Ultraviolet light gadget that will end smelly feet forever
Write:
Guddu [2011-05-20]
If the stench from your footwear regularly kicks up a stink with your other half, then this could be the solution to your relationship woes.
Scientists claim to have invented a device which can eradicate foul smells from shoes, leaving them as fresh as a daisy in minutes.
It works by using ultraviolet light to sterilize the bacteria which cause the offensive odors in footwear.
The electrical gadget, which looks like a shoe tree, is simply slipped into the shoe and turned on at the mains before blitzing the smell away.
The makers claim the average person produces up to half a pint of sweat per foot each day, but that their device, called SteriShoe, will kill 99.9 per cent of bacteria in just 45 minutes.
It works for people who suffer from athlete s foot, toenail fungus, or just plain smelly feet.
Rainer Kuehling, a spokesman for manufacturer Shoe Care Innovations, said: The SteriShoe shoe sanitizer is clinically proven to destroy micro-organisms in shoes using ultraviolet light.
It is recommended by doctors as a chemical-free method to kill bacteria in shoes, reducing shoe odor and risk of infection from athlete s foot.
The device can be inserted into your footwear as you would a normal shoe tree and a simple press of a button starts a 45-minute treatment cycle.
After 45 minutes up to 99.9 per cent of the harmful microbes that can cause offensive shoe odor are destroyed.
It is ideal for anyone who values shoe cleanliness or who suffers with chronic shoe odor.
Regular shoe trees are usually made of cedar wood, which helps limit some foul smells by absorbing moisture and odor.
However, the SteriShoe is the first device to use ultraviolet light which is commonly used as a modern disinfectant in hospitals, dental surgeries, public swimming pools and other water treatment systems to neutralize the bacteria.
The light, which is invisible to the naked eye, operates at wavelengths that spark chemical reactions in germs, neutralizing them and making them non-threatening.
To prevent users coming into direct contact with its UV light, the SteriShoe has several safety features.
The device has a compression sensor that means it will only turn on if it is in a shoe and slightly compressed. It also only works in a closed, dark environment so the device has a second, ambient sensor which scans the surrounding area to ensure it is dark enough for the UV light to be activated.
Two shoe bags are also provided with each device, so a user can also sanitize their open-toed shoes and sandals.
If the SteriShoe, which is sold in pairs so users can treat a pair of shoes with each application, is removed while in operation the device automatically switches off, but continues to support the shoe like a regular shoe tree. CITATION http://www.chinaleather.org/eng/show.php?itemid=5901