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An Ultimate Guide on the effects of UV Light on Mold
How long does it take UV light to kill mold? Do you want to know how and if ultraviolet light can kill mold? These are some of the frequently asked questions that this article aims to answer. UV radiation has been used for years by hospitals to disinfect operating rooms and medical equipment. Nowadays, there are handheld US sterilizer devices that hospitals use.
Will UV Light Actually Kill Mold?
Under ideal conditions and with a properly designed product like a handheld UV light sterilization, germicidal UV light can be effective in killing mold. They can also prevent it from taking root. UV light has been determined as an efficient method not only in killing mold, but also bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens.
As early as 1878, Arthur Downes wrote a scientific paper describing the sterilization of bacteria to short-wavelength light. Ultraviolet light acts similarly to humans getting a sunburn. Longer wavelength light causes sunburns, but the principle is very much the same. Notably, mold and other microbes have far less protection against the germicidal effects of light than humans.
The UV-C Short Wavelength
Scientists have established that there is a certain wavelength range where microorganisms are vulnerable to damage. This is the UV-C short wavelength range specifically in the 100 to 280-nanometer range.
Ultraviolet light is used in different industries for microbial sanitization, such as in hospitals, air purification, water treatment, and food sanitization.
There have been various scientific studies showing that UV-C is reliable in killing microorganisms. The short wavelength known as UV-C is responsible for disrupting the nuclei of microorganisms, eliminating it, or preventing it from reproduction.
How Does UV Light Kill Mold?
Ultraviolet Light irradiation works as a disinfectant and uses electromagnetic waves to penetrate through organisms. The wavelengths are of various sizes between 255 and 280nm called the Germicidal UV-C that kills 99% of microorganisms. The ultraviolet light exposes the immediate environment in which it is placed, such as in an indoor air conditioner.
When the germicidal rays come across molds, they penetrate the nuclei of the molds and damage the nucleic acids present until the organism becomes disabled.
According to the research work found in the US National Library of Medicine on Light-Based Anti-Infectives, it was reported that the disinfectant mechanisms of UV light cause actual damage to DNA by changing the arrangement of the molecules.
When the DNA “arrangement” is altered, it causes defects in the cell reproduction of the mold, and it will ultimately lead to cell death when the cells die, the mold dies.