Whether you’re formula feeding or your baby is getting expressed breast milk while mom’s away, you may find yourself drowning in bottles. A good wash in hot soapy water is fine, but those suckers need to be sanitized every once in while, which means a pot of boiling water or an afternoon at the microwave doing a few bottles at a time in a steamer bag.
Autumn Colayco aims to streamline this process with UviCube, a countertop box that uses UV light to eliminate 99.9% of germs. UviCube is about the size of a small microwave or toaster oven and can accommodate up to 6 bottles and accessories.
UviCube has a drying cycle, so you can put freshly washed bottles and nipples straight in, push the start button, and forget about it. The optional dry cycle takes 45 minutes while the UV sanitizing takes another 10. Then you can just leave your bottles in the UviCube until you’re ready to use them.
UviCube uses ultraviolet light to sanitize bottles and the many other things babies put in their mouths.
But babies have a tendency to put all the things in their mouths, not just their bottles. Smartphones and remotes are particularly tasty targets but they don’t boil well. Since UviCube works without heat or moisture, it can also be used to sanitize delicate electronics. The tray will fit an iPad mini, or remotes, smartphones, keys, pacifiers, toys, and many other small objects that will invariably find their way into your baby’s mouth.
Their modest Kickstarter goal of just $25,000 has already been met, with plans to ship in June of this year. The developers are working to stay on top of the red tape that comes with marketing UV-germicidal devices, and have already had disinfecting and sanitizing results confirmed by an independent laboratory. Those results have submitted to the municipalities that require them.
Super early bird backing prices ($199, vs $299 retail) are still available. The Kickstarter backed UviCubes will be available only in the US.