WHOOSH! It’s time to disinfect your staph and E. Coli infested gadgets (review)

We wash our hands. We brush our teeth. We put on clean underwear everyday. At least I hope most of us do these activities, because hygiene is vital in maintaining good health.

When you’re sick and need to visit a hospital, would you want to see a doctor who never washed his/her hands before they examined you? Or would you want your chef and waiter to use dirty hands while they handle your food? The answer is an obvious NO. There are laws that require hygiene standards to be met in situations like these, but its almost universal that no one really cleans their phones or other mobile devices.

When was the last time you cleaned your smartphone? When I say, “clean” I don’t mean simply wipe it off on your pants or shirt. I mean, when did you use a cleaning spray to remove the germs and microbes on it? Or when was the last time you cleaned your keyboard, portable speaker, mouse, or tablet? If the answer is never, you need to read on.

Let’s look at the facts

It’s time to list facts about the germs on your smartphone.

• 18% of phones are contaminated with staphylococcus (source: Journal of Applied Microbiology)
• 100% of phones are contaminated with with either single or mixed bacterial agents (source: NCBI)
• 16% of mobile phones are contaminated with fecal flora and E. Coli (source: Yahoo)
• 10X how many times your mobile phone is dirtier than a toilet seat (source: BBC)
• 30% of virus can be transferred from your mobile phone to your fingers (source:mashable)

What is Staph and E.Coli?

Staphylococcus: A group of bacteria that cause a multitude of diseases. Under a microscope, staphylococcus bacteria are round and bunched together. They can cause illness directly by infection or indirectly through products they make, such as the toxins responsible for food poisoning and toxic shock syndrome. The best-known member of the staphylococcus family is Staphylococcus aureus. Staphylococci are the main culprits in hospital-acquired infections, and they cause thousands of deaths every year. Also known as staph. – medicine.net

Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria normally live in the intestines of people and animals. Most E. coli are harmless and actually are an important part of a healthy human intestinal tract. However, some E. coli are pathogenic, meaning they can cause illness, either diarrhea or illness outside of the intestinal tract. The types of E. coli that can cause diarrhea can be transmitted through contaminated water or food, or through contact with animals or persons. – cdc.gov

Sure, anyone can pull out random facts from studies, right? Well go look up how dirty smartphones are at Google Scholar and look at how many scientists are actually doing scientific studies on that topic alone. (If you don’t believe me)

You can do the same search I did:

Goto Google Scholar to search scientific publications
Search “phones contaminated with staph”
Refine your search to 2016

You will find 463 studies and the vast majority of them all found smartphones to be extremely dirty.

Clean your smartphone and other devices with WHOOSH!

The facts speak for themselves.

Think about it. When was the last time you cleaned your smartphone?

I clean my smartphones a few times a week, and my latest favorite cleaner is WHOOSH! I like it because it is cheap at $7 for a 0.3 ounce bottle, and it comes with an ultra-soft anti-microbial cloth. I get about 30 uses from a one bottle, which means each clean costs just 23 cents. That is a cheap price to pay to remove E. Coli and Staph.

WHOOSH! is non-toxic, and ammonia and alcohol free. This is important to me because I have pets that I adore, and will not risk having poisons in my home. Also alcohol can strip off the manufacturers oleophobic coating that resists fingerprints.

It doesn’t get much simpler than WHOOSH! Simply spray your dirty displays with WHOOSH! and then wipe down with the included cloth. My iPad Pro 12″ needed a couple of sprays but was cleaned within seconds. What’s nice about WHOOSH is that it also leaves a nano coating that helps my displays resist microbes.

Conclusion

I am a Medicinal Chemist first and a writer second. The facts are real and supported by actual scientific publications. Smartphones really are nasty. Hospitals are requiring their staff to ensure their phones are cleaned, and some are banning them from the work floor altogether to help prevent serious outbreaks.

At just $7 a bottle, WHOOSH! is an investment that must be made especially if you work in environments that needed good hygiene.

• 3.7 Ounce WHOOSH! at Amazon for $15.97
• WHOOSH! Pocket 0.3 Oz – $7 at whoosh.com
• WHOOSH! Duo 0.3 Oz and 3.4 Oz $20 at whoosh.com

DDTank: An interesting, stylized take on the tank shooter genre (Review)

Overview

DDTank is a unique take on the tank combat genre, with a cutesy, anime-inspired art style, and RPG elements that make progression feel rewarding. It certainly isn’t a traditional military shooter.

Developer: Proficient City Limited

Cost: Free (with microtransactions)

Impressions

DDTank is a funky game. The art style is more reminiscent of a JRPG than a strategy shooter, but it works for me. The sprites are colorful and cute, and you have some decent customization options for your character as you progress through the missions. Clothing, faces, and hairstyles, as well as items and weapons all allow you to make a neat looking little character for you to play. Although the progression after the intro sequences is a bit slower than I’d like, you still get these items at a fairly rapid pace, so you’ll always have a fresh look for your character.

1 of 4

Gameplay-wise, DDTank is a bit hit and miss for me. It isn’t terribly complex. Beyond some power-ups and super moves, the gameplay feels shallow. The shooting and aiming mechanics are a bit difficult to get used to as well; where you aim and where your projectile actually goes can sometimes be a bit off.

Also, enemies don’t seem to do significant damage to you unless you let the rounds drag on for a while, making the difficulty a bit too low for my taste. Perhaps this game is a bit more suited to a younger audience.

DDTank has a ton of modes as well, including a multiplayer arena and dozens of stages in the main campaign, to ensure that you’ll have something to do for a while. I would have liked to see some daily quests or maybe some challenge modes to try and add just a bit more to the game.

The developers could do a bit more to explain the controls and mechanics as well. The tutorials don’t really do enough to explain how exactly to aim, move, and fire. It’s up to you to trial and error your way to figuring it out for yourself.

Conclusion

I did have some fun playing DDTank, despite some drawbacks. The gameplay, while a bit shallow, does offer some interesting strategy, and some stages can get challenging. The amount of content and customization, along with the cute and fun art style, make this game a solid pick for kids or somebody looking for a different sort of game to occupy some time.

Download and install DDTank from the Google Play Store.