'Cleanse portals' that zap away germs with ultraviolet light are starting to appear as businesses begin to reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic

New York City's Magnolia Bakery is among such businesses that have installed a portal that claims to zap away bacteria and viruses in about 20 seconds.
UVC light is considered to be harmful to humans, but these portals use a different type of UV light known as far-UVC, which is said to be safe.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .

As cities across the United States have gradually begun reopening over the past several weeks, some venues are taking a new, high-tech approach to getting rid of germs: zapping them away with ultraviolet light.

So-called "cleanse portals" that get rid of bacteria and viruses on surfaces are beginning to appear in places such as bakeries, homeless shelters, and offices. New York City bakery Magnolia Bakery announced last month that it was installing a portal that emits UVC rays, made by a company called Healthe. The machine is capable of cleaning bacteria and viruses on skin, clothing, and goods in about 20 seconds, the company claims.

Lars Eller of the Washington Capitals also donated one of Healthe's cleanse portals to a homeless shelter in Washington, DC, and a digital marketing firm in Northern Virginia has also installed a germ-killing light portal, according to NBC .

While UVC light is considered to be dangerous for use on people as it can damage eyes and skin, the type of light used in Healthe's portals called "far-UVC," is said to be safe for humans . Far-UVC rays aren't capable of penetrating the dead cell layer of human skin or the eyes, meaning it can't damage living cells in the body, according to the Columbia University Center for Radiological Research.

There's been uncertainty as to whether such rays are powerful enough to kill coronavirus germs. But an upcoming paper published by the journal Scientific Reports finds that far-UVC can eliminate 90% of coronaviruses in the air in about eight minutes, The Wall Street Journal reports. That's according to findings from David Brenner, director of the center for radiological research at Columbia University Medical Center.

The idea of using ultraviolet light for sanitation is far from being a new concept. Hospitals and medical facilities have used the tech for sanitation purposes, and companies like Phone Soap sell accessories that resemble miniature tanning beds with the purpose of cleansing your mobile devices.

As businesses are looking to safely reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic, there's been an increased interest in sanitation machines that can cleanse surfaces with UV light. In addition to the far-UVC portals like those made by Healthe, dental offices are looking into using UV equipment to disinfect air, surfaces, and equipment, according to CNBC .

UV light machines are only one way in which businesses and companies will likely use technologies for increased sanitization throughout the pandemic, according to Pieter J. den Hamer, senior director for artificial intelligence at market research firm Gartner.

Sophisticated cleaning robots that can sanitize frequently touched surfaces like door handles are likely to become more prominent. These machines will be capable of doing more than your average Roomba, den Hamer says.

"If you have a treatment room in a hospital, after the treatment is over you want to send in a cleaning robot that is able not just to clean the floor or well-defined areas," said den Hamer, "but is able to move around, identify objects that may be in one place at some time and in another place the next time."

NOW WATCH: Why electric planes haven't taken off yet