BOULDER, Colo. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Winter may bring cozy nights indoors, but for allergy sufferers, it can also mean a season of sneezing, sniffling, and fatigue. In fact, more than 50 million Americans report allergy symptoms each year, and they don’t always go away when the snow falls.
Cold weather, closed windows, and cozy spaces may feel safe, but they trap dust mites, pet dander, and mold! Tess Eidem, PhD, microbiologist at CU Boulder says you can vacuum, spray, and clean, but allergen proteins hang around.
“Allergens aren’t alive. Unlike airborne viruses or bacteria that we can kill, we can’t kill allergens, we can only inactivate them,” she explained.
So, Eidem’s team sought a solution.
“We were really looking for a type of allergen mitigation strategy that could be passive and that could just go on and treat allergens in the air, without any active intervention from somebody within a house,” she said.
In the lab, researchers released common allergens, from pet dander to mold and pollen, into a controlled chamber, then switched on a special ultraviolet lamp known as UV222. The result?
“What we found is if we turned the UV light on, the UV222 light, we were able to get about a 20 to 25 percent reduction in those allergens over about a 30-minute time period,” Eidem told Ivanhoe.
Eidem says the light isn’t a replacement for cleaning but an extra layer of defense.
“It’s a good addition to their arsenal to fight these airborne allergens,” she explained.
As winter continues and indoor air quality takes a hit, this new approach could help you breathe easier at home, work, or school.
Until that light technology is ready for homes, doctors say simple steps can make a big difference: change air filters every month, vacuum with a HEPA filter, wash bedding in hot water, and keep humidity below 50% to prevent mold growth.
Contributors to this news report include: Marsha Lewis, Producer; Chuck Bennethum, Editor.
Sources:
https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-people-in-the-united-states-suffer-from-allergies
https://www.asthmaandallergycenter.com/article/reducing-indoor-allergens-winter
https://www.colorado.edu/today/2025/09/15/new-way-fight-allergies-switch-light
* For More Information, Contact: Lisa Marshall
Associate Director at the Office of Strategic Relations and Communications at the University of Colorado Boulder
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