With Covid-19 rampaging through the U.S, people have begun adapting to a new age of prevention and sanitization. Cloth face masks have saturated the market while liquid sanitizers and cleaning wipes are nowhere to be seen. A different form of cleaning exists outside our human realm of vision. UVC light. These lamps are widely used as a source of sanitization and sterilization are by no means new. 

History 

With the evaluation of pathogens came the forward momentum of human exploration and discovery. Bright minds in the scientific field lept towards the future of medicine. In1878, Arthur Downes and Thomas P. Blunt performed research describing the sterilization of bacteria exposed to short-wavelength light. Once again UVC light was in the forefront  in 1903 when the Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded to Niels Finsen for his use of UV against lupus vulgaris and tuberculosis. UV light devices have long been known to be effective and have already been in use pre-COVID for sanitation purposes across the globe. 

Uses Now

These days UVC light radiation is a commonly known form of disinfection for air, water, and nonporous surfaces. UVC radiation has effectively been used for decades to reduce the spread of bacteria, such as tuberculosis. For this reason, UVC lamps are often called "germicidal" lamps. Many of the UVC lamps sold for home use are of low dose, so it may take longer exposure to a given surface area to potentially provide effective inactivation of a bacteria or virus. However, each bulb is different. Hospitals have been using UVC light wavelengths for years to help defeat superbugs and use uvc light to clean operating rooms, patient rooms, and other healthcare settings. There are also dozens of educational facilities that have installed upper-room germicidal UVC fixtures which use UV light to disinfect the air circulating through the HVAC system. 

PurLite difference 

PurLite has performed independent lab studies with two organizations. Both were carefully vetted for their capabilities and industry reputation. PurLite has been developed by Engineers and Scientists. A recent study found pathogenic bacteria on 80% of the children’s toys that they tested. Even more frightening, phones have 18 times more harmful bacteria than the handle on a public bathroom! Dealing with chemicals like bleach can be potentially dangerous and can cause more harm than good. We want to provide you with a product that is efficient at keeping your home safe. 

Contrary to what some people may believe, UV light is in fact not purple. Rather, ultraviolet light is a form of electromagnetic radiation that is invisible to the human eye. It is naturally produced by and accounts for 10% of the total radiation output from our Sun. Discovered in 1801 by German physicist, Johann Ritter, the identification of the ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum gave humans a new idea of what that spectrum entailed. However, it wasn’t until nearly a century later when Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation or UVGI appeared in the picture as a disinfecting solution. Since then ultraviolet light has been a friend to the disinfection world.

Defined as is the use of ultraviolet (UV) energy to kill or inactivate viral, bacterial, and fungal species, UVGI was discovered by two scientists who figured out that the ability of sunlight to neutralize bacteria was dependent on three main things:

• Intensity, 
• Duration,
• Individual Wavelengths

With this information becoming widely available, scientists began experimenting with different ways to utilize UV light to their benefit. In 1933 an eccentric American scientist by the name of William F. Wells developed a hypothesis elaborating on the concept of airborne infection by droplet nuclei and the use of UVGI to disinfect the air. Following initial success Wells went on to demonstrate that airborne infectious organisms could be efficiently killed in a short period of time, which helped prove the very concept that infections can be spread via the air. With the perceived success of UVGI it began to make its way into hospital rooms across the country. 

UVGI made headway in the medical field with its ability to curb infection rates and safely sanitize hospital operating rooms. UVGI is primarily delivered from three systems: portable, in-duct and upper-room. 

• Upper-room UVGI confines the germicidal radiation to the entire room area above people's heads 
• Portable UVGI units are used in patient, surgical and ICU rooms, and other critical-care settings
• Stationary UVGI disinfection can take the form of either in-duct systems for airstream disinfection or upper-room installations to prevent infection transmission within a room

Today we see UVGI being used all over the world as a weapon against germs and specifically Covid-19. Coronavirus is highly susceptible to germicidal UV irradiation as it is able to inactivate microorganisms by causing DNA damage and preventing replication which can in turn deactivate the virus on surfaces. 

This is what PurLite does. Using UVC light, our PurLite box harnesses that energy in order to eliminate bacteria, fungal and viral particles that linger on the different surfaces within your home. Don’t just clean your home, PurLite it.