Information on Ozone Devices in the Home
What is Ozone?
According to the oxford dictionary ozone is “a colorless unstable toxic gas with powerful oxidizing properties.
When they say powerful oxidizing properties, they mean to indicated that its oxygen atoms can rip apart and destroy other types of atoms.
At high concentrations ozone from ozone devices in the home can kill microbes like mold and bacteria. Too much can damage and crack rubber, corrode metal, and irritate lungs. It must be used with caution and must not be used at elevated levels when a home is occupied.
It is reported to have a pungent odor. Most people would describe the odor to be very much like bleach.
How is Ozone Formed in Nature?
Ozone is made from oxygen by electrical discharges or ultraviolet light. It differs from normal oxygen (O2) in having three atoms in its molecule (O3). In nature ozone is formed in the upper atmosphere when UV light near the upper edges of out atmosphere break up normal two atom oxygen molecules into individual oxygen atoms.
Ozone meters like this on offered for sale here can tell you your ozone levels in your home to the parts per million.
Ozone molecules are supercharged oxygen molecules with not two but three atoms of oxygen.
After the molecules are broken up into individual atoms the atoms get really lonely. They start to act like magnets or like sociable people. When the lonely charged oxygen atoms look for a partner, they re-group as three atom oxygen molecules instead of the normal two atom oxygen molecules.
You can think of ozone as supercharged oxygen, new and improved now with three atoms of oxygen.
The reaction happens in our atmosphere when UV light hits oxygen, or when lightning strikes hits oxygen. If air smells fresh and very slightly like bleach after a powerful thunderstorm, it is naturally formed ozone you are smelling.
About Ozone Machines in Your Home
Some air purifiers, like this one in a client’s closet produce ozone.
Various electrostatic filter type devices are used in homes and offices quite often. They use metal plates as electrically charged plates that attract dust. They can produce ozone in the home if the metal plates are not cleaned on a regular basis and thus become too dusty over time. The excess dust increases the chances of unwanted electrostatic discharges jumping between the plates. These sparks act like tiny lightning strikes that produce ozone.
Many of our clients who have mold problems or other indoor air quality problems utilize ozone generators in the home. Some use UV lights inside AC units to help combat mold problems or other indoor air quality problems and odors in their housed.
I once did an inspection for a former centerfold model in Boynton Beach Florida. As soon as I entered her home I could smell ozone, it turned out to be produced by UV lights in her AC unit.
A few years later I conducted an inspection for a famous movie star (This is all true) and he had the same problem four times over. He had four AC units all with UV lights generating ozone. According to the manufacturer these bulbs were not supposed to create ozone. What manufactures claim about products, and what nature dictates are two different things. The UV lights were causing normally two oxygen atom molecules to combine into three oxygen atom molecules and form ozone in his 10,000-sf central Florida home. How do I know? because I could smell ozone in the home and the closer, I got to the AC units the stronger the odor got.
I have seen many of these AC mounted UV lights, and even more of the stand alone ozone producing air purifiers. The vast majority of the times these UV lights do a great job and we highly recommend them. When they produce no ozone or very small amounts of ozone, they are fine. When used in excess, instead of helping, these lights and air purification machines may make you feel worse because they can easily produce too much ozone. This gas smells fresh and clean but it may cause respiratory irritation when produced at certain levels.
Ozone machine used for seed disinfection. The four jars on the bottom right contain water that ozone is being pumped into. Seeds in the water are disinfected in this way. The one jar on the left is a test or control jar with no ozone. If all works correctly germs will be killed in the four right jars, and not in the left jar.
Should I Use an Ozone Generator to Address An Existing Mold Problem?
No, you should not use ozone to combat mold
As stated above high concentrations of ozone can kill microbes like mold and bacteria but it can hurt you as well at high concentrations.
Ozone generating devices are sometimes used to kill mold, viruses, bacteria, parasites, and protozoans in many settings such as:
Aquarium Water
Drinking Water
Seed Sterilization
And More.
At elevated levels ozone in the home irritates lungs. Especially at risk are the more sensitive persons such as asthmatics that are likely to use these machines. It is not likely to be effective at addressing an indoor mold problem by itself. No one should expose themselves or others to elevated ozone on purpose. Address the cause of the mold (usually moisture) and then remove the mold by cleaning surfaces or removing moldy materials. The work must be done by a professional remediator.
What About Powerful Professional Grade Ozone Generating Machines Do They Work?
Ozone generating machines for residential use should be used by professional crime scene clean up companies who remove dead bodies and the related odors. They can also be used by clean out companies who remove garbage from abandoned and foreclosed homes. They can be used by people who clean out smelly hoarder houses. Ozone generators can also be used to combat smoke odors.
Ozone generators do have their place. These powerful devices combat odors quite well. They do work but they are not to be used by homeowners. Such devices should never be used in occupied homes due to the health risks they create while in operation. They will burn your lungs and eyes.
Ozone generators like the one for sale here do have their place. Such machines should only be used by professional companies who’s job is to remove odors.
A Safer Residential Alternative
UV lights inside AC units and air purifiers that produce very little ozone or no detectable ozone are great at killing bacterial, mold, and viruses. It is better to depend on UV lights alone to kill microbial life than it is to depend on ozone to purify your air of unwanted microbes.
For most homeowners an air purifier that produces very tiny amounts of ozone or none at all is the best choice. They remove particles and the UV light kills viruses and other microbes.
Please read our disclaimers pertaining to the purchase of items used to control mold and maintain indoor air quality.
About At A Accredited Mold Inspection Service, Inc.
We provide mold and indoor air quality testing in homes and commercial buildings. We serve home owners, mold remediators, and commercial building managers with suspected toxic black mold, chemical problems, ozone, and musty odors.
We provide services throughout South East Florida.