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

I have purchased four of these. Three work fine, the fourth almost exploded due to what appears to be a manufacturing defect. No one played with it or touched it or spilled anything on it, one day its UV-C lightbulb simply burst. When I pulled it out of the socket, and opened it up to see what happened, I saw that it was charred on the inside — could have exploded! Just thankful I was home and noticed n't immediately. BUYER BEWARE!!!

I'm afraid this product is breaking down mold spores into aldehydes, like formaldehyde.We purchased two and they arrived yesterday. We plugged one in underneath our sink where it smelled like mildew. This morning, the mildew smell is gone, which is great, but there is an unusually strong sweet smell in its place and my face started to tingle and feel weird when I looked underneath the sink.I read two studies this morning that report that the combination of UV-C and titanium dioxide (or PCO (Photocatalytic Oxidiation) which is what powers this GermGuardian) does indeed break down mold spores and VOCs...but it breaks them down into simple molecules like formaldehyde and other aldehydes:2008Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory"The researchers found that because of incomplete decomposition of the VOC's in the inlet air stream there was a net production of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, formic acid and acetic acid. Of particular concern was that the outlet concentrations of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were 3.4 and 4.6 times the inlet concentrations, respectively. Both formaldehyde and acetaldehyde are recognized as important indoor toxicants. Formaldehyde is classified as a human carcinogen."2015Science Daily source Concordia University"Imagine if, in an effort to clean the air more efficiently, you were involuntarily introducing chemicals more dangerous than the ones you were trying to scrub. Concordia University researchers have found that this exact situation is happening with a type of air filter called photocatalytic oxidation (PCO), a product already on the market. The chemical by-product? Formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen."I'd like to hear from the GermGuardian people about this. It looks like a very serious health hazard that is created by these devices.

Try to understand its limitations. Any device using UVC will produce some ozone. PCO devices require water vapor to produce hydroxyls instead. If you have humidity of about 60% it will probably work well. If humidity is low you won't get much hydroxyl action and its fresh feel, and will have irritating incomplete chemical byproducts. Some expensive PCO devices like Air Oasis place a gel inside to keep a supply of water vapor available for the process. I am considering one. Professional remediator units such as Titan hydroxyl generators specify 60% humidity. I bought this small Germ Guardian and put it in my basement and was very happy with it. Yay, i'll get more I thought. I bought some for other parts of my house and there was a very irritating smell. Put them in the garage to run and "off gas" and it was more horrible still. I sent all back but one in my basement which is still performing.Well now I know that it was probably the humidity levels that were the issue. I'm in a very dry climate. My basement is cooler and has higher relative humidity than the rest of my house. So elsewhere in the house, I was getting ozone but little to no hydroxyl. Ozone is prone to leave breakdown products from VOCs. Here is a study of an industrial-level-remediation hydroxyl generator, which indicated it took about five days to completely break down house-fire type smoke odors in a testing room. http://envair.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Mike_Pinto_Hydroxyl_Radicals_for_Fire_Restoration_Part_2_Study_Final.pdf. They don't discuss humidity but this one does http://hydroxyltruths.com/Comparison-UVSystems%20Total%204-15-13.pdf.Just found some mold on my pantry floor from a leaky container of fruit. Pulled out several cardboard containers with visible mold. Sprayed this https://www.amazon.com/EnviroKlenz-Fragrance-Free-Non-Toxic-Treatment-Upholstery/dp/B01I00V9II all over the floor and put my Germ Guardian in the pantry with a jar of water and a fabric pad sticking out to help diffuse it into the air. So get busy lil hydroxyls and decontaminate my pantry! I will leave it for several days and re-evaluate. Seems weird to be adding humidity to the air where mold is found, but we'll see. So far no nasty odors from the Germ Guardian like before.

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.

This thing is really neat. My boyfriend and I live in a super old apartment that hasn’t been rehabbed (almost time to move out - yay!) and it has a lingering musty smell if we don’t keep windows open. Last time we went away for a couple days, we closed everything up and only had this plugged in in the living room. Low and behold, the musty smell was gone or very minimal, so I know this thing is working. My only pet peeve is that it’s not silent. While not loud, you can hear the small fan inside when it’s quiet. Otherwise I’d give 5 stars.