UV Lights: What You Need to Know

The cool, rainy weather Portland often sees creates the perfect conditions for mold growth. Ultraviolet (UV) lights help keep that mold and other harmful microbes from taking hold in your home.

UV Lights Protect Your Health

Viruses, bacteria, and mold spores are present to some degree in every home. These tiny microbes circulate through the air you breathe, putting you at risk for illnesses such as cold, flu, and even strep throat. Mold spores trigger allergy and asthma attacks in those susceptible and place even healthy people at risk for respiratory infections.

UV light, the same type of light found in sunshine, neutralizes these microbes by breaking down the microbes’ DNA and rendering them incapable of reproducing. This quickly decreases the number of microbes floating around, leaving you with cleaner, safer indoor air.

The lights disinfect so effectively that they’re used in hospitals, scientific laboratories, food-processing plants, water-treatment plants, and other facilities where sanitation is critical.

Incorporating UV Lights into Your Home

The most convenient way to enjoy these benefits in your home is to have an ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) system installed in your heating and cooling system’s indoor unit. The UV light shines into the air passing through, neutralizing the microbes in that air and allowing the purified air to flow out to your rooms. Because all the air in your home passes through the system several times a day, you’ll have clean air in every room. This type of UVGI system also prevents mold from forming in your air handler and ducts.

Because both the intensity of the light and the lamp’s position affect a UVGI system’s efficiency, these systems should be professionally installed.

Handheld UV lights are also available. These give you a quick way to disinfect kitchen and bathroom surfaces. It’s also possible to install a UVGI system in a kitchen exhaust hood to break down grease particles as well as disinfect. These systems are used primarily in commercial kitchens.

If you’d like to start using UV lights to protect your health, contact us at Roth Home & Cooling anywhere in the Portland area.