Reviews on Ozone Generators

[HawkinsHollow]

My shipping container has a gasoline smell in it from a leaking 4 wheeler that used to live in there. Doesn't bother me much but my wife dislikes staying in our little cabin on one side of the container due to the smell. I would like to get rid of the smell.

Ozone generators are rumored to remove smells. Some people say it is snake oil, others swear by it. Does anyone have any first hand info on ozone generators and their ability to neutralize odors?

I have a friend that moved into a house an Indian family (from India) lived in and the house smelled strongly of their cooking. Permeating the walls and carpets, etc. He said he rented an ozone generator and it took care of the problem. I was there a month or so after the treatment and I could not smell any odor. But if you look online the filter manufacturers say it doesn't work. Before I bought one I thought I would get some first hand experience from others.

 

[ssgp2]

We have had a Living Air Classic for several years. They do in fact work. They will also clear a room of smoke in a matter of seconds (personal experience). They are expensive but well worth buying one for long term health advantages. Caution, do not turn the ozone up too high if you are in the room for any length of time, and they do require regular maintenance. Be careful with the glass plates as they are very thin.

 

[RjCorazza]

I use several high output ozone generators, and yes they do eliminate odors (never tried gasoline though). If you go that route, make sure to read up on the hazards and avoid exposure to unhealthy / dangerous concentrations of ozone. Ozone is no joke for long term small concentrations, or short term high concentrations.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Ok that is 3 for 3 on positive reviews! Great! Now the next question is rent or buy.

 

[LittleBill21]

ozone generators are cheap, but they produce unhealthy levels of ozone, you need to air the room out once done. I have found they do work

Amazon.com

 

[CADplans]

I have an ozone gen,, purchased from a neighbor that was selling them 20 years ago,,
I only use it in an empty room (no people) as they are touted to have health hazards,,??

BUT, We have a NEW trick that absorbs odors,, and is seems to work pretty well.

We dump charcoal in an aluminum tray, then set the trays around the room.
One tray per room, stick it somewhere that is not noticed.

Hardwood charcoal works better than the Kingsford stuff, that is 1/2 coal.

This is our favorite, we get it at Sams Club,,,

The BEST part, is there is two ways to recycle the stuff,

1) cook with it after it sets in the room a couple months
2) set the tray(s) out in the sun for 4-6 hours, the odors just go away, then use again.

The theory behind the charcoal is that each cubic inch of charcoal has the surface area of a couple football fields.
That large surface area traps the odors,,

Sitting in the sun, the heat drives off the odors.

The best part is when we go on vacation, for a week.
When we return, the house smells "fresh",, not the usual "closed up" stale smell.

PLUS, it uses less electricity than a Tesla!!

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I have an ozone gen,, purchased from a neighbor that was selling them 20 years ago,,
I only use it in an empty room (no people) as they are touted to have health hazards,,??

BUT, We have a NEW trick that absorbs odors,, and is seems to work pretty well.

We dump charcoal in an aluminum tray, then set the trays around the room.
One tray per room, stick it somewhere that is not noticed.

Hardwood charcoal works better than the Kingsford stuff, that is 1/2 coal.

This is our favorite, we get it at Sams Club,,,

The BEST part, is there is two ways to recycle the stuff,

1) cook with it after it sets in the room a couple months
2) set the tray(s) out in the sun for 4-6 hours, the odors just go away, then use again.

The theory behind the charcoal is that each cubic inch of charcoal has the surface area of a couple football fields.
That large surface area traps the odors,,

Sitting in the sun, the heat drives off the odors.

The best part is when we go on vacation, for a week.
When we return, the house smells "fresh",, not the usual "closed up" stale smell.

PLUS, it uses less electricity than a Tesla!!

I will try this!! Can't hurt to try!!

 

[CADplans]

I will try this!! Can't hurt to try!!

Get a pack of the large aluminum disposable trays,,

OH, YEA,,,, when you dump the charcoal in the trays,, DO IT OUTSIDE!!

THERE WILL BE DUST!!

 

[caver]

We had a small pollution monitoring shack at the power plant with some equipment in it. It had an ozone generator even though i think it was used for the sensing tubes it gave me a headache. From then on I refused to work in there without the door wide open.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

We had a small pollution monitoring shack at the power plant with some equipment in it. It had an ozone generator even though i think it was used for the sensing tubes it gave me a headache. From then on I refused to work in there without the door wide open.

Yeah, I heard larger concentrations are not good for you. I plan on locking this in the container for a couple of hours and then air it out VERY well.

 

[RidgeHiker]

Have had much experience with ozone generators to remove cigarette smoke, pet urine odors, etc. Some years ago we had an oil heating stove installed. The installation was faulty and oil leaked into carpet, etc. We ran an ozone generator for several days which removed most or all of the odors. We had repainted the room a few years earlier and caulked some holes in the wood ceiling which brought the surfaces flush with the paneling. The ozone apparently ate away some of the caulking which left small recesses but did not disturb the paint.

It is strong and I would not use it where people are present and would air out the area after use.

 

[oosik]

Many years ago I bought an ozone generator. It was a cheap one. Had no adjustments. After a couple days of running - made my nose sore. Got rid of it.

 

[Tomtint]

I bought one to use in my camper. We had a mouse issue..found the nest and removed it, but the smell was still there. When I ran the ozone in the space overnight, The smell was gone and the camper smelled super clean.. But the mouse piss smell would come back after a day or two. Im assuming it cleaned the air..but as the source of the smell was still there, it would come back.

 

[ponytug]

Ok that is 3 for 3 on positive reviews! Great! Now the next question is rent or buy.

I would try the charcoal for a month, and then rent an ozone generator if it isn't cleared up. The commercial ozone generators are designed for remediating smoke damage in large volumes and they are powerful. I think that the little home use ones won't do much for your issue.

I use a marine small solar powered vent on an enclosed trailer. It is designed to have waves wash over it, and I have never had it leak in storms. A hole saw, some caulk, and it has been venting away for twenty five years. I have gone through a new C-cell battery every few years, but other than that zero maintenance.

I do have the concern that the cabin smells because the leaking gasoline from your ATV is now under your cabin. Perhaps the cabin needs a fan to clear out the air in the crawlspace under the cabin?

All the best,

Peter

 

[etpm]

The ozone molecule is O3 and the oxygen molecule we need to breathe is O2. While O2 is very reactive 03 is way more reactive. You can think of it this way: the O3 molecule really wants to be an O2 molecule and so readily gives up an oxygen atom to become O2. This is a really simplistic explanation. Anyway, because of its extreme reactivity, because it oxidizes stuff so readily, it is dangerous to breathe because it oxidizes lung tissue which of course damages the tissue. Excess exposure to ozone can cause lung cancer. Ozone can be used for odor elimination because it oxidizes the chemicals causing the odor. Sometimes only the surface of the odor causing chemical is oxidized and disturbing the surface will enable the odor to be released again. Painting over the surfaces exposed to ozone will oftentimes seal the surface and the odor will no longer be a problem. Sometimes exposing the odor causing chemicals to ozone for a longer time, this time being subject to the ozone concentration and other factors, can oxidize more of the odor causing chemical(s), though not always. Ozone is particularly damaging to rubber and rubber compounds. So make sure you don't have any in the space you will be exposing to ozone. Rubber bands, for example, tend to turn into a sticky gel like substance. Do not breathe the ozone. It is so reactive that it will oxidize the first thing it can. If you are breathing it, and can smell it, it is damaging your lungs. If I was in your situation I think I would try ozone because it is such a good oxidizer. But I would make damn sure not to breathe it.
Eric
P.S.
One other thing about ozone which is both an advantage and a disadvantage. It does not hang around like other chemicals might. Chlorine for example. Because it is so reactive it reacts quickly and then is gone. So even though it does a good job oxidizing stuff like removing odors and killing bacteria it won't stick around and keep doing so. This is good if you don't want disinfecting and deodorizing chemicals sticking around, but unfortunate if you do.

 

[ning]

Note that BBQ charcoal isn't the kind of charcoal people are usually talking about when the discussion is about eliminating odors.
BBQ charcoal briquettes often have a lot of coal, limestone, starch, borax, nitrates, sawdust, wax, chaff in them; the actual charcoal you want for odors is often sold in small bags for hanging, but you can also get "lump charcoal" which is often "all natural hardwood" (eg Chigger Creek All Natural Lump Charcoal 20 lb - Ace Hardware) and it'll probably work a lot better than bbq briquettes.

 

[RSKY]

A few years ago we had a skunk spray under our house. It happened about 10:00 one night and we had to get outside the smell was so bad. When I went in to get my keys and wallet I had my nose pinched shut and my hand over my mouth but the smell was so strong I could taste it. An hour after the spraying we were in a motel. Spent ten days living in an apartment until we could get rid of the smell and move back in.

Luckily we made contact with a lady who had the same thing happen the year before and upon her advice we contacted Servepro and rented a small commercial ozone generator to get rid of the smell. They said in 24 hours it had cleared the smoke smell from a 150,000 square foot warehouse that had been on fire. I ran it for 24 hours in every room of the house. This was not the kind sold for household use but a commercial unit. It was about 15" square and 6" tall.

Let me give you a warning. The guy we rented it from emphasized to not stay in the house for more than ten minutes while the machine was running. So I would run in, move it to another room, and run out. For some insane reason I stayed in the house around fifteen minutes one day. I never have headaches but was sick with one for a full day afterward. After the smell was gone we opened all the doors and window for several hours before we moved back in.

An ozone generator will clear the smell but only if the source is gone. And the larger types that can clear the smell are dangerous if not deadly if you stay in the house.

RSKY

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Thank you all for your stories and experiences. The reason I asked is because if you look online you will see many websites trying to disprove what you are all trying to tell me about the effectiveness of an ozone generator in removing smells. The reason I was skeptical is because these websites are published by non-ozone generating air filters. Glad I asked!!

 

[nyone]

I bought a cheap $50 amazon one and it worked ok getting the smell out of a smoker's car. I shampooed and carpet cleaned the hell out of every fabric on the inside and even the head liner. We even tried a whole bag of charcoal in there for weeks. None of that worked. How ever we used a ozone generator for about 24hrs with the window cracked and it helped alot.

I did notice that the humidity needs to be low for it to work.

For a targeted gas smell I may try running a weed burner over the area you suspect also airing out that side of the container.

 

[RSKY]

Thank you all for your stories and experiences. The reason I asked is because if you look online you will see many websites trying to disprove what you are all trying to tell me about the effectiveness of an ozone generator in removing smells. The reason I was skeptical is because these websites are published by non-ozone generating air filters. Glad I asked!!

I am no expert but I believe there are ozone generators for household use that run continuously and there are those industrial strength ones for commercial use. The one we used was apparently an industrial strength one. I believe a person who spent the night in a bedroom with that thing running would wake up dead the next morning. I wouldn't buy one, just something else to store that would get used once every ten-twenty years. I would find one of the strong ones and rent it for a couple days.

RSKY