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geekhack Community => Off Topic => Topic started by: tp4tissue on Sat, 04 April 2020, 10:43:40

Title: Ultraviolet Sterilizer Bulbs
Post by: tp4tissue on Sat, 04 April 2020, 10:43:40
Anyone got one of these ?

Is there some sort of certification/ nm rating, sometin' to look out for ?


I know the science is pretty straight forward 200-300nm, UVC.


Title: Re: Ultraviolet Sterilizer Bulbs
Post by: Findecanor on Sat, 04 April 2020, 11:42:40
I know its the type of light you should NOT get exposed to yourself.
It does not sterilise breathing masks.
Title: Re: Ultraviolet Sterilizer Bulbs
Post by: ArchDill on Sat, 04 April 2020, 11:59:37
I read a story about Russia using these in hospitals.
Title: Re: Ultraviolet Sterilizer Bulbs
Post by: Leslieann on Sat, 04 April 2020, 20:33:47
You need the proper frequency to kill what you want to kill.
On top of what Findecanor said, it will also destroy any untreated plastics, which is probably more than you realize (more than just keycaps!)

This is unverified and I question the truth to it, but I've read they also can produce ozone which you shouldn't breathe. I'm not 100% sure on this, it's just something I saw mentioned a lot while looking at hepa filters recently.
Title: Re: Ultraviolet Sterilizer Bulbs
Post by: pixelpusher on Sat, 04 April 2020, 20:40:09
Just not for N95 masks, right?  B/C the filters they use are broken down with uv, i believe.  But surgical or cloth masks, yeah.  I mean, cloth masks you can just launder, right?
Title: Re: Ultraviolet Sterilizer Bulbs
Post by: Coreda on Sun, 05 April 2020, 11:18:54
Just not for N95 masks, right?  B/C the filters they use are broken down with uv, i believe.  But surgical or cloth masks, yeah.  I mean, cloth masks you can just launder, right?

See this study (https://www.ara.com/sites/default/files/MitigateShortageofRespiratoryProtectionDevices_2.pdf) for the FDA released this year. It goes into great detail about decontaminating N95 respirators using UV-C light, which they tested with a variety of virus strains including SARS, influenza and others (tested also with saliva as a 'soiling' layer). It was effective and didn't cause issues with the filtration. They found repeated donning/doffing had more of an adverse affect on durability than the UV-C process.

It's a very good read. It also covers their testing of cleaning and decontaminating reusable half-mask respirators (they essentially just followed the manufacturer guidelines in addition to OSHA's which worked as intended).

This is unverified and I question the truth to it, but I've read they also can produce ozone which you shouldn't breathe. I'm not 100% sure on this, it's just something I saw mentioned a lot while looking at hepa filters recently.

Various germicidal UV-C lamps come with a filter surface which blocks this 185 nm ozone creating wavelength. Companies will specify if it does on the product pages.

UV-C is still no joke though and can cause skin and eye damage so one would have to keep this in mind when creating safeguards.
Title: Re: Ultraviolet Sterilizer Bulbs
Post by: Leslieann on Sun, 05 April 2020, 19:37:40
This is unverified and I question the truth to it, but I've read they also can produce ozone which you shouldn't breathe. I'm not 100% sure on this, it's just something I saw mentioned a lot while looking at hepa filters recently.

Various germicidal UV-C lamps come with a filter surface which blocks this 185 nm ozone creating wavelength. Companies will specify if it does on the product pages.

UV-C is still no joke though and can cause skin and eye damage so one would have to keep this in mind when creating safeguards.
Thanks!
The problem is with Chinese suppliers, they never specify. You're lucky if they can tell you if it has a lamp in many product listings, quite a few were mentioned only in reviews.
Title: Re: Ultraviolet Sterilizer Bulbs
Post by: noisyturtle on Sun, 05 April 2020, 19:41:10
Just use an x ray flashlight dude