Clean Light Laboratories has come up with a UVC light system, the Uvee, designed to kill up to 99 percent of infection-causing germs, and scientifically tested by a master biochemist.
Carrie Martz, who has 30-plus years of experience in marketing, advertising and branding, founded the company behind UVee, Clean Light Laboratories. Martz sold her advertising agency in 2013, grew bored, and wanted to bring her own product to market.
We’re dedicated to finding more effective ways to help people who use toys use them safely — without worry about disease or the inconveniences of storing or charging them. -Carrie Martz, Clean Light Laboratories
She found just the product with the assistance from her daughter, Brooke O’Conner, who had 10 years’ experience in product promotion, and was pregnant and concerned when “mom blogs” discussed the potential for infection from using adult toys during pregnancy. The mother-daughter team began to investigate the possibilities for truly safe cleaning, and spoke at length with a microbiologist, gynecologists, adult-toy industry experts, and UV-C light experts before coming up with the UVee.
“We introduced the concept of UVee in January and received great response and feedback,” Martz says.
Based on that feedback, the product was revised, and Martz and O’Conner brought UVee to Las Vegas again, for the International Lingerie Show, where distributors and retailers enthusiastically placed orders. This October, it will be available to consumers at major adult retailers.
“It will really impact the way people think about cleaning their toys,” Martz predicts.
The mother-daughter team is excited about working together, and their combined experience has allowed rigorous evaluation of sexual health and education products. “Between a young, married mom and an over-50 single woman, our different perspectives have helped with creating and launching the products,” Martz says.
With the product set for delivery this fall, Martz and O’Conner are both excited by the response to UVee from the adult toy industry. “We have orders already from distributors and retailers, as well as a list of consumers ready to buy. We have a limited number of products that will be available for reviewers and industry experts,” Martz explains. “This is a very exciting time to be entering this business. We had no idea about the serious focus on sexual health and education, as well as the lack of standardization in cleaning methods when it comes to adult toys. Even the medical community can benefit from our product in sanitizing toys used for treatments.”
While Martz and O’Conner worked together before at Martz’ agency, they’d never before tackled a project of this scope in an industry neither knew much about. “Now we have gotten way past the embarrassment of talking about toys and pleasure products, and have a great time learning and building this business together,” Martz relates.
Martz says that sexual wellness and education has always been a topic discussed openly in her family. “Being a single mom for several years introduced dating and other topics to my daughter and son, and that was just part of the process. I do remember the days when I wanted to be sure and hide my toys from the kids, and even had an agreement with friends that if anything were to happen to me, they had to go to my drawer and clean out my toys. Of course, I agreed to the same for them. But although my education about sex and personal pleasure was nonexistent from my mother, I just didn’t want that for my daughter.” The open discussions Martz encouraged have provided another bonus. “We do have plenty of great stories to talk about when we are out buying toys to test,” Martz laughs.
So why is the UVee poised to take the toy-cleaning market by storm? According to Martz, there are a myriad of benefits in using ultraviolet rays to clean sex toys rather than simple soap and water or existing toy cleaners.
“Adult toys can collect harmful bacteria and germs which often cannot be seen by the human eye. UV-C germicidal lights break apart the DNA of the microorganisms that can cause infection, and cause the cell to die,” Martz reports.
Her UVee HOME Play cleaning station is built to hold three toys and the more compact UVee GO Play version holds one. Each patent-pending UVee system comes complete with two UV-C germicidal lights, on the top and bottom of the station, which when exposed directly to the toys inside kills the germs found on them. The system includes custom designed interior top and bottom reflectors for maximum bounce and reflection inside the units. This helps to kill germs and bacteria found in even the nooks and crannies of adult toys.
“UV-C kills 99.9 percent of bacteria including Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus sp., Candida albicans, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Garderella vaginalis,” Martz attests.
Other cleaning methods are simply not as effective, she says. “Boiling water doesn’t kill all bacteria. Even when hot enough, water must stay in contact with the toys’ surface for minutes, not seconds. And, boiling water can leave a bio-film on toys as well as damage the electronics,” Martz says. And gels, foams and sprays? “They clean but they don’t sanitize. And they’re messy and don’t reach all the surfaces on the toys. Rubbing alcohol destroys the surface of many of the materials toys are made from, and affects the pH balance of the body.”
Martz explains that Clean Light Labs has “scientifically proven that our way of cleaning toys is two to five times more effective in killing certain bacteria than any spray, foam or gel. We’re the only system that focuses on cleaning the nooks and crannies of the toys.”
She notes that whether toys are shared or not, toy materials can harbor infection-causing germs that can be hazardous to our bodies. And, toys exposed to other germs near bedroom or bathroom can also cause infections.
The UVee is just the start for Clean Light Laboratories. According to Martz, the company has additional products in development. “We’re dedicated to finding more effective ways to help people who use toys use them safely — without worry about disease or the inconveniences of storing or charging them.”
In short, Martz and O’Conner have seen the “light,” and now all those who enjoy adult toys can, too.
