PhoneSoap HomeSoap Review: Powerful UV-C Keeps Your Devices Germ-Free

The Lowdown

Whether we like it or not, our devices are covered in germs. 15 minutes in the PhoneSoap HomeSoap gets the items you touch on a regular basis nice and clean and ready for action again!

Overall
5

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Small footprint
  • Can charge devices while they clean
  • Fits larger items, including a 13″ Chromebook!

Cons

  • A built-in handle for portability/travel would be fantastic

My son is very hyperaware of germs right now. He’s worried about things being dirty, and we spend an inordinate amount of time sanitizing everything. So when PhoneSoap brought their impressive UV light technology to a larger device called the PhoneSoap HomeSoap, I immediately volunteered to test it!

PhoneSoap HomeSoap Review: Powerful UV-C Keeps Your Devices Germ-Free

PhoneSoap’s devices work off the idea that UV-C light can kill bacteria on the surface of your devices. They have special lightbulbs that generate UV-C rays and operate in a fully sealed environment.

The upside is that it makes this easy to use-slap the phone inside, shut the door, and open it when the light indicates the cycle is done. The downside is that it’s hard to visually see those results unless you have access to a lab.

Luckily for us, PhoneSoap has a clip from Discovery where they put their UV-C technology to the test — you can watch it here.

I don’t have the ability to recreate any cool petri dish experiments, and it’s hard enough getting my child to navigate the world while fighting his germ issues. So we’ll have to take Discovery’s word for it, but the science is quite sound.

The PhoneSoap HomeSoap

Largest hardcover I could find for scale.

PhoneSoap has made phone-sized devices for quite a while, but HomeSoap aims for bigger. It’s large enough to hold a tablet, so you can UV-C sanitize almost all your everyday carry items. My son can attest that it holds a phone, tablet, and Nintendo Switch with ease.

Officially, PhoneSoap says the internal dimensions are 13.18″ by 3.66″ by 11.5″, which for what it’s worth, is large enough for my son’s 13″ school-issued Chromebook to fit inside.

All you need to do to use it is open the door and pop the item you want to sanitize inside. PhoneSoap HomeSoap runs an automatic UV cycle to sanitize whatever is placed inside.

The ease of use is really key here. It’s helpful for a few reasons.

One, the idea here is that you could legitimately sanitize all your everyday devices when you walk into your home. Making it this easy to do means you can just drop in your phone, tablet, Kindle, etc., as you walk in the door, get settled and changed post-work, and there will be clean devices ready for you.

Second, it’s simple enough that I can trust my child to do this himself, and most importantly, he feels comfortable that one round in the HomeSoap is enough to sanitize his devices.

PhoneSoap HomeSoap glowing with UV light

Action shot as it sanitized my phone in a UV-C tanning bed.

This alone is huge when dealing with an anxious kid with severe germaphobia! It’s so easy to use that we even took it with us on a weeklong visit to my parents.

The PhoneSoap HomeSoap clocks in at 5 pounds 14 ounces, according to my kitchen scale, and it’s 14.9″ by 5.96″ by 11.15″; it’s a little too bulky to toss into a backpack, but it easily fits in a tote bag full of games and books.

The size, in general, makes it easy to find a central location for the HomeSoap. In person, it’s only slightly bigger than a large hardcover book, and you really just need enough space to open the front door for access. I put it on a long cabinet, but you could probably store it on a bookshelf or one side of a desk and not feel like you’ve given up a major footprint.

Size and ease of use make this fantastic, and there’s one more feature to the HomeSoap that shows PhoneSoap gave the design significant thought.

Inside the device are two ports, USB-A and USB-C, and you can charge a device while it gets sanitized! This is a minor feature, but it shows they considered all your needs, like how a 15-minute top-off can maximize your efficiency while your device gets cleaned!

Whether we like it or not, our devices are covered in germs. Fifteen minutes in the PhoneSoap HomeSoap gets the items you touch on a regular basis nice and clean and ready for action again! Not bad for $199.95 (it’s on sale on the PhoneSoap site for $140 as of this writing).

The PhoneSoap HomeSoap sells for $199.95; it is available directly from the manufacturer and other retailers, including Amazon.

Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample

What I Like: Easy to use; Small footprint; Can charge devices while they clean; Fits larger items, including a 13″ Chromebook!

What Needs Improvement: A built-in handle for portability/travel would be fantastic

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About the Author

Zek
Zek has been a gadget fiend for a long time, going back to their first PDA (a Palm M100). They quickly went from researching what PDA to buy to following tech news closely and keeping up with the latest and greatest stuff. They love writing about ebooks because they combine their two favorite activities; reading anything and everything, and talking about fun new tech toys. What could be better?

16 Comments on "PhoneSoap HomeSoap Review: Powerful UV-C Keeps Your Devices Germ-Free"

  1. I’ve seen knock-offs and I wonder if they’re just that: knock offs.

  2. A super cool gadget We would love to have one I would use it for my phine and tablet

  3. Michele Pineda | September 15, 2022 at 6:15 am |

    I think that is very neat! With so many things going around nowadays you need to be careful. I have always wondered if these things work, and was glad to see your review. Love that these are easy to use and portable.

  4. Jeffrey Smead | September 15, 2022 at 10:57 am |

    WOW, this device looks like something everyone needs. Def. going to get one of these, sure my wife will like it more than I will, as a RN who is germ conscious!

  5. Phyllis Huebbe | September 15, 2022 at 4:54 pm |

    I would love to own one of these

  6. This is so convenient to use for all my hand-held gadgets

  7. Seems like it would work for those that fear germs so much.

  8. How do you sanitize the keyboard, touchpad and screen of a Chromebook or other laptop? Do you just open it as wide as can still fit inside?

  9. His chromebook is a convertible so you can flip it all the way around.

    But yes, I’d imagine cracking it open would help as well.

  10. We are very impressed with ours as well. We sanitize weekly or more if we are in an environment that seems more germy.

  11. good cleaning idea

  12. We’re careful about sanitizing after a day out in public but the phones are neglected. This product would take care of that. Nice review!

  13. I am sometimes leary of such items as being gimmicks or fads but I have to admit as a travel item it is very practical

  14. I very convenient solution to charging and sanitizing all in one neat little gadget!

  15. A very convenient solution to charging and sanitizing all in one neat little gadget!

  16. Great review. I need this!

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