Eliminate Household Mold with Functional UV Lights

Indoor mold has the potential to wreak havoc on your health and home, but it’s much easier to manage and even eliminate with UV lights. The ultraviolet spectrum of light is invisible to the human eye, but it’s powerful enough to alter the structure of microorganisms, including mold, bacteria and viruses.

After exposure, these organisms can’t reproduce, hindering their growth. Eliminating mold with UV light is much safer and simpler than applying chemical treatments.

In the Ducts

The lights are often placed inside ductwork to treat the high volume of air flowing through them. As air blows by, the UV rays can change a pollutant’s DNA structure, rendering any mold spores unable to reproduce. Your ductwork can be a hospitable environment for mold growth because there’s usually enough food, moisture and warmth here to support rapid growth. Unseen, mold colonies can reach sizes large enough to harm your health.

In the Blower Compartment

When UV lights are placed inside the blower compartment, they usually shine on the evaporator coil used in air conditioning and heat pump systems for the heat exchange process. Since condensation can form on this coil when your A/C is running, shining UV lights on the area can  help prevent mold growth.

Mold will grow on any surface that’s undisturbed and has enough moisture to support it. Preventing mold growth inside your blower will keep your HVAC system or heat pump running as efficiently as possible.

Maintaining the Lights

In order to work at peak efficiency, UV lights should be periodically cleaned with a soft, damp cloth. Keeping the air filter in your HVAC system clean can slow dust buildup on the bulbs, which need to be replaced annually. Any light bulb that mimics a spectrum of sunlight has a shorter working life than bulbs used simply for home lighting.

To learn more about protecting your home and health with UV lights, contact Stack Heating & Cooling. We’ve been providing outstanding HVAC services for Greater Cleveland homeowners since 1976.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Cleveland, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about mold and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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