CAUTION: UVC light is dangerous, it can damage your skin or blind you/damage your eyes. I take no responsibility for any injury that arises from you embarking on this project. I recommend using OD5 safety goggles, or a UV shield that is rated for UVC, and if you are able, integrating an interlock mechanism on the container itself.

Now disclaimers aside:

In a nutshell I took a rubbermaid container, put an ultraviolet (UVC) light in it, and now I have a way to santize groceries, or my cellphone, or mail that arrive at my home.

There is an upsurge in the use of ultraviolet (UVC specifically, 200nm to 280nm) light to render COVID-19 inactive. China is buying these lights in high volume, Europe is catching on, and hospitals have been using this for ages. There is a certain amount of light required incident on your item to be sanitized that information along with safety information can be found here:

https://www.nebraskamed.com/sites/default/files/do...

or here:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/...

(Thank you Iryna!)

Supplies

-Two nuts and bolts

-A water purification UV-C light (they seem to be popular there, I couldn't find the light on its own). The water purification assembly is readily available at home depot and rona etc.. Its a bit expensive so I bought the GeekPure one from amazon. Mine was a 6 Watt, and is about a foot long and comes with a quartz protective shell, and a ballast with an AC plug on it.

-A rubbermaid container

-Some mylar film or aluminum foil (basically anything reflective). Its not mandatory but you want to get as much UVC light bouncing around in the rubbermaid box as possible.

Tools:

a grinder or metal cutting device of some kind (not mandatory though)

Some pliers

a strong knife

Step 1: Step 1: Cut Hole in Metal Tube From Purification Device

Cut a hole in half the water purification metal assembly, but dont cut the spring off at the end of the assembly (its welded inside the tube).

Step 2: Step 2: Mounting the Tube

Put the ballast connection to the tube through the lid of the rubbermaid container and connect it to the tube, then put hte tube in the quartz sleeve, and bolt it to the rubbermaid lid.

Step 3: Step 3: Seal the Hole in the Lid So No UVC Light Leaks Out of the Box

Put some metal tape or some opaque tape of any kind around the wire going into the box since you probably had to cut a giant hole to route the wire through the lid. You don't want to be exposed to UVC light in any way.

Step 4: Step 4: Put Something Reflective in the Rubbermaid Container

Just tape the mylar in there, its not rocket science. If you have aluminum foil, use that. Basically put reflective stuff in there.

Step 5: Step 5: You're Done

Put the lid on the container. In this case I was sanitizing my N95 mask. I know the light is on because the ballast has a little LED on it. DO NOT peak into the box when the light is on and plugged in! Its dangerous.

The length of time that you put it in this box depends on how big the box is etc., but I just ballparked it for my 6 watt UVC light at around 2 hours, just to be completely excessive and make sure everything in the box is dead.

UNPLUG THE LIGHT BEFORE YOU OPEN THE CONTAINER ALWAYS!!

Again, I made this instructable to help DIY'ers that are as freaked out as I am about COVID, but please do necessary precautions....blah blah blah. Kick COVID-19's butt.