Ultraviolet light sanitation

 

Ultra Violet light has been used for years in hospital settings to sanitize the air and make the environment safer for human beings. About a decade ago human hair salons and barbershops picked up on the technology to help sanitize their tools without saturating them in a liquid since most of the tools like brushes and blades don't necessarily do well immersed in liquid.

In the last several years they have become much more popular in the grooming world and are very effective on our tools and in our air. 

UV light has to come into contact with the items directly in order for it to work. So there needs to be a raised surface for the item to go in and it must have light on all sides. Unlike ozone this light does not penetrate things like closets and drawers. It can only kill viruses and bacteria in the areas in which it actually lights up. Most UV lights put off some ozone however and because ozone is a gas which is also a disinfectant it penetrates areas that the light cannot and will add in disinfection in those areas.

Straight ozone however is harmful to humans, pets, and even your equipment. There was a time when ozone generating air purifiers were very popular and dog grooming salons. Those were pretty much banned by the EPA because they were dangerous to wiring, rubber items disintegrate, and they cause breathing and other health problems in humans. Ozone is an immensely valuable disinfectant but it must be used in short doses and only when humans and other animals are not present.

I'm going to concentrate on UV light for this blog post.

Let's start off with a cabinet that has UV light and mirrors and shelves.  The mirrors allow the light to reflect fully inside the cabinet and the shelves allow things to be raised up so that that light can reach all sides of the items. The one I have has a timer which goes and 5 minute increments from 5 minutes to an hour.  I don't set have been used on clean healthy dogs generally speaking get 5 minutes in the cabinet but if a dog has suspect scan or unknown skin infection everything is going to get cleaned and then put in for one hour.

The UV lights have to be used on clean equipment. That means removing hair and excess dirt before disinfection because it cannot work if the item is dirty.

 

 As you can see I put my blades, Combs, brushes, and clippers inside. I also put my grooming loops in here.

This is a different kind of UV cabinet. ItIt'small, but it works great on small Combs, snap on combs and blades.

It's actually a Phone Soap disinfectant machine and has an automatic timer. It runs for 5 minutes after being closed. I got it from my mom as a gift and use it at my grooming table.

 

Below is a HVAC UV light.  They are pricey that they are very much worth it. They sanitize the air as it goes across the coils in the air return. This is a great way to kill kennel cough as well as yeast spores and it will keep your duct work sanitized and clean. They can be installed by you or by an HVAC professional. 

 The light above is actually a portable light. They're  under $20 on Amazon,  And the one I have has a timer built into the switch. You have to be out of the Room as do all pets, but we set it off the end of the day and let it run for an hour.

 UV is incredibly safe and effective as a disinfectant 4 rooms and items when used correctly. When using correctly however it can cause injury to human vision and dog vision. You don't wanna use it while you're in the Room and you don't want to use it while pets are present. All of the UV machines have an automatic cut off so that when the door is opened they shut off. Many of the cabinet style you these actually lock while the unit is in use if they don't lock they have an automatic shut off though to protect you.

 As you can see it's a fast easy way to disinfect both your environment and your tools.

Just use it responsibly and you will have no problems.