Boeing harnesses UV light to create a self-cleaning bathroom

The new bathroom design also includes touchless ‘faucets, soap dispenser, trash lid and hand dryer, plus a toilet seat that lifts itself so that all the surfaces are exposed to the UV rays’.
Boeing_James Barker_fdp.net
Image courtesy of James Barker on freedigitalphotos.net

Boeing has invented a self-cleaning bathroom.

The prototype unveiled by the airline harnesses the power of ultraviolet light, which ‘is triggered when the bathroom is unoccupied to kill germs in just three seconds,’ reported the LA Times.

“In the prototype, we position the lights throughout the lavatory so that it floods the touch surfaces like the toilet seat, sink and countertops with the UV light once a person exits the lavatory,” said Jeanne Yu, Boeing’s director of environmental performances for commercial planes.

The light wavelength utilised in the bathroom is known as FAR UV and is ‘different than UVA or UVB, the kind of UV light you get from tanning beds,’ noted CNET. This light ‘kills 99.99 per cent of germs’ and can even help eliminate odors.

Along with the light, Boeing revealed its new bathroom design also includes touchless ‘faucets, soap dispenser, trash lid and hand dryer, plus a toilet seat that lifts itself so that all the surfaces are exposed to the UV rays’.

“We’re trying to alleviate the anxiety we all face when using a restroom that gets a workout during a flight,” said Yu on CNET.

Boeing said it has filed a patent for the design and plans further study before it can be offered to airlines.

This isn’t the first time someone has tried to harness UV light as a disinfectant technology. Click here to read our previous coverage of UV usage in ambulances.

www.latimes.com, www.cnet.com

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