As well as being regular smart lights, LIFX Clean bulbs use built-in HEV LEDs to eliminate bacteria* so that you can simply set and forget and allow the light to disinfect surfaces or things for you. This is called a 'Clean Cycle'. Much like a wash cycle on your washing machine, it needs time to run, so we recommend setting up schedules for regular cleaning and using a quick on-demand clean cycle in the app for spot cleaning in-demand objects like your phone or keys when it's convenient.
*LIFX Clean has been tested to eliminate over 90% of S. aureus and E. coli on surfaces, depending on the distance and time. For more information about this testing, we've made the full report from the lab testing of this product available here.
Controlling your LIFX Clean on the Dashboard
Once you have added your LIFX Clean to your LIFX app, you can see where it is immediately by looking for the Sparkle icon on your Dashboard.
This icon will appear on the group itself when you have that group folder 'closed' and is also indicated on the specific light or lights themselves when the group is 'open'. Groups act like a folder for lights, which can be closed and opened, showing what they contain when you tap anywhere on the picture area of the card. If you have more than one LIFX Clean in a single room, grouping them together helps make it simple to synchronize their cleaning.
Here, you can see both the icon on the closed group (which acts as a 'quick activation' button for a Clean Cycle and an indicator when lights in that group are cleaning) and the Sparkle icon on the individual light itself.
How to activate a Clean Cycle
You can activate a Clean Cycle in two ways.
Run a Clean Cycle in a group
The easiest and fastest way to activate a Clean Cycle 'on demand' at the moment is to tap on the Sparkle icon on the bottom left of the group card. This will activate all LIFX Clean products in that group at once and will run the clean cycle for the preferred duration you select when prompted. This also works if there is only one LIFX Clean in the group.
When you click on this icon, it will ask you how long you want it to run. Select the duration that makes sense for your needs.
Click activate, and the lights will begin their Clean Cycle. They will stop cleaning and revert to their previous state when the time is up. You will know at any given moment if they are cleaning as the sparkle icon will also be filled in in pale blue.
You can deactivate it anytime by clicking on this active Sparkle icon, and it will end the Clean Cycle immediately.
Run a Clean Cycle on the light itself
The second way to activate a Clean Cycle is in the control screen for a specific light. You would want to use this method if you have more than one LIFX Clean in a group but only want one to run right now (for example, in your office, you might want a desk lamp only to run over your phone during lunch).
To do this, simply click on the name of your LIFX Clean to open up the control screen (remember, the name will have a Sparkle indicator to the left, so you know which it is at a glance).
On the control screen, the Sparkle icon will appear again at the top right. Much like the group button, you can simply tap that icon, set your desired Cycle Duration, and hit Activate.
The Clean Cycle duration will now be shown on the wheel, and other colour and brightness controls will be inactive, as the Clean Cycle needs to be actively using the light to run.
Turning off the Clean Cycle
To turn off your Clean Cycle on an individual light in the control screen, you can either tap the Cancel icon or the blue Sparkle icon
.
How to change your default Clean Cycle time
The default Clean Cycle duration is the time that will automatically come up when you click the Sparkle icon to activate a Clean Cycle, as well as the automatic length of time it will suggest when you schedule a Clean Cycle (though you can manually adjust that each time). Depending on the distance of the bulb to your desired surface or object(s), you might want to change the default Clean Cycle time - if your light is very close to the objects or surface (like a table lamp), a two-hour duration is great. If you have a pendant over a bathroom sink, you'll likely want to run that overnight or for 8 hours to increase its effectiveness and eliminate as much bacteria as possible.
To change your Clean Cycle default duration, navigate to the Light Settings screen for your Clean bulb (click on the three dots icon in the top right, then click the button that says 'Light Settings' in the bottom right) and choose Clean Cycle under Set Up. The following screen will allow you to customize both the Default Notification as well as set a Completion Notification. Once you’ve updated your desired preferences, hit Save.
What is a 'Complete Notification'?
This is a visual notification to indicate that a Clean Cycle is complete. If you check this box, the light will flash 3 times every time a Clean Cycle has ended. See the image and instructions above relating to Clean Cycle defaults for more information.
Scheduling a Clean Cycle
Setting your LIFX Clean to run on a schedule will help improve bacteria elimination by ensuring regular exposure to the HEV light for longer periods. This can be done overnight or while you're at work, so you won't even notice them cleaning, or it can simply just be in low use times. You can run a Clean Cycle while you or your pets are in the room, even near the light itself, as it is not deemed harmful (unlike UV-based cleaning products). It is a visible light, though, which will look blue when running.
How to schedule a Clean Cycle
To schedule a Clean Cycle, hit the plus button to 'Add new...' at the bottom right of the screen and choose to add a new schedule. If you have a Clean bulb, you’ll be able to choose to turn on your Clean Cycle under the “To” option and change 'Turn on' to 'Clean Cycle (HEV).