sanitize

Introducing our dirtiest public objects

Poor mail carriers. Not only do they have to put up with threatening dogs and foul weather, but they spend their days touching what may be one of our dirtiest everyday objects: mailbox handles.

The only worse offender? Gas pump handles.

So says a new study by researchers at hygiene solutions firm Kimberly-Clark Professional, who took more than 350 swabs from a variety of everyday objects in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, and Philadelphia to measure ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) levels commonly used to detect contamination.

While they did not distinguish between contamination types (i.e. molds versus bacteria), they … Read more

The 404 892: Where estamos agradecidos de haber sobrevivido el huracan Eirene (podcast)

Hurricane Irene is over, but all we have to show for it is the five extra pounds we each gained from eating non-perishable foods (read: Dominos) all weekend.

The storm left tons of buildings, roads, and trees damaged, but the award for "Worst Irrevocable Damage" goes to Mayor Bloomberg for "trying" to address the Spanish-speaking population in their native language--and the subsequent Twitter parody @ElBloombito: "Go to worko. No excuso!"

CNET's own Sharon Vaknin makes her debut on The 404 Podcast today to replace our co-host Jeff Bakalar, who's currently re-evaluating his decision to live in Hoboken, N.J.

Joseph Kaminski from CNET Labs also joins us to discuss the stories of the day, including an app that lets New York drivers sell public parking spots to the highest bidder, a history lesson on the classic Windows XP default wallpaper, a big corporation making money off the hacker group Anonymous, and a secret list of celebrity XXX domain names removed from the adult market.

The 404 Digest for Episode 892

App lets NY drivers sell public parking spots to highest bidder. Ever wonder where the Windows XP default wallpaper came from? "@ElBloombito Twitter page bites back at Bloomberg's Spanglish. Secret list of celebrity .xxx domains removed from market. Time Warner gets royalties on every Anonymous mask worn on TV.

Episode 892 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Bill Gates calls for reinvention of toilet: Why?

Bill Gates may have given up running Microsoft, but he isn't taking his retirement sitting down. The software-entrepreneur-turned-philanthropist's charitable foundation has launched a new initiative aimed at improving the health of the billions of people who have no safe, sanitary way to get rid of their waste.

That's right, Bill Gates wants to reinvent the toilet.

"No innovation in the past 200 years has done more to save lives and improve health than the sanitation revolution triggered by invention of the toilet," Sylvia Mathews Burwell, president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's global development program, said in an address at a conference in Kigali, Rwanda, according to a written statement released by the foundation. "But it did not go far enough. It only reached one-third of the world. What we need are new approaches."

Forty percent of the world's population lacks access to flush toilets, and more than a billion people defecate in the open, according to the statement. That's not only revolting, but also tragic. UNICEF estimates that at least 1.2 million children under age 5 die of diarrhea each year, and contact with human feces is the main cause, Time reported.

Access to toilets could go a long way to preventing these deaths, the statement said.

In addition to preventing diarrhea, better access to toilets could boost school and work attendance of girls and women, who risk embarrassment and sexual assault when forced to relieve themselves in the open or use public restrooms.… Read more

Violight cell phone sanitizer zaps germs

In recent years, you may have seen a story or two about how toilet seats are cleaner than your cell phone. Well, there may not be an app for eliminating those teeming germs from your mobile, but Violight, a company that specializes in UV toothbrush sanitizers, has developed something called the Cell Phone Sanitizer to execute microbes.

Back in June we wrote that the $49.95 device was coming soon, and now it's officially available. Violight says it's the first UV sanitizing device designed to "eliminate up to 99.9 percent of germs and bacteria on your … Read more

Upcoming Violight cell phone sanitizer zaps germs

In recent years, you may have seen a story or two about how toilet seats are cleaner than your cell phone. Well, there may not be an app for eliminating those teeming germs from your mobile, but Violight, a company that specializes in UV toothbrush sanitizers, has developed something called the Cell Phone Sanitizer to execute microbes.

Violight says it's the first UV sanitizing device designed to "eliminate up to 99.9% of germs and bacteria on your cell phone," as well other small electronic devices, including earbuds and Bluetooth headsets.

According to the company, the germicidal … Read more

Europeans rally behind the 'NoMix-tech' toilet

The NoMix toilet, which rather appropriately collects urine in the front and feces in the back, has gained wide support by consumers throughout seven countries in Europe as a means of reducing pollution and conserving water, according to a new paper by scientists in Switzerland.

The just-publicized article, which calls on authorities to push for early adoption of the high-tech toilet, appears in the semi-monthly journal Environmental Science & Technology by ACS Publications.

Of the 2,700 people surveyed in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark, 80 percent say they support the idea behind the technology, and … Read more

Gadgettes Podcast 160: The Batten Down the Hatches Episode

Molly's out of the office with the swine flu. In her honor, we cover the tech that allows you to keep yourself germ free. Don't worry. Even if you end up with the flu, we also cover the tech that will keep you entertained while you recover.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 160

Want to steer clear of N1H1? Stay off the couch

Self Sanitizing Keyboard (thanks David!)

Keep your arms dry while you wash dishes (or while you wash everything in your house.)

Designer hand sanitizer

Ericsson’s Spider PC projects the keyboard, screen

Driverless car takes you to the doctor

Time-lapse photography on your iphone

Make your iphone photos look like miniatures with tiltshift

If you’re tooly, pass the time with sports: Football

or baseball

or even basketball… Read more

In Stockholm, sanitation expert rocks the potty

When talking toilets, it's easy to succumb to potty humor and puns (see headline), but the news out of Stockholm is no joke. Indian sanitation expert Bindeshwar Pathak was honored for his revolutionary toilet with the Stockholm Water Prize at the World Water Week conference held in Stockholm last week.

The Sulabh (translation: "easily available") is a twin-pit, pour-flush toilet (you pour the water yourself) that employs two tanks for waste storage. It does double duty as both a sustainable alternative (it uses less than a third of a gallon of water instead of almost three gallons … Read more

Clean up without chemicals

Keeping a kitchen clean enough to actually eat from can be harder than it seems: many of the cleaning chemicals that are considered standard for sanitizing a kitchen are harsh or can even trigger allergies. The Tersano Lotus Sanitizing System avoids using chemicals entirely, using an ozone method to decontaminate food and surfaces. The system works faster than bleach, without the awful smells of bleach--and it's approved by both the FDA and USDA. The Tersano Lotus Sanitizing System kills up to 99.9 percent of germs and bacteria and is safe even if you suffer from allergies or sensitive … Read more