I'm addicted to my Lotus Sanitizer
Written: Jul 20 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Peace of mind from knowing you're eating clean food
Cons: Time & effort to sanitize
The Bottom Line: You'll either love it or hate it. If you love it, it's addictive.
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| e927's Full Review: IBM Tersano Lotus LBU100 Sanitizing System |
I've had my Lotus Sanitizing System for about 2 1/2 years and I'm hooked.
How it works:
I'm no scientist, but apparently the Lotus machine turns everyday tap water (H2O) into super-oygenated water (O3). This ozone-water is proven to be a very effective cleaner/disinfectant -- more powerful than bleach -- but here's the charm: it's safe, chemical free and you don't have to worry about touching it or "contaminating" things as you would with a chemical cleaner. So it's great to use around food, children, pets, etc. It sounds too good to be true, but if you research this on the internet (like I did), you'll discover it's proven that oxygenated/ozone water is an effective cleaner.
To sanitize, you put whatever you want santized in the bowl, fill the bowl with water, and then run the system. It takes about 5 minutes, after which hopefully you reach 100% sanitized (there's an indicator display) and then let the items sit for 2 minutes to fully sanitize (the display counts down the time). The unit also comes with a spray bottle that processes faster and then you can use the spray bottle like you would a regular cleaner (Fantastik, 409, etc) to wipe down countertops, etc.
Why I like it:
The Lotus claims to be a good sanitizer for food, eliminating pesticides and other nasty stuff that might be lurking in your produce. This is why I use it most -- it's very reassuring to be able to sanitize your food in light of the many recent produce contamination issues and news reports about harmful pesticides. Plus, isn't it nice to know your fruit are truly CLEAN after they've been sprayed with pesticides and then sitting out in the grocery store for so long?
The Lotus people also say that sanitizing the food can extend the amount of time before produce rots. I haven't really noticed a difference here; in fact, it seems that moisture often speeds up mold in berries, etc., which would suggest Lotusing contributes to that unless you get every berry bone dry.
I don't use it too often as a cleaner (more on why not later), but when I do, I really love that I can spray my Lotus spray bottle pretty much anywhere, without worrying about chemicals. So I can sanitize counters, utensils and cutting boards after cutting chicken without worrying about spray getting on other food - after all, it's just water.
What's not so great:
1) It takes a lot of time to use the Lotus machine, so it's not for everybody. Figure 5 minutes to run + 2 minutes of soaking for each bowl. It adds up, and not every batch reaches 100% the first time, which means you have to drain the water and repeat the process. (pre-rinsing your fruit first helps to get rid of the initial layer of dirt. You'd be surprised how dirty the water can get if you don't do this)
2) The bowl doesn't hold that much. Figure about 5 apples max. There is a plastic strainer that keeps the items submerged but also severely reduces how much fits in the bowl.
3) The machine is somewhat loud. I'd liken it to a blender on a lower speed or maybe a mixer on a medium speed. It gets annoying, especially if you run several cycles.
4) Using the oxygenated water to clean is a hassle - the water only lasts in "super oxygenated" stage for 15 minutes, so you have to make a fresh spray bottle every time you want to clean something. It's just not practical for everyday use. Also, it doesn't quickly eliminate mildew/mold like bleach will -- you have to scrub it away.
A few other general comments:
1) If the bowl doesn't process fully and the water doesn't reach "sanitizing" stage, you will get an error message and have to repeat the process. This happens most with fruits like strawberries (those little seeds make the water too "dirty") or greens that are dirty or sandy. Prewashing well and repeating usually resolves the issue.
2) The unit comes with a filter that should be replaced periodicaly. I'm not really sure the purpose of it, since the water doesn't come in contact with it. I've never changed mine because I can't find the filters in stores, and the unit still works fine.
3) Also comes with 2 microfiber cleaning cloths. Very handy.
4) It's a bit pricey. That said, the price has come down significantly since I bought mine, so it's better priced now.
5) While I use it mostly for fruit and veggies, you can sanitize all sorts of things - baby toys, toothbrushes, etc. -- whatever you can dunk or spray.
6) The company (Tersano) is really customer-friendly and enthusiastic about their products. Their web site has a blog, and the CEO responds to many comments personally. How often to you hear of that?!
All in all, I love my Lotus sanitizer for the peace of mind it gives me when eating raw fruits and vegetables, and the occasional clean up around the kitchen. Other than the time and effort to sanitize, the biggest downside is that sometimes I think twice about eating strawberries and other notoriously "dirty" foods when I know they haven't been sanitized!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
e927
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Reviews written: 29
Trusted by: 0 members
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