Staying hydrated is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. Without sufficient water in our body, it is difficult to regulate body temperature, lubricate our joints, recycle toxins, etc. Despite the warnings of our system, we become lethargic amidst our busy lifestyle. A water bottle comes in handy to remind us to stay hydrated. We’d have no problem getting clean water at the comfort of our homes. But it is next to impossible to determine the quality of the water on the run.
Be it the workplace or during short travels, a minimum level of guarantee can be reassuring. LARQ has come up with a bottle and the technology to clean your water. This could be a gift to the lazy people, who doesn’t like to spending time tussling with cleaning the water bottles. Let’s take a peek into the features that make this water bottle a unique product in this LARQ Bottle Review.
LARQ Bottle Review
Larq Bottle Design
The LARQ has come up with the first self-cleaning bottle. It can clean the water inside the bottle. LARQ incorporates its proprietary UV-C LED technology into the bottle, which kills over 99% of the germs in the water.
The bottle has a sophisticated design. It is a sleek-looking bottle that uses a double-walled, polished stainless steel body. It comes as a five-colour variant. Himalayan Pink, Seaside Mint, Granite White, Obsidian Black, and Monaco Blue. The bottle come as a mixture of two tones of colour. The light shade covers the top 3rd of the bottle, and the dark shade covers the rest. It gives an aesthetic look to the design. The Stainless steel body is Bisphenol-A (BPA – A chemical used to coat the metal products) free.
Modes of Operation:
The LARQ bottle comes with multiple modes of operation. The design caters to different requirements.
- Normal mode: A single tap on the cap activates the water cleaning sequence. This mode lasts for 60 seconds. It kills 99.9775% of the bacteria.
- Adventure mode:Double-tap on the cap activates the adventure mode of water purification cycle. It lasts for three minutes, neutralising 99.9999% of the harmful, odour causing bacteria. This mode is for prolonged exposure if it is difficult to determine the quality of the source of water.
- Automatic self-clean mode: The bottle-cleaning program activates a ten-second water cleaning cycle every two hours, to restrict the bacterial growth.
- Safety mode: The bottle comes with a safety mode. It removes the possibility of the accidental activation of UV light outside the bottle.
- Travel mode: A simple press and hold can activate the travel mode. It conserves the battery during travel by deactivating the automatic cleaning mode.
The Modes, colours, and indication:
- The cap displays a pulsating green light if it on the charge. On full battery charge, the green light turns steady.
- The breathing sky blue light denotes the purification process in Normal mode.
- The light turns into a pulsating blue colour during the adventure cleaning mode.
- A pulsating orange light denotes the safety mode. The safety mode triggers if the cap gets activated outside the bottle.
- Steady yellow light denotes the bottle is running in low battery and should be re-charged.
- The red or purple light is an indicator that the bottle is faulty and it is unsafe to put to use.
How does it the Larq Water Bottle work?
The LARQ bottle requires power to operate. It comes with a USB-C port and a charging cable. After the charging is complete, press and hold the button on the cap for a few seconds to unlock the bottle. A white light blinks for a few seconds and stops, showing the bottle is ready for use.
Depending on the choice of mode (Normal or Adventure), the cleaning process goes on for a fixed duration of time. The germs keep getting neutralised. The prolonged exposure of adventure mode is for situations if you find questionable-quality-source of water. During the purifying process (Cap will turn into blue), the manufacturer recommends a gentle shaking of the bottle. It ensures even distribution of UV light inside the bottle.
The exposure to UV-C light neutralises up to 99.9999% of harmful germs, and the odour causing bacteria. The light breaks up the DNA of the bacteria until it turns into a harmless organic material that’s safe to consume. The LARQ bottle comes with an automatic activation mode. It ensures a 10-second cycle of UV light exposure every two hours to stop the bacteria growth. There is a light to show the process. It is diligent to wait for the light to turn off before you use the water bottle.
The LARQ design purifies water inside the bottle. But there is no inbuilt filtering process. If the water is hard or has sediments, it is safe to undergo a filtering process before filling it up in the LARQ bottle. An important point to remember that the bottles don’t remove any chemical as a part of the cleaning process.
Larq Bottle Specifications:
- Height: 9.6 inches (24.37 cm)
- Weight: 382.7 gm (13.5 oz)
- Material: Stainless Steel (Polished)
- Diameter: 2.7 inches (6.9 cm)
- Volume: 500 ml (17 oz)
- Battery: Lithium (Rechargeable)
Benefits Of a The Larq Self Clearing Water Bottle
1. Chemical-free
The bottle uses 18/8 polished stainless steel. The manufacturing process ensures there are no chemicals used for coating, which includes bisphenol-A (BPA). It is a common coating material used in the interiors of the bottle. The bottle is also phthalate-free.
2. Mercury-free
Among the other portable water cleaning systems, mercury is a part of the UV based cleaning system. The mercury contamination beyond an acceptable limit is a health hazard. LARQ guarantees its cleaning technology as mercury-free.
3. No filters
There are no filters used in the cleaning system. It saves us the trouble of having filter based routine servicing and replacements.
4. Cleaning cycles
The UV-C LED-based cleaning system is long-lasting compared to the other UV-based portable water cleaning systems. It can sustain more than 100K cleaning cycles. It ensures the bottle can last for years with proper handling.
5. Environmental impact
Every minute, there are millions of plastic water bottles purchased all over the world. But a meagre fraction of the lot reaches the recycling process. Over 90 percent of them end up in dump yard and landfills. Depending on the type of plastic containers, it takes more than a century to 1,000 years to decompose. The decomposition process also leads to contamination to the groundwater levels. Yes, the LARQ bottle is an expensive premium product. But considering the long-term environmental impact of the reduction in usage of plastic bottles, its contribution is substantial. For those who can afford, LARQ offers an environmentally-safe, sustainable solution for your hydration needs.
In favour of LARQ:
1. Aesthetic Design
The LARQ bottle has a sleek design with two shades of the same colour, giving it an aesthetic look. The multiple colour variants reaffirm the planning behind the design of the bottle. The manufacturers offer customised design and an optional limited-edition sleeve that improves the aesthetics and user-friendliness of the bottle.
2. Insulation
The water bottle is double insulated and vacuum-sealed. It can keep your water cold for 24 hours and maintain the heat for 12 hours.
3. Battery life
This water bottle comes with a rechargeable polymer lithium battery. It charges via USB port. Depending upon the usage, the charge can last for over two weeks up to a month. The bottle comes with an energy-saving travel mode which deactivates the automatic cleaning.
4. Water Proof
The bottle cap holds the USB charging port. The USB port is water-resistant to prevent any easy malfunction.
5. Rapid Purification
The condensed UV LED light ensures most of the germs get obliterated within a negligible fraction of time. The process lasts for one minute and three minutes, which is one of the fastest water purification methods.
Against LARQ:
1. Weight
The stainless steel body makes it sturdy, but it makes the bottle heavy. The empty bottle weighs 380 gm, which could be a concern for light travellers and people who live their life on carry-on baggage.
2. Volume
The bottle comes in two size variants. The smaller ones can store 500 ml and the larger ones can store 750 ml. While this doesn’t cause a problem for usage at home or office, the volume is low for travel. You might have to be in search of water source frequently or carry additional bottles, which increases the load you carry.
3. Neck Exposure
One can find the UV-LED light on the bottom of the bottle’s cap. There is a blindside to the LED light. It cannot reach the neck of the bottle, which comes in contact with the mouth. It could be the breeding ground for the bacteria’s and viruses. It requires frequent cleansing of the neck and bottle to stay away from germs.
Larq Bottle Review Verdict: The power of Sunlight trumps
We end up in the losing side of the battle, trying to clean the water bottles with bare hands. Despite the aid of brushes that come in various sizes, cleaning has been a challenge. It is hard to reach the base or the sides of the neck. The cleanliness of the water bottle leaves a lot to be sought. It creates sufficient room for microbes to cultivate, leaving an unpleasant odour and taste. LARQ bottles offer a solution to this problem. You can forego the struggle of cleaning your water bottle frequently. The UV LED light kills the microbes in a matter of a few minutes.
But the neck of the bottle escapes the exposure of the UV – LED light. It is safe to clean the neck of the bottle. The volume may be an issue, as finding a water source at the times of travel may not be easy. One should also remember the bottle doesn’t involve a filter system, so whatever goes inside, stays inside the bottle. It is diligent to maintain a safe level of water source while using the bottle.
Having an advance technology at its disposal, it is unfair to expect the bottle to fall within the budget. With its aesthetic, sleek design, innovative technology LARQ bottle feels like a splurge. But considering the peace of mind from the availability of germ-free water in a short frame of time. And the environmental impact of reduced plastic usage in the long term makes this LARQ bottle a worthy buy.
Science of The LARQ Self-Cleaning Water Bottle
The LARQ boasts themselves as the world’s first portable digital water purification system. They use a UV light-based technology to clean the harmful odour causing germs in the water. A rechargeable battery with long-lasting life is the source of power for the UV LED light inside the bottle cap.
The UV-C LEDs have a long life compared to the other mercury-based UV technology. They can outlast their counterparts by 40 times. UV-C lights are in use in hospitals to sterilise the surfaces. It is considered as a safe and quick way to sanitise the surface. The UV-C uses a 280-nanometre Ultra Violet light, which triggers a photochemical reaction. On the exposure of concentrated-UV light over a surface, the chemical bonds in the DNA of the microbes get destroyed, killing the bacteria. If the nuclei of the virus get damaged, the less dangerous it becomes.
For testing the efficacy of the LARQ bottle against E.Coli, Harren’s Lab conducted experiment in a controlled environment. The results showed a reduction of 99.9999% of E.Coli with the UV light exposure of 3 minutes. Compared to the other UV based water sanitisation systems, the LARQ systems use a mercury-free UV LED system. It reduces the chances of water getting mercury contamination.
About LARQ
LARQ has its headquarters in Silicon Valley, USA. Founded in 2017, to help people sustainably access quality drinking water. With an innovative design and technology at their disposal, LARQ started a Kickstarter campaign. The Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform where innovative ideas become a reality, funded by the consumers. LARQ uses a proprietary patented PureVis™ UV-C LED technology in the self-cleaning bottle. Designing a safe reusable bottle to reduce the environmental impact of plastic bottles. And offer an sustainable solution to the consumer was one of the main motives behind this project.
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