This is one of those “why didn’t I think of that?” type projects. And, no, it’s not a suntan booth for a loaf of bread…

I’m not a huge fan of bread, so when I buy a bag or loaf, it’s usually expected to last a week or two until I can eat all (or most) of it. However, often, it begins growing a nasty mold on it and I end-up throwing the bulk of the loaf out.

Well, this guy had an idea to add UV (ultra-violet) lamps inside his bread box to see if the light would halt the growth of the mold. Some of you might recognize UV lamps from hair salons where they are used to sterilize the combs, scissors, and other tools. I’m not sure that any living thing can survive intense UV radiation, so if it can kill nasties on a comb, it should also kill any mold trying to grow on the surface of your bread.

I’m not sure that he used the correct type of bulb, as there are two types – one that’s sold as “germicidal” and is a light purple color and the type that more people are familiar with, the “black light” UV that is found in skating rinks and stoner households around the world. Neither type is great to get lots of exposure to, but the germicidal lamps are much more powerful and should not be viewed for any length of time directly. From the photos, he used the “black light” version, which is obviously acceptable in some amount since we let kids skate around in it for hours. However, the black light is probably intense enough on the bread to prevent the mold from growing and his experiments prove that.

Still, it’s an interesting project and proof that everywhere you look, there is something that can be improved with a bit of knowledge and experimentation!