Can UV Lamps Kill Mold in Your Home?

UV lamp red line vector icon

Mold is a common issue, especially in high-humidity climates. It can be a nuisance and even cause health issues if left untreated. Homeowners may wonder if using a UV (ultraviolet) lamp to kill mold is effective. Let’s look at UV lamps’ efficacy in eliminating mold in your home.

How Do UV Lamps Work?

UV lamps emit ultraviolet light, which can help eliminate germs, bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants. When used correctly, they can help reduce the number of airborne particles that could cause health problems or worsen existing health conditions. However, there are limitations to using UV lamps for mold control.

Limitations of Using UV Lamps for Mold Control

First, it is essential to note that while UV lamps can help reduce the number of airborne particles, they cannot kill mold on surfaces such as walls or ceilings where it has already taken hold.

This is because ultraviolet light does not penetrate deeper than three millimeters into porous materials like wood and drywall, making it ineffective against mold colonies that have already taken root.

Furthermore, according to the EPA, certain types of mold are resistant to ultraviolet radiation or require more intense levels of exposure than most consumer-grade UVC lamps can provide.

This means that while you may still be able to reduce the airborne particles from existing colonies, you won’t necessarily eliminate them by using a UV lamp alone.

Finally, even with advanced UVC lamps that produce higher intensity levels of ultraviolet radiation, there is always the risk of exposing yourself or your family members to these powerful lights, which could have adverse health effects over time.

Conclusion

Using a UV lamp certainly has benefits when it comes to killing germs and reducing airborne particles. Still, unfortunately, they cannot eliminate colonies from surfaces like walls or ceilings where they have already taken hold.

Also, some types of mold are resistant to ultraviolet light or need more intense exposure than most consumer-grade UVC lamps can give. This means that these types of mold can’t be killed with these lamps.

So, using a UV lamp might help reduce the number of mold spores that get into the air from existing colonies, but you shouldn’t count on it as the only way to get rid of all types of mold in your home.

If you have a mold problem in your home, it’s best to talk to a professional. They can tell you the best way to safely get rid of any existing colonies and prevent new ones from growing.

Breathe easy! Protect yourself and your family from dangerous mold-related illnesses with Pure Maintenance of Texas. Our advanced technology makes sure that harmful pathogens are removed and don’t come back, so you can be sure that they won’t be a problem in the future.

Contact us today!

Is UV Light Effective?

UV light bulb in HVAC

Simple to Use

You can google UV light and mold and stumble onto a plethora of information and misinformation relative to UV (ultra violet) light and its attempt to control mold. According to the EPA, 92 million Americans live in areas with substandard air quality. Additionally millions are living with poor indoor air quality. The concept of UV mold control sounds great! I can plug in an appliance and all my mold worries simply disappear. Well, it’s not quite that easy. UV light will indeed break up the DNA of mold, which will result in the death of the cell.

Why It’s Not Very Effective

On paper, it makes complete sense. In reality, the light must be within 1-2 inches from the mold to remove just 99 percent of the mold. Couple that with the fact that it takes 2 to 10 seconds to kill the mold that is within 1-2 inches from the light. If you are like me, I am trying to picture the mold spores being “herded” to the light, then “corralling” them for 10 seconds so that the light will do its work. (News Flash – Herding mold and corralling mold is a very difficult thing to do, even for the best cowboys).

Additionally, if we could herd the mold to within 1-2 inches from the light and then corral the spores for 10 seconds, the kill rate is only 99 percent. That’s not great. In fact, assuming that we were able to pull this off, and convince 1 million spores to hang out near the light, and convince them to have a little convention near the light for 10 seconds, there would still be 10,000 surviving spores. So this becomes one of the all time most ineffective ways to control mold in the home.

The Verdict

In conclusion, if you have high mold spore counts in your home or office, this passive attempt is going to be disappointing at best. If you are concerned with air quality, and mold spore counts are elevated in your home or office, Pure Maintenance two step dry fog system is the most effective, most economical method in the world, to return the home or office to safe air quality levels.

Originally Published on 29 March 2019 by Pure Maintenance