Can a UV Air Purifier Eliminate COVID-19 Threats in Your Home?

Looking for a way to get rid of potential air-borne viruses & bacteria? A UV Air Purifier can do exactly that within your home’s air. But there are some things you should know about what they can and cannot do.

If you are looking for something that can eliminate COVID-19 from your home completely, a UV Filter will not do that. It can only eliminate the virus in the air that passes through it. A truly healthy home will need to rely on additional surface sterilization through proper cleaning.

We’ve put together some basic information around UV Air Filters and how they can help keep your home healthier (and smelling fresher). If you have additional questions contact us for more information.

First a caveat. Every public health authority gives this advice regarding Covid-19. “The best ways to protect yourself and others are to wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your mouth, nose and eyes. Cover your sneezes and coughs. And if you’re sick, stay home.”

Public Health Agency of Canada

Do filters work against Covid-19

1. Your typical HVAC HEPA filter will not remove Coronavirus from the air. That’s because the filter at .3 microns is larger than the virus at .1 microns thus allowing the virus to pass through. 
2. One filter that will prevent the Coronavirus from passing through the HVAC system and that’s using Ultraviolet Light (UV). UV technology has been used over many years for indoor infection in our hospitals, food processing and laboratories. 

UV Air Filter Limitations

While UV air purifiers installed in the HVAC system will, with appropriate germicidal dosage, destroy airborne viruses and perhaps reduce the risk of infection, they cannot deal with people entering a room, touching surfaces like door handles and light switches and spreading infection in that manner. Only good hygiene practices can minimize the risks from those common disease transmission paths, such as washing your hands frequently as indicated earlier. 

UV Air Purifier Benefits

With a good UV filter in your home, like UV Air Sterilizers by Clean Comfort Indoor Air Essentials, available from ProSolutions Inc, you will have continuous disinfection of the air in your home, lowering the concentration of mould, bacteria and viruses and making the air you breathe cleaner and healthier for your family.

Here are two scientific studies setting out the effectiveness of UV light as a sterilization tool:

1. In 2012, a study at Duke University Medical Center showed that UV lights killed 97% of bacteria that were resistant to antibiotics, the so-called superbug bacteria that are the toughest to kill.
2. The Journal of Applied and Environmental Biology reported in 2001 that germicidal UV radiation significantly reduces airborne fungi in air handling units.

But Wait…There’s More!

UV Air Purifiers are also able to:

• Remove smoke smells and pollutants including from wildfires like Alberta has seen in recent years.
• Remove cooking odours! Your home will never have lingering cooked fish smells again!
• Pet dander and other allergens. Reduce allergic reactions to pets within the home. Great if you have frequent guests that are allergic.

None of us knows how long the Covid-19 threat will last. These viruses are not rare and have surfaced in many forms over the years, the worst being SARS in 2003. They will recur in the future. And while a UV filter may help reduce the spread of Covid-19 in your home, good hygiene practices are vital. Having said that, hospitals, food processors and laboratories are very clear of the value of installing UV filters in their operations. If you would like more information on making your home healthier and safer with a UV filter in your HVAC system, call us today at ProSolutions Inc.