Ozone Generators

[jay3534]

Do ozone generators kill musty odors permanently and does anyone use one?

 

[mikester]

I'd recommend an HRV or ERV instead. Ozone isn't good for your lungs.

 

[EarPlug]

Ozone Generators that are Sold as Air Cleaners | Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) | US EPA

 

[rademamj1]

I read the article throughly. Its fully opinion based and just like the EPA, despite having a $9.1 billion dollar budget, they could not even take the time or money to study Ozone O3 Generators in their own labs to determine their usefulness.

I did read an independent laboratory study which indicated, the Ozone O3 molecules will scrub a room of cigarette smoke, by attaching to the smoke particulates and cleaning the air of that specific type of indoor pollution.

 

[the old grind]

Ozone will oxidize things in its envelope. It also works with UV to cause tires to dry rot, etc. I had an electrostatic air purifier that worked great, and had an 'ION' button but when I turned that on some 'composite' mat'ls in the house would get chalky or break down in weeks as if decades old. ('rubber boots', rifle recoil pads , and others.) Elastics sacked sooner and lost their stretch.

I Googled "ion vs ozone" & found that ion generators make ozone too, and it didn't take long for me to turn the ion feature off for good. Read a few of these search hits for the latest info on ionization and ozone. oozone vs ion - Google Search

We're told that while electrostatic purifiers DO work to remove airborne particles as a source of odor they won't reduce the smell. I collected a lot of tobacco smoke and dust on the electrostatic over three years and I learned that walls, furniture, and bachelor dust hold the stink for a while after the source is removed. For me that was a year or so after I gave up tobacco. YMMV

 

[cqaigy2]

I wouldn't use O3 generator in an area where i would breath. I'm glad the EPA didn't waste my money on testing something that's been thoroughly studied.

 

[dmccarty]

My parents used a ozone generator for a short time to remove smell caused by a leaky fridge water supply. It worked. They only used it for a short time and got out of the house when it was in use. Aired out the house afterwards.

People with boats will use the ozone generator to remove smells, but one has to know that the ozone can mess up people and some materials.

The generators are not a long term solution by any means but a way to removed the odor AFTER the problem causing the odor has been fixed.

Later,
Dan

 

[Fuddy1952]

I have one I use quite a lot.
I set timer and run...no people or pets in area. After a few hours I open doors, windows.

 

[ponytug]

Short answer to your question: no, ozone generators don't kill musty odors permanently. One time use to remove contaminates, like smoke damage, sure. You don't want ozone in your house routinely. As others have noted, it is hard on your lungs, and terrible on rubber, not to mention colors. It is well studied, and you need to ignore the pro-ozone material out there that is mostly sponsored by the companies making ozone generators.

So, sorry that things smell musty. I hate that smell, which comes with lots of mold spores, but thanks a whole other ball of wax. If things smell musty, you have damp and mold. I think that the better solution is to dry things out, e.g. ventilate the basement/crawl space, seal the space up and dehumidify the air. There's a separate thread here on dehumidifiers, with a number of great suggestions.

Good luck!

All the best,

Peter

 

[ultrarunner]

Good thread...

Pipe smoker lived in my home prior to me buying...

When HVAC is on not really noticeable.

But with everything off for few days the odor is noticeable.

Even had someone ask me if I smoked... which I never have but the pipe smoke lingers for years?

Not much carpet but I have yet to repaint...

Thought about getting something to freshen things up... but have not yet

 

[oosik]

I had an air purifier - Oreck - that also had an ozone feature. I didn't like the way the purifier worked. The ozone feature burned the lining of my nose and throat. Used it about a month - took it back and got a refund.

 

[Doofy]

Do ozone generators kill musty odors permanently and does anyone use one?

I did school maintenance for 30 years and used ozone generators a lot to neutralize odors. This was done after hours with the use of timers and the areas were aired out and ventilated long before people were allowed back in. I have a small unit for home use for treating musty smells. Works for me.

 

[ponytug]

If you can smell it, it is going in you, too.

A fresh coat of paint works wonders to seal in noxious fumes, and particles. Even just washing the walls with TSP would go a long way. (And then you are ready to paint, anyway!) Replacing the carpet would also help cut down on the emissions. I'm not sure it's worth ozone cleaning the ducts, but even a basic duct cleaning would help, if it hasn't been done.

I once spent the night in a hotel room that literally had tan walls from the chronic smokers. The walls were literally sticky with tar. It was unreal, and I was wheezing for days afterwards. I'm pretty allergic to tobacco, so I have a low tolerance for it. YMMV...

I used to paint, so I tend to think painting is easy, which isn't, but it is routine for me.

All the best, Peter

 

[dmccarty]

...

I once spent the night in a hotel room that literally had tan walls from the chronic smokers. The walls were literally sticky with tar. It was unreal, and I was wheezing for days afterwards. I'm pretty allergic to tobacco, so I have a low tolerance for it. YMMV...

...

Once upon a time I was looking to buy a house. I looked at one place that was inhabited by a smoker. The smoker, I assume a he, mostly smoked in one room of the house that had been turned into a den, man cave, sport room. The smoker has painted the room the color of his college team, which thankfully was a dark color. The dark paint hid the smoke on the walls. However, the ceiling was stained in a tan color from his smoke. I swear you could smoke meat in that room. Even though he supposedly only smoked in that room, the whole house stank of tobacco smoke.

I told the agent there was no way in hades I was buying that house. All of the carpets would have to be replaced, the walls painted, not only because of his college team colors where hideous, but to remove, err, cover up the smell. Then there was the ceiling problem. These were cheap a...ss ranch houses and the ceilings used popcorn to hide imperfections. The cost to remove the popcorn and repaint the ceilings was not something I wanted to deal with. Could have lowered the price on the house but I just went down the street a few lots and bought a house without all of the smoke problems.

We were on a ferry from Hong Kong to mainland China years ago. There was no smoking on the ship, except the crew in the pilot house smoked. The pilot house door was on our level of the ship so we smelled smoke during the 2-3 hour trip. When crew would open the door, we could see the smoke cloud in the pilot house and I don't know how they could breathe in their. Looked like they had a wood fire going in the pilot house. The windows in the passenger area of the ferry where also stained with smoke.

We had blue skies in Honk Kong, but as we got towards mainland China it got foggy, which was odd since it was already mid morning so the fog should have burned off. Turned out the fog was smog and we did not see blue sky for another week when we got back to the US. :shocked:

Later,
Dan

 

[bmaverick]

Ozone will oxidize things in its envelope. It also works with UV to cause tires to dry rot, etc. I had an electrostatic air purifier that worked great, and had an 'ION' button but when I turned that on some 'composite' mat'ls in the house would get chalky or break down in weeks as if decades old. ('rubber boots', rifle recoil pads , and others.) Elastics sacked sooner and lost their stretch.

IF you want to make any wife or grandma extremely upset, run a ozone generator for about 4 hours in the house. We did. Ever single Mason and Ball canning jar that day LOST IT'S SEAL with the canning lids. 1/4 of the food had to be tossed. The other food was 3-days work of almost around the clock RE-CANNING !!!

So, yes, the ozone does work to kill mold, musty orders and such, BUT, please use common sense.

 

[jay3534]

Thanks no ozone for me

 

[MarkF48]

If any of you may be using a CPAP device for sleep apnea therapy, it would be recommended to not use a SoClean device or similar to 'clean' the CPAP gear. It uses ozone to 'sanitize', but also may damage the internals of the machine and deteriorate other components which most CPAP manufacturers may not cover under warranty. Also the emitted ozone is not healthy as noted in the previous posts.
Important Notice Regarding Use of Ozone Machines with ResMed

 

[AchingBack]

I have sold and own an ozone generator. When PROPERLY used there is never an issue. The same goes for table salt.

 

[AchingBack]

The way I've always looked at ozone is that it is used to kill mold, mildew, and get rid of other organic problems. Thing is, the human body is organic also and ozone can't tell a human from other organics so it will do the same thing to humans as it does to mold, mildew, etc.

Which is the reason these units are not supposed to be used when rooms are occupied. Just like using anything, follow instructions.