lowes until they stopped carrying them in store. Luckily, you can get them direct from the manufacturer through Amazon now. They are perfect for small spaces such as apartments, offices, classrooms etc. My wife uses one in her grade school classroom and we have two at home in our two bedroom apartment. They take up zero floor space so that makes them better than most air purifiers right there. You do want to avoid putting anything directly in front of it though, as you want good air flow going to it. You can swivel the plug-in so that it can be plugged in upright as shown in the pictures or upside down. It works equally well in either position and its handy for when there is something above the plug-in preventing you from plugging it in right side up. Also, if you have plug-ins that are getting worn out and heavier things won't stay plugged into them, I've found that plugging it in upside down helps it say plugged in better. It does make a bit of noise due to the impeller fan inside the unit. This noise is very quiet when you first get it, but gets louder and more high pitched when the unit is about to quit working. But, usually, you can make it work again by buying just the inside bulb from the manufacturer's website and replacing that part. You can tell when it is about to go out also by the light on the front. It is usually blue but sometimes turns orange when it needs a new bulb. The bulbs last for 12 months to two years, sometimes even three depending on how much you keep it plugged in and on how dirty your air is. The unit uses about 6 watts per hour so it's pretty energy efficient. It seems to really help, especially with airborne mold. I've had farmers lung or lung infections before I started using air purifiers like this so I tend to be rather sensitive to mold. Now that I'm using these, I've noticed that I have far less trouble with mold in my lungs. It also helps get rid of that musty smell that some places have (which is due to mold). My wife's classroom used to smell musty and she and the kids would have the sniffles often, even when they didn't have the flu but not anymore now that she's got one of these in her room. As for odor reduction, I can't say that it really does a lot. It kind of depends on how strong the odor is and whether the thing that is producing the odor is still present after a while. If something makes a strong odor but is then removed, it does seem to make the smell go away sooner. If the item that is making the odor stays in the room, these things can't keep up with it. It doesn't release any smells of its own, so it won't mask the bad odor with anything like an air freshener does. If you do use air fresheners though, I recommend keeping the air freshener and this Germ Guardian as far apart as you can because I'd imagine that making the Germ Guardian try to clean the particles of air freshener chemical out of the air will wear the Germ Guardian out faster. The best part is that it uses blue light technology to kill mold and germs with ultraviolet light rather than ozone production. Air purifiers that use ozone production actually wind up contributing to indoor air pollution and can make you just as sick as the stuff you are trying to clean out of the air. I've tried ozone producing air purifiers in the past, and they gave me terrible headaches. I don't have that problem with the Germ Guardian. If you notice in a lot of restaurants and hospitals, this UV light technology is used there as well. With the Germ Guardian, the fan draws air towards the bottom of the unit, flows it past the UV light and back out the top of the unit. Though it makes the unit make a little noise, it's better than the passive UV filters since it processes the air in the room more efficiently and takes less time to clean the air column in the room. If you use it in conjunction with a fan (either on the ceiling or floor) it can work even faster, especially if it is a floor fan and you can blow the room's air towards the unit. This is especially helpful in rooms that are approaching the upper limit of the unit's capacity which I think is something like 50 - 70 square feet.

I purchased one of these as I moved accross country in the middle of the pandemic as one of several disinfecting solutions, lights, gadgets, gadgets and gear for myself "anti virus arsenal collection" I knew I would be staying at random hotels that may or may not be deep cleaning and following CDC guidelines. Have been sleeping with one of these plugged right next to me since August. I can breathe highly fresh disinfected air. You really can feel the difference! I also purchased one of the large Guardian air purifier round tanks to place at my new apartment. People have commented on the freshness and air quality in the apartment even though I have smoked inside the apartment, which I never did before, but I moved to a cold state. Neither of the air purifiers make much noise, and the tank has a silent mode, which makes it even quieter. I just bought a new pair of these. I noticed there's a new version which is a 7 inch rectangular plug in. In looking at reviews and customer pictures, I decided to stick with this model, because it does not block the second outlet, like the new version seems to do, plus the plug rotates, so it can fit better, if needed. The blue light makes a great soothing nightlight, and I don't like nighlights, so this is a compliment! First time I don't mind having a nightlight, specially right next to me. :) I bought these two extra ones to replace the one I had been using since August, as I noticed, it was getting dusty vents. Cleaned the first one and plugged it in the kitchen, and will probably put the new third one in the bathroom, close to the living room windows or any other area inside the apartment, that may not have the best ventilation and air circulation.. This model is for small places. Hmmm...should check if there's an outlet in the walk-in closet. By the way, I used the first one for 6 consecutive months 24/7, and other than a little cleaning of the vents with a microfiber dry towel, it is still going. I noticed many questions about how long does the light last, before needing replacement. Manufacturer says 6 - 8 months depending on usage. I can vouch that claim. The replacement bulbs are available at Amazon at a very reasonable price. I have not purchased one yet. Ì figured I wait to see how all three of them perform over the next several months. Bottom line, excellent air quality, performance and design! Great value for a fair price.

I've had this product now for 4 years and I haven't needed to replace the bulb! It still works! Every month I also open it up and clean out the dust build up inside and outside. The fan sound is a tiny bit obnoxious; it has a tinny, kind of electrical, high pitch sound with a mix of the gentle whoosh of air. It's hard to ignore it. I highly recommend anyone buying this to also buy a 360 degree wall plug. This has come in handy for all 3 of time. I can rotate the proper direction and it keeps it in the wall more sturdy. It also has a surge protector. The one I use is this: 360 Electrical 36083 1-Outlet Compact Rotating Surge Protector --------------------------- Update 07/2020 So I've had these since November 16, 2014 and they're still working! A lot of people mention the fan dying but none of mine have died; I have 3 of them! It says on here to replace the UV-C bulb every 6-9 months and many people say their bulbs burned out either sooner or later. But even after all these years, not one of the UV-C bulbs I have has burned out. I ended up replacing one after 2 years because it seemed a bit dimmer than the other two but I probably could have just let it do it's job until it actually did die. I've had all 3 running 24/7 for years. I really think the reason I haven't had problems is because of the surge protector I've used and also the fact they're pretty secure in the socket. Without the surge protector (3 prong) holding them, they tend to lean out of the socket because of their weight. I bought them because I have 2 cats in a small apartment. I honestly can't say if they're actually effective or not. I think at this point I'm just so used to them being there that mentally I just keep them. I clean them periodically (easy to unscrew); I clean out the dust film on the inside walls and the vents. I'm writing because I want people to know that they can indeed work and last a long time. An issue for why they don't might be the power quality in the home/apartment/sockets.

I hesitated buying this because of the negative reviews about its light and noise...glad that I DID buy this! I'm sensitive to many things, including night light and sound, and found this well within my tolerance level, as well as working like a little champion! I took it to a recent trip to San Francisco staying in a time share--I immediately noticed the chemical smell from the cleaning supplies! I unpacked my little Guardian and plugged it in next to the bed, then left for dinner. Returned about 3 hours later and immediately noticed the absence of the cleaning smells! Wow! I had zero issue with the sound, in fact it was like a soft white noise that was soothing; the light was no issue for me either and could probably be taped over if needed. It was plugged in to the side and lower than my head, so maybe that made a difference. What was really impressive to me was that this was a 1 bedroom suite and this little Germ Guardian kept the entire place smelling fresh and clean, even with cooking and smoke from the CA fires! I use a full-sized ionizer at home -- I bought this unit specifically for traveling, and it did its job well, and was compact to fit in my suitcase. Very Happy with this purchase! UPDATE: I've now moved this into my bedroom to keep the air clean. I read somewhere to put a wide mouth jar or bowl of water underneath the unit to add moisture and better conversion. All I know is I'm still happy with it. NOTE: The UV will dissipate in the bulb in short time even though it still produces light! The bulb needs UV to clean the air. Replacement bulbs are easy to find.

The fan makes some really resonant noise, and if the unit is not completely flush to the socket, will cavitate; this makes a harmonic vibration that amplifies the noise. But with the door to a room closed, you don't hear it as much. I didn't but this with the assumption that it would be silent. I bought it to prevent airborne germs and bacteria from creating a hazard within the confined space of a single room. What I can say is that you do after time begin to tune out the noise, but this too is something that you should not have to deal with. There is a completely legitimate way to engineer a silent solution. USE XENION EFFECT TECHNOLOGY, and combine this with the UV light. There are no moving parts, ergo-NO NOISE WHATSOEVER. I also plugged this into the wall near my bed, and went to sleep. When I woke up, again, I noticed that my ears pretty much tuned it out. I also noticed that there was an absence of odor. I didn't have anything bad smelling in the bedroom in the first place, but having a new TempurPedic Mattress, I always notice the smell from the bed. This morning, that smell was totally mitigated. So here's the trade off, you get effective sterilization and movement of air mass, at the cost of fan noise at about 45db according to my SmartTools Pro app. Over time, you tune it out, and know that leaving it on 24/7 will keep that area from accumulating odor, while mitigating new sources of same...not bad. I do take issue with AMAZON promising same day delivery, and totally failing! I got my $5.99 back for that. Thank you, Amazon, for having decent Customer Service in the face of poor delivery services who contract with you.

***SEE UPDATE BELOW*** Original review - 9/13/14 - I've just ordered (3) of these units from Amazon for my own home so can't speak for the build quality of these units (yet), but work with UVc enough in large-scale commercial applications to know how the process works. UVc works by converting some Oxygen (O2) molecules into Ozone (O3). Ozone has a very short life span, quickly reverting back to O2 when it comes into contact with a contaminant, but yet is also nature's most effective sanitizer. The process to create ozone is the same as you experience in lightning storms with the crisp smell when electricity is applied to the surrounding air. Ozone removes odors very effectively but neutralizing the containment through oxidation. In addition, oxidation also kills many bacterias and some viruses not just in the air but any surfaces the treated air comes in contact with. It's like bleach but without the chemical smells and dangerous spills. This is why hospitals like this technology so much. The point to remember is ozone does NOT remove particles in the air, but those particles certainly are clean ones. The low fan speed being reported is due the fact that applying an electrical charge to oxygen atoms takes some time, relatively speaking. You can't do this with a high volume of air across a single bulb thus the need for a slower speed of air movement. But the low speed air that does come out, will surely cleanse the air and surfaces it comes in contact with. This is also why this likely will only work in a small room or area (less than 500sqft I would guess). You would need more/larger bulbs with larger surfaces areas exposed in the air chamber to do larger volumes of air. The UV-C light works in the 185nm and/or 254nm wavelength and is harmful if exposed, which is why the bulbs are sealed from direct view. Seriously, don't open the unit up and try to get it to work "better". There likely are safeguards to prevent this. I'll follow up this review once I've had a chance to use the units myself. **UPDATE - 10/2/2014** I bought (3) and returned (2) after trying these units out (I never opened the other 2). I've also downgraded to 3 stars from 5 for the following reasons: - Yes, this unit is loud. I tried it in kitchen and the hard surfaces (granite) just seemed to project the fan noise throughout the house. I've since demoted this to bathroom and it's still very loud even with door closed. - Having tried it in kitchen and bath, it doesn't seem very effective. I found no discernible difference in letting this unit work versus time taken through natural dissipation of cooking/odors - As mentioned in my original review, ozone is what removes odors through the use of UVc light. I see the product description and the packaging mention this unit produces no ozone. A quick visit to the manufacturer's website says the UVc light penetrates thin-walled viruses and bacteria altering the DNA. I can't speak for this method, so I have to assume the time exposed and the power generating the UVc light isn't sufficient enough to create the ozone. I see this as a reduction in effectiveness compared to my experiences with commercial applications of UVc. Granted, you don't want accumulated quantities of ozone confined in an indoor space and this product prevents that.

You might want to read my review on the "Cotton Knight" UV Light Sanitizer with Ozone - I gave a lengthy review including the use of uvc (and ozone) on the product (good product), and included this product because it is uvc light that is compact, runs continuously and may work as well as a uvc/ozone combo. But I can tell you that it works very well in the small room I put the first of the two in - took that artificial fragrances out of the room in less than 24 hours that had been lurking for over 6 months from guests who wash and dry their laundry with artificial (and according to CA Prop 95 dangerous) fragrances. Today we're putting the second one into another room to test. Great, sturdy, compact and elegant looking product. Very little UVc is exposed so helps protect your eyes. UPDATE: Just to add to the first review: This sanitizer continues to perform. It seems to be able to cover a small bedroom where ariflow is available from under and around the bed. I think it would be best to have the lamp plugged in where one is certain air flow is accessible. In other words perhaps not from behind a count where less air exchange is available. We will be buying more of these - next one goes in our stairwell. UPDATE: These gems continue to work and we couldn't be more pleased! Sad that they are not available...the six pack they had available sold out, but they're very expensive when you only need a couple. Hoping they make them available again!

Rapid delivery during holiday season. Well packaged. Easy to use just plug into outlet. I noticed the fresh air quickly . I plugged it in left the room then returned to freshness I could feel. I had a tower germ guardian and it was beneficial against viruses and germs. Their products are well made and they work. I am so glad I got the six pack. They are compact saving space. This is value for your money. You will however need to change the light and that is a separate purchase. I will update this review if they do not hold up.