Ozone is a magical substance when used for air purification.
Absolutely nothing has the capability of removing unpleasant
odors like Ozone. But Ozone goes far further than that. Ozone
kills disease causing organisms such as bacteria, viruses, mold,
mildew, and fungus.
Odors
Think of the way we usually battle bad odors. You can release
perfume smelling chemicals by spraying them into the air. If
there is a bad odor, like pet urine, on carpet or furniture
you can try to find the exact location of the odor and spray
perfumes there. The perfumes cover the smells, but they can’t
possibly remove it. When the spray wears off, the smell returns.
For musty closed-in
household odors we are instructed to buy a bottle of breezy
smelly chemicals and spray them around the
house, or plug in an electrical device that looks like a night-light
so that smelly chemicals come out and float through the air.
Once again the chemicals that are released into the air are just
perfumes; they don’t destroy or change the source of the
odor, they just cover it up for a short period of time. This
is why you need to keep applying the breezy smelly stuff, because
it wears off and the smell returns.
Ozone on the other
hand is a natural oxidizing agent that will actually destroy
the source of the smell and eliminate it. This
is the most important point of this whole article…the ozone
destroys not only the smell that is in the air, but also the
source of the smell on the carpet, walls, floors, etc. Ozone
will literally take apart the molecule that is making the smell.
If the molecules creating the smell are destroyed by the ozone,
then there is no more smell. Smells of garbage in the garage,
pet urine or feces, kitchen smells such as fish or other foods
are gone in seconds to minutes and will not return because the
molecules that were causing the smell have actually been destroyed
by the ozone. (We all have to realize that if the garbage is
still in the garage or the cat pees on the carpet again, of course
the smell will return. But the point is that the very molecules
that make the smells are destroyed (forever) by the ozone rather
than just being covered up by a perfume.)
The
best part is that ozone can be released into the air and will
travel to the source
of the smell on its own and destroy
it. You don’t have to find the source of the smell yourself
or go through the effort of putting ozone right on the source
of the smell.
Airborne Pathogens and Associated Health Concerns
Ozone can not only eliminate odors but can also be used for airborne
pathogens, disease causing organisms that travel through the
air and have the potential to affect (or infect) everyone.
This aspect of ozone is not only handy in the home, but think
of the benefits to schools and hospitals where many illnesses
are passed from one person to the next through the air!
Whole building Ozonation systems are available that are capable
of producing ozone at precision levels to ensure that while there
is always ozone present in the air, it is always at the proper
concentration levels to destroy pathogens (disease causing organisms)
but also be safe for humans to breathe.
Imagine a hospital with a built in ozone system that is able
to deliver ozone gas to all areas of the hospital through special
ducts. Now imagine ozone sensors in every section of the hospital
that measure the concentration of the ozone in the air. These
systems exist today in hospitals, shopping centers, factories,
and schools in Europe to drastically reduce the levels of airborne
pathogens and keep the occupants of these buildings safe from
pathogenic organisms. The ozone levels are controlled by a central
computer that monitors the ozone concentration in the air of
every section of the building. Once the ozone levels reach the
maximum amount allowable, the ozone supply is cut off to that
section of the building until the ozone levels are reduced over
time to the minimum effective levels, at which time the ozone
is once again allowed to enter that section of the building.
The ozone concentration then is precisely controlled so that
it is kept within the effective range for killing pathogens and
at the same time not harming people; never too much and never
too little. This has far reaching implications for airborne illnesses
that fill hospitals every day. These statements are to display
the capabilities of ozone, and the applications of ozone gas
that are being used today all over the world. However interesting
this is, this is not how you will be using ozone. So, back to
more practical information as to how you can use Ozone Air Purification
to improve your daily life.
Ozone Air Purification in Your Home
Ozone can easily and safely be used at home by simply purchasing
one of the thousands of “Ozone Air Purification Units” sold
on the market today. Caution is advised however to ensure that
the ozone generator you purchase produces the proper levels
of ozone for the space you plan to ozonate, and it is highly
advised that you make sure you can turn the ozone production
level up and down to suit your requirements. Of course, the
third bit of advice is to ensure you have purchased an ozone
generator that has a decent warranty and comes from a reputable
manufacturer or dealer.
There are two main ways to use ozone in the home:
Method 1 = Shock Treatment:
Shock treating a room means that you place the ozone generator
on the highest possible setting for a relatively short period
of time and shock the room with very high concentrations of
ozone. If you are going to do this you need to ensure that
you have considered the following preparatory actions:
Example: The garage
was full of smelly garbage for a week while you were away on
holidays. The garbage has been removed, but
the air in the garage is still so foul, you can’t go in
there. The shock treatment method would be to place your Ozone
Air Purifier in the garage, set it on full, set the timer for
an hour (if you have one), close the doors and windows, turn
it on, and leave. The ozone flows for one full hour on the highest
setting. No one is in the garage to breathe it so no one is harmed
by the ozone. You come back after two hours, so one hour has
passed when no ozone was running which gives the ozone that time
(one full hour) to dissipate and to turn back into oxygen.
Method 2 = Constant Ozone to Keep the Air Fresh
As the name suggests this method of using ozone means that
you use the ozone generator a bit every day to keep the air
fresh
and clean in your home. . If you are going to do this you
need to ensure that you have considered the following preparatory
actions:
Most people use a combination of these methods, shock treating
a room, basement, or garage when the need arises but also running
the ozone generator a few times per week, to keep the air fresh
and clean. It is not recommended to leave your ozone generator
running all the time. One reason is that this is rarely necessary.
Short duration running of your ozone generator each day should
be enough to keep the air fresh and clean in your home.
One exception to this rule is that sometimes basements will
benefit from constant exposure to a low yet effective level of
ozone, because the ozone can prevent mold, mildew, and dangerous
spores and fungus from growing in your basement.
It is extremely important
that you are never exposed to too much ozone. It is true that
if you breathe high concentrations
of ozone long term, that some damage to the lungs can occur.
Fortunately you need to be breathing very high concentrations
for a very long time in order for this to happen. Ozone is far
safer for you than some people would lead you to believe. Just
make sure the levels relatively low at all times (unless you
are shock treating a room). If you make Ozone Air Purification
part of your lifestyle, it is wise to make an investment in a
high quality Ozone Sensor that will sense the levels of ozone
in your home at all times, and warn you when the levels get too
high. You may think that you will notice the levels getting too
high yourself, just by the smell, but the reality is that you
become accustomed to the smell of ozone and you won’t necessarily
know when the levels rise too high. Therefore, running the ozone
generator intermittently when it is needed, or purchasing an
Ozone Sensor (or both) are usually the normal recommendations
for using ozone in your home to keep the air amazingly fresh,
clean, mold and mildew free.
Enjoy!
