Sanyo 'Virus Washer' scrubs H1N1 from theaters

Next time George Clooney or Meryl Streep hit the red carpet for an LA movie premiere, they might be kept safe from swine flu and other bugs by a high-tech anti-virus air filter from Sanyo.

Mann Theaters has announced a trial of the Virus Washer air conditioning system at its flagship Criterion 6 cinema in Santa Monica.

Visitors to the number-one screen there will breathe piped air that has been stripped of H1N1, the avian flu virus, pollen and dirt by a roof-mounted filter packing powerfully electrolyzed water.

Sanyo claims the Virus Washer strips out 99 percent of bacteria, smells and the aforementioned unpleasantness, making the theater’s atmosphere as pure as an industrial clean room for the manufacture of vaccines or electronic components.

Moviegoers seem to agree -- previous Sanyo surveys show 70 percent reporting that “the air feels better” when cleaned by the Virus Washer.

Suggesting that the Mann’s trial is likely to expand quickly, Sanyo announced it will roll out the Virus Washer to all 60 Warner Mycal cinemas across Japan by August 2011.