white buckets still need to be kept in the dark?

You know those white bucket/pales that everyone uses as their fermenter if they aren't using a carboy? Do I need to keep them in the dark. They are in my basement right now with the lights on for maybe three hours a day. Think this matter? Seems like the UV light should be filtered out by the bucket since it does not allow much light in in the first place.

Thanks!

I leave mine in a spare bedroom with the blinds closed. If I was going to have it in a room where the lights/sunlight would be a bigger issue, I'd cover them just to be safe

UV light is the main issue here. Assuming that it has a white plastic top along with it, I wouldn't have any concerns about using them within reasonable lit situations. Based on your specific situation I wouldn't even think twice about it.

If you're still worried about it, you could just throw a blanket over it, that would keep the light off and probably insulate it from any potential temperature fluctuations to some degree.

I use glass and semi-clear plastic fermenters. I put a T-shirt on the glass fermenters, but take no precautions on the plastics. They are in the laundry room, exposed to flourescent light. Never had a problem in many years of brewing. Sometimes the beers stay in them for several months.

I heard a Basic brewing podcast about light and its effect. They say that the worst type of light for beer are the florescent bulbs. I wouldn't worry to much if its in a bucket tho. A little insurance of throwing a towel or blanket over it couldn't hurt.

I use white buckets with blue tops I just put an old black tshirt over them to help keep the light out.