Although bacteria are too small for you to see with your naked eyes, they exist all around us. Some of them don’t pose a threat to your health — some are beneficial. But other bacteria can lead to infectious disease. To deal with the latter, developing technologies like UV disinfectants can help.
How Bacteria Spreads
Exploring how bacteria transfer is essential before delving into mechanisms to kill harmful bacteria. It could be through your food, your pets, or even people you come into contact with.
Human Contact
Bacteria transfer through both direct and indirect contact. For instance, shaking someone’s hand is direct contact that provides a medium for spreading bacteria. It could also be through indirect contact, such as touching a doorknob as it is a space where bacteria linger.
Bodily Fluids
Another common way bacteria spreads is the exchange of bodily fluids — such as saliva and semen. If you notice that your partner or friends are infected, avoid exchanging bodily fluids until the situation has been resolved.
Poor Hygiene
If you don’t practice proper hygiene, you increase the chances of bacteria spreading. You can easily pick up bacteria from foods and surfaces and transfer them to other places.
Airborne Bacteria
Bacteria spread quickly through the air. For instance, if you or someone else with an illness sneezes or coughs, you spread the bacteria. The best way to combat this would be to cover your mouth and nose while doing so.
How Using UV Disinfectant for Bacteria Works
The use of UV light for sterilization has been around since about the 20th century. But there have been significant improvements in the field.
Notably, UV is a broad term that refers to a range of electromagnetic waves characterized by a shorter wavelength than visible light. There are three groups of UV: UVA, UVB, and UVC. In the case of UV disinfection, only UVC is effective.
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UV disinfectants work by breaking down certain chemical bonds and scrambling the structure of the bacteria’s DNA, RNA, and proteins. Consequently, the bacteria cannot multiply, rendering it dead since it loses its ability to reproduce within the host.
Taking such methods means the bacteria is no longer infectious. However, the UV disinfectant’s effectiveness depends on the exposure period and the distance between the bacteria and the light source.
It’s also worth noting that not all UVC lamps are the same. While some emit very specific wavelengths, others emit a wide range of wavelengths. Some even emit visible and infrared radiation.
Besides the high effectiveness, another advantage of UV disinfection is the convenience. Since it involves no chemicals, you don’t have to worry about any residue. UV disinfection can also kill all kinds of bacteria, including drug-resistant ones.
Applications for UV Disinfectant
Because bacteria surround us at all times, it is vital that UV disinfectants are versatile in their applications. Various industries can take advantage of UV sanitization, including laboratories, wastewater treatment centers, and food and beverage facilities. In places where sanitation is key, UV disinfectant provides a simple solution to otherwise difficult cleaning tasks.
Factories that utilize conveyor belts and other textured rubber surfaces can find effective sanitization to be a difficult task. UV disinfection systems clean these surfaces quickly and effectively without decreasing the lifespan of the equipment.
Large open spaces or areas where having clean air is essential, such as in healthcare facilities, can take advantage of UV disinfectant technology to sanitize open areas. By installing UV light equipment in strategic locations, such as by air conditioners, this technology works on a large scale with little effort.
Today, companies like Violet Defense strive to protect you from germs in these industries and many others by bringing you the power of UV disinfection. Contact such help today to learn how to implement existing products or get a custom solution.
