I have seen several older washer/dryer Ads stating that they had ultra violet lights. Did they really give a "line dried" scent and kill germs too? If so, why don't we see them today?

I can smell the "ozone" smell when the machine has finished spinning and I open the lid. So I would have to say the light in there does do something. The clothes do have a scent, it is not a "line dried" scent however.

UV light is germicidal. This is not to say however that there are not drawbacks to it as well.........

There were germicidal lights in each classroom. Does anyone remember these?????

The "Germicidal" UVA-UVB light emitted by the "ozone" bulbs in washers and dryers can damage skin and eyes.I would be concerned for "washer spectators" of those early machines that used UV bulbs.the UV radiation can reflect off the water in the machine and into the faces and eyes of washer watchers.I would disable their bulbs while watching.and these lights may not have much benefit since the radiation would be effective only at the surface of the washer water.The water can block the germicidal A,B rays.In a dryer the UV bulbs would be more effective.The dryer window should block most of the harmful UV light.there would be some concern-some fabrics can be damaged from long exposure to the UV light.-Sunlight as well-flags are a good example.I wonder if the weak radation from the small UV -ozone bulbs in washers,dryers would be less dangerous than the sunlight.The ozone is created by the reaction of oxygen in the air with the UV A,B radiation.Ozone is a byproduct of exposure of oxygen to UV light.I don't think we see the bulbs in modern machines because of SW UV radiation exposures-and the effectiveness of the bulbs could be questioned.
I have seen UV lamps in classrooms and public rooms-a fan can circulate the room air across the UV bulb killing viruses and bacteria and their spores that are in the air.the destroyed bacteria and virus are no longer harmful to you.I use an air purifier that has the UV bulbs-and the 2 yers I have used them---no colds or flu!And the growth of mildwew in the house is drastically reduced.the UV also kills mildew-mold spores.

I don't have a washer with a mercury bulb, but several of my dryers have them. If you leave the door of the 58 Filtrator open for a while, you can smell the ozone in the small laundry room.

I have one of these EcoQuest machines that won't reset and operate with a new filter change - $179 service overhaul by EcoQuest. No thanks, I'll open the blinds and a couple of windows.

Don't think the germicidal lamp was ever supposed to do anything as the machine washed.The light would not shine on anything other than the surface of the water.
The germ killing was to be in effect as the machine was on the spin mode. It does shine down on the clothes on spin. White are a purple blue, and jeans are purple.

I think the lamps are more effective in the dryer, as the clothes are exposed to the uv rays the entire time they are being dried.
My 56WP dryer has the germicidal lamp in it also. So does the 58 Maytag dryer, however the lamp in the Maytag is mounted behind the drum, so the clothes are never exposed to the germicidal lamp.

Don't have any pixs that show the effect on spin. It hard to photogragh.
Here is one on the rinse cycle that shows the purple-blue however. Note how the jeans look purple-blue behind the Surgilator, where they are just above the water line. And plain blue toward the front, where the jeans are under water.

Shows the germicidal lamp, with the 40 watt bulb. That is one unit, with two lamp sockets in it.

The other cool thing about the ultra-violet light in a washer: It makes the layer of suds look surrealistically brilliant. It just POPS. Gee, I miss my '59 Lady Kenmore.

We had a Hamilton LP gas dryer circa 1968. It had a Sun-E-Day light right above the door. Mind you the door had a full D shaped window in it. If you sat and watched the clothes(as I did for many days, months, years) you could see the light burning. My mom always used the radiation factor as a tactic to get me away from the dryer. Didn't work! We had that dryer until 1976 when my mother replaced the Hotpoint washer and Hamilton dryer with Maytags.

Maybe some day I'll grow an extra set of eyes or mutate!

We had a 1955 Frigidaire Filtrator dryer that would run with the door open...and I would watch the clothes tumbling with that UV bulb shining right in my face. I think that is why my eyes glow in the dark to this day. Ha!

The optical brightners in detergents should glow well under the UV from the Germicidal bulb.When I had Fresh Start-shined any of my UV lamps on it(SW UV) and the bottle of detergent gave a ghostly blue-white glow.Was pretty neat.You could even see it even in room light or daylight.Was best in the dark or night-The detergent ghost!

the most photogenic Whirlpool in town--always fun to see, and always in a new pose, and always beautiful !

the most photogenic Whirlpool in town--always fun to see, and always in a new pose, and always beautiful !

Thanks Mike! The 56 WP is my favourite!

Beautiful pics Rick! I seem to recall those same UV lights in the ladies' rooms at some department stores. Here's the deal...for a dime, you could sit in a stall that had the UV bulb behind the toilet seat. The hat and glove crowd would avoid germies on the bum. As for me, since I was a kid, I just crawled on the nasty ladies' room floor, got under the stall, and got to "sit" for free. OY, a child's logic.....

I did the same thing in the mens room....to avoid the cost of putting money in the door for access to the stall, I used to crawl on the floor under the door. I remember those germicidal lights in the urinals.


Fond memories?????


LOL!

I could picture you both crawling on the dirty restroom floor, lol!!
I can recall doing that at the airport one time myself, just so I could avoid paying the dime charge of the pay toilet!

I have a uv lamp system in my office at work. I can see the blue uv light shine though the grillwork. The unit says "Biozone" on it, and it has three levels. I just turned it on, for the first time since last winter. We are in the cold season here, so may as well turn it on. I can smell the ozone in here, and it is on the low setting.
To tell the truth, I had forgot it was even in here until just now.

Hey Guys and Gals,

This is probably a very strange question - but what does 'ozone' smell like? I haven't been able to smell since I was about 16, and I don't remember ever smelling ozone.

Ben

Smells like the outside air right after a heavy lightning storm to me.