I'm caregiver for my mother with severe COPD. When she was in ICU with her COPD, I took the covers off the couch cushions and washed them, used the ELECTROLUX power nozzle and the hose, and sucked everything clean. THEN, the cat got out, and came in covered in fleas and their eggs. After shampooing the cat 4 times, I revacuum EVERYTHING, because I'm afraid of the flea eggs. I cant handle a lot of cleaners, insecticides, etc, cos i have chemical allergies. I didnt know what to do, so i tried this VERILUX CLEANWAVE. THIS SANITIZER IS AMAZING! The "particle" vacuum works great. If you have ever had a salesman demonstate a vacuum cleaner for you, you know they dump dirt on your carpet, and ask you to vacuum. Then, they take THEIR vacuum, and revacuum the area, so show you how much your vacuum missed. SO THATS WHAT I DID with the CLEANWAVE.
The Couch was vacuumed the last time, the night before the CLEANWAVE arrived. SO, I unpacked the Sanitizer/vacuum, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS, and ran it slowly over the couch cushions. When i was done, I went outside and took a long hard look at what was in the bag. I really was surprised...and disgusted too. After washing those cushions and vacuuming them twice (no one else is using the couch, btw)I saw all these little black dots. Flea eggs. ALSO, it sucks up all this powder fine dust, cat dander and other dead skin cells. (The white specks) It also got cat hair, that the Electrolux missed. I had no problem running the vacuum up and down the arms of the couch, and the back of the couch. As long as it stays in complete surface contact, it keeps running, and the sanitizing light stays ON. If i picked it up, or it ran off the edge of the couch, the light turned off. Next, i wanted to try cleaning my bed. I washed my mattress pad, meanwhile running the CLEANWAVE over my mattress. Since I had just checked and cleaned the filter, I was starting fresh. I ran it on my chair, which ALSO had just been vacuumed, and washed. I went outside and checked the filter again. SAME TYPE OF DIRT, except this time, more white specks. (My dead skin cells.) I ran it SLOWLY over my bed, so the light had a chance to disinfect, too. Disinfecting without disinfectant smells--GREAT. Normally, I get stuffed up when i run the vacuum, cos I have dust allergies. CLEANWAVE causes NO PROBLEM. This vacuum's exhaust is like being next to an air purifier. So, I'm the happy consumer here. However, i do want to address a couple of issues i saw in other reviews.
THE VACUUM WONT STAY CONNECTED TO THE BOTTOM PIECE WITH THE LIGHT.
Well, read the instructions. The vacuum portion of this machine can disconnect, so you can take the attachments, and get inside the cracks and edges of things. (The brush and detailer attachments are stored right in the bottom compartment where the UVC light is..Excellect designing.) When you sit the vacuum into the light unit, a small button in the back needs to be pushed down, otherwise the two parts are only loosely attached. Depress the button, they lock together, and even if you SHAKE the whole unit (cos i did), it does NOT COME APART.
THE UV3 LIGHT WONT STAY LIT IF THE MACHINE DOESNT MAKE GOOD CONTACT.
That's a safety feature. Ultraviolet light (UV) comes in different wavelenghts, between the violet we see with our eyes, all the way to X-rays. UVA and UVB light from the sun can cause sunburns and eye problems. Those "black lights" they sell at Halloween, have NOTHING TO DO with real UV light. CLEANWAVE's UV3 light high intensity, designed to destroy mildew, flea eggs, mites, and germs in general. BECAUSE THE UV3 LIGHT WAVES WORK LIKE DISINFECTANT, if you looked at the light long enough, it would be like getting disinfectant in your eyes, ie, it would BURN. EVERY PRECAUTION is taken by Verilux to make sure you DONT HURT YOUR EYES! So, as long as the whole bottom light unit is covered, the light stays on. Lift up the unit, its turned off IMMEDIATELY. This unit is NEVER DANGEROUS to you. In fact, you want to use this light, so you DONT have to use dangerous disinfectants, bleach, etc, and smell those fumes, get disinfectant spray in your eyes. ITS ALL ABOUT SAFETY.
THE VACUUM DOESNT HAVE ENOUGH SUCTION POWER.
This unit doesnt replace a vacuum cleaner. In fact, since is works SO WELL, you should always vacuum the rug, or very dirty cushions, etc, BEFORE YOU USE IT. Since I had run the Electrolux over the rug by the couch, I wanted to see if I missed much. First, it got LOTS of eggs and dust the big vacuum missed. Second, i have a medium lenght shag carpet there, and the vacuum picked up fine. BUT! I would never run this vacuum on a dirty carpet. It's obviously NOT designed for that. ITs made to pick up the dead skin cells, insect eggs, mite droppings, and microscopic nastiness. Since you dont use vacuum bags (3 for $10 for the electrolux, so you save money there), you need to keep the filters clean. ITs easy, and the instructions explain how to do this without an allergy problem. I had no problem here, and bagless vacuums are new to me.
EVERYTHING HERE IS EASY TO DO. ITs all covered in the directions that come with the unit. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!! They are easy to read, lots of clear, easy to understand drawings, and other than ON/OFF, CLEANING THE FILTER, and LOCKING THE VACUUM TO THE LIGHT BASE, there are no real instructions, except this: IF YOU WANT TO DISINFECT to the utmost level,(ie 99.9%) you NEED to run the light unit SLOWLY over the couch, bed, chair, etc. Because it takes a little bit of time under the light, to destroy the germs. The vacuum helps, cos its picking up the skin cells at deeper levels, and dust particles, while the UV3 light does this. The unit is surprisingly light, maybe five pounds, and glides on wheels. The only way you can have problems with the CLEANWAVE, is if you assume you understand how it works. Take 3-4 minutes to go over the instructions, and you wont have the problems other people had in the dissatisfied reviews.
I reccommed this unit to ASTHMA SUFFERERS, COPD sufferers, cat/dog lovers with FLEA INFESTATIONS, ALLERGY SUFFERERS (either mold, mildew, dander, mite droppings, and especially DISINFECTANT ALLERGIES (LIKE ME!) It wont cure COPD, Asthma, or kill the fleas on your pet. BUT IF IT GIVES YOU EVEN 50% RELIEF OF IRRITANTS, its worth EVERY PENNY. When my mother comes home from the hospital after her last COPD flair up, at least I WILL KNOW i did everything for her, to make her enviorment as clean, comfortable, and safe for her as I can. CAREGIVERS, I'm sure you know what a relief saying that is. Good luck people.
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I just purchased this device and put it into service yesterday to combat the terrible mold issue in our old apartment, and also because we have dust and cat dander no matter how often I dust and vacuum. Where there is a mold flare up, my daughter coughs all night long (and ends up getting sick), which happened two nights ago and prompted me to make this purchase. Last night however, there was zero coughing. The air actually smells and feels fresh and we both slept incredibly well. Its very quiet, sleek looking, and Energy Star rated so I don't have to worry too much about using it 24-7.
