Customer Reviews

VIOlight VIO100 Toothbrush Sanitizer and Storage System

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

I've had this for a year now, and have fully developed my opinions on it. It's a waste of money. Violight's website quotes a Wall St. Journal article supposedly praising the product, but fails to give the whole picture: the article said that there is a general consensus among medical experts that toothbrush sanitizers do NOT prevent diseases any more effectively than simply letting toothbrushes air dry (thus killing bacteria). NEXT, the toothbrush stands on its head, and the combination of the heat of the bulb and the pressure of its being on its head leads to misshapen bristles that can tear your gums or at least result in a less effective cleaning. NEXT, it's hard to clean, and even after rinsing a toothbrush thoroughly, there's toothpaste residue left over. This stuff falls into the cup, which is hard to clean. Also, if you try to rigorously clean the cup, even with a soft cloth, the shiny coat inside the cup (which helps the UV rays better bounce around) rubs off - the cup is merely painted plastic, not polished metal. BOTTOM LINE: the VIOLIGHT IS A WASTE. Air dry your toothbrushes and keep them away from the toilet. Perhaps buy 2 toothbrushes and rotate. For 50 dollars, at 3 months per $2 toothbrush, that's three years' worth of toothbrushing - longer than the VIOlight bulb likely lasts with regular use (and add onto this the cost of the toothbrushes themselves).

I can't scientifically prove this works, but, keeping in mind that barbers have been using ultaviolet light to sterilize tools they use for decades, and it's also used in the
food service industry.
I noticed one review where the reviewer mentioned that there were germs remaining
after being removed from the unit. That reviewer may not be aware of the fact that you
don't necessarilly have to wipe out the germs, just lower the count to the point that they can't colonize a host. Thereby giving you the result you want---illness are not passed on.
We've had this unit a year now, and we have not had any instances of a cold or fever producing illness lingering longer then the usual coarse for an illness.
This saves us having to throw out tooth brushes after an illness, and in fact allows us to keep brushing during and after the illness without worrying or wasting money.
My wifes a physician, and I'm an ER RN and we both love having this unit.

Wow, what a waste. Not only are the other negative reviews correct, the poor design on this product had me immersing my toothbrush head into a pool of collected water at the bottom of this "sanitizer". This seems to be a well put together product because of its sleek and cool looking design. However, as the saying goes, "appearances can be decieving". Aside from this, the disinfective qualities of this product are probably just as effective as letting a toothbrush naturally air dry.

Used this product for a few months and just assumed it was working. Then one night my husband took a close look at his toothbrush and there was mold on the end of it. When we examined the inside of the Sanitizer closely we found that there was a variety of gunk, mold etc inside. If these things can grow right next to the bulb how much do you think it is doing for your toothbrush?

I never thought about sanitizing our toothbrushes until I saw
the Violight in my dentists office.
The dental hygienist highly recommended the Violight as a way to easily
store and sanitize our families toothbrushes.
We have been using it for several months and are very satisfied.
A big benefit is that the blue glow encourages the kids to brush.

For anyone who wants the absolute in oral sanitization, this is the product for you. It's fast, thorough and so easy to use. If you think this is some kind of gimmick, you should know that dentists use a similar method utilizing UV light to sterilize their tools. This is much better than the G. Terminator. I've had both. After a few months the interior of the GT began to turn a nasty brown. Then the plastic became brittle and cracked. This was caused by the heat during the steam process. To make matters worse, GT recommends using distilled water. If you don't use distilled water, you'll get a cruddy build up of mineral deposits. Yuck! Distilled water? That's just one more cost and inconvenience. The company insisted on a complicated return procedure where I paid the shipping costs. With the Violight there is no heat, just UV light. The Customer Service department at Violight is also first rate. They provide prompt, courteous responses to any questions one might have. Buy this product now. You won't regret it.

"Being a dental hygienist I'm always on the lookout for the latest and greatest when it comes to my mouth. So last year when I saw the Time Magazine article listing the Violight as one of the new hot inventions, I knew that is what I wanted for my christmas gift. I LOVE it! I put the entire family's toothbrushes in it. It's especially great when my 21month old daughter thinks it's a great idea to borrow everyone else's toothbrush. It is also very beneficial when someone in our family has a cold, who wants to brush their teeth with all the cold germs still stuck to the toothbrush? Now that I have it, I'll never live without it! Thanks for the great invention!"

First about air drying. The only thing about air drying I don't like is that in a bathroom there are lots of germs stirred up by family members sneezing and coughing at certain times of the year. And even flushing the toilet sends a certain amount of bacteria into the air according to the experts on TV.

So I kept my brush hidden in the drawer the last 5 years, that was a big mistake, it only takes about 2 weeks to colonized with bacteria. I was getting these gingivitis like gum infections. For a few years I thought the bacteria was coming from my stomach, but after doing some research, I bought one of these and my gum problem went away. I will always have some type of sterilizer, they are too cheap not to when you consider the brush goes into your mouth.

I bought a Violight about a year ago and use it everyday. Now that I am pregnant it is really important to me to use it to make sure I am not introducing any unwanted germs into my body. I feel really good knowing that I have this extra measure of security! I also like that the base of the unit is so easy to clean. I called customer service and they were really helpful in explaining how to keep it clean! At Christmas time I bought one for eeryone in my family - it makes a great gift for that person who has everything!

Item worked great for a couple of weeks, then quit working altogether. Very poor product.