What Happens When UV Light for Disinfection Hits the Bacterial Cells?

UV lamps are used in a multitude of spaces whether residential, commercial, or industrial.

You might have seen UV lamps in your nearest beauty salon when you go to get your nails done. Or you might have seen UV lamps in the nearest tanning bed center. Although there are many uses for UV lamps, the most important application of UV lamps is for disinfection.

UV light for disinfection is majorly used in water treatment in residential, commercial, and industrial spaces. But what happens when you disinfect water using UV light? What does it do to the bacteria in the water to ensure the water is sanitized and ready to use?

Let’s explore this in the blog post.

However, before we tell you the action of UV light for disinfection, let’s tell you in brief what types of UV light are available in the market.

Types of UV light available in the market

1. UV-A: This type of UV light is usually used during theatrical productions or concerts.
2. UV-B: This type of UV light is used to treat certain diseases or conditions such as psoriasis, lichen planus, vitiligo, and more.
3. UV-C: This type of UV light is used for disinfection purposes. For example, water treatment, food disinfection, surface disinfection of packaging material, and more.

For this blog post, we will focus only on UV-C light. This type of UV light for disinfection is used in water treatment. And here’s what happens when UV light hits the bacterial cells.

What happens when UV-C light treats water for disinfection?

You might already know that UV light for disinfection kills 99.99% of pathogens in the water.

As soon as the UV light hits the water's surface, it also hits the organisms present in it. For example, E. coli, Listeria, and more. Once the bacterial cell is hit by UV light, it degenerates its DNA/RNA, especially the part which enables the bacteria to reproduce.

This stops the bacterial cell division, thus limiting the number of bacterial cells in the water. Now, don’t make the mistake of thinking that UV light will remove the bacteria from the water. Instead, it deactivates the critical part of bacterial cells reducing their ability to cause illnesses.

While disinfecting water, UV light doesn’t affect the taste, color, or smell of the water. This makes UV light for disinfection a highly effective method for water treatment.

Bottom Line

UV light for disinfection of water treatment is a major application used in residential, industrial, and commercial spaces. Since it kills 99.99% of pathogens without changing water quality, it is a highly preferable choice for disinfection.

At Light Spectrum Enterprises, Inc., we provide UV-C germicidal lamps mainly used for water treatment along with surface and air sterilization. If you are interested in procuring UV lamps for your residential, industrial, or commercial spaces, get in touch with our team now.

Contact our team now to get more details.