Ozone Generator?

[John5097]

I've read a lot of great reports from other host about the wonders of an ozone generator whenever the topic pops up about getting rid of smells. If a guest smoked, cooked bacon and hamburgers for 5 days straight, no problem just run this little miracle machine and in 30 minutes all smells are gone!1

I really haven't had any problems with bad odors. Only twice a guest has put raw seafood on a shelf in the fridge that was a challenge to get rid of the awful smell. 

So over the holidays another person told me how great the ozone machine was and that you could just put it in a closet for 10 minutes and all the clothes that may have been stored for a while would smell fresh and clean, and that it kills dust mites and mold spores. 

So as I like to order stuff like this, my friend picked one out they had and said oh just order it! All the reviews were great, over 2200, of how it got rid of smoke smell in a house from smokers living there, etc, and I didn't have any guest over the holiday so thought it would be a good time to use it. 

I was concerned with the warnings. That breathing the ozone will kill pets and plants. Other reviews said they just breached a little and it damaged the lungs, nose, throat, etc. 

It's also banned in California and the EU. 

Thankfully I tested it on two spare bedrooms in my house. One for 10 minutes, that went ok and the other for 15 minutes. I let them sit for an hour after it shut off, it has a little timer, and then opened the widows with a fan on to let them totally air out.

Well the one for 15 minutes left a really terrible odor from this machine. Ozone is a strong and toxic gas, that has a horrible sweet chemical smell. It is very volatile so dissipates quickly but it causes anything plastic or synthetic to release gasses from the chemical reaction.

No one is using this extra bedroom so I can keep the door closed with the window open, and even after 5 days it's bad. This is where I stored some extra blankets, towels, clothes, on some shelving and closet. So I've washed everything to help but still the window is open. 

My listing and house were already very clean and all the guest with allergies loved it. Some had really bad allergies, with a medical l name, and were just happy they found a place they could vacation. I also used materials, flooring, paint, mattresses, that had no VOCs so they wouldn't gas off. So I thought this machine could also potentially kill dust mites, but now I wouldn't dare risk using it again inside. 

This one was 70,000 mg/h and cost under $100, and noticed some of the other reviews for the ozone machine it was less than half the output.

After googling if it runs too long it can cause synthetic materials to gas off. Some say they ran it too long in a space and even after 6 months they can't even go inside the area.

I thought I would mention this to help other host and to be careful if you use one. I have no use for one and am retuning it. Guest already love my clean space that's free of any mold and already smells good with really clean air. I already put a lot of work into new HVAC, vapor barriers, having low humidity, and can't have any kind of water leaking inside. The widows all open and have ceiling fans, that quickly clears out any lingering smells between guest.

So I would suggest just getting an air purifier with a HEPA filter if you get anything like that. Cleaning is really the way to go. I recently got some brushes that attach to a portable drill that makes quick work of cleaning tiles and such. So nice! 

But feel free to post your experience, good or bad, and have a great 2025! 

[Zheng49]

Thanks for sharing.

I feel like it's safer to just run an air purifier and/or opening the windows (if conditions permit) for better air quality. 

An ozone generator could be considered as a last resort - if nothing else works. Supposedly an ozone generator works in those situations. 

[Angela3989]

@John5097 Hello! This is a very timely post! I just purchased a machine after a recent incident at my place. Guests smoking marijuana inside, enough for it to be like a cloud of smoke. No idea why smoke alarms didn't go off - probably removed the batteries. After they were ousted, I left the windows open as much as possible but it's winter. Only can do this on mild days without precipitation. I washed everything that could fit in the washing machine. I mopped and wiped and basically just wanted to cry because it still smells in the apartment. I'm tired of all the work now and just want to get it over with already. So I will take your experience as advice and make sure I run it in short bursts, removing all the plants and anything with plastic. I plan to also cover the heating vents as I don't want it in the furnace. But I've got to try something. I've had my place out of commission now since the 22nd of Dec. Of course ABB gave them a refund for the unused day even though they've caused all these problems! I don't really care at this point but just want to get my place back to normal. I'll try to run it most likely on the 1st. Fingers crossed!

[John5097]

Hi @Angela3989 

I thought this was interesting from the EPA. They give it a big thumbs down as not only is the ozone really toxic gas to breath but also interacts with other substances and cite test where the ozone creates more organic particles from interacting with other materials, so its a hit or miss what might happen as its essentially creating a big chemical brew.

https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/ozone-generators-are-sold-air-cleaners 

"Ozone is a molecule composed of three atoms of oxygen. Two atoms of oxygen form the basic oxygen molecule--the oxygen we breathe that is essential to life. The third oxygen atom can detach from the ozone molecule, and re-attach to molecules of other substances, thereby altering their chemical composition. It is this ability to react with other substances that forms the basis of manufacturers’ claims."

"Second, for many of the chemicals with which ozone does readily react, the reaction can form a variety of harmful or irritating by-products (Weschler et al., 1992a, 1992b, 1996; Zhang and Lioy, 1994). For example, in a laboratory experiment that mixed ozone with chemicals from new carpet, ozone reduced many of these chemicals, including those which can produce new carpet odor. However, in the process, the reaction produced a variety of aldehydes, and the total concentration of organic chemicals in the air increased rather than decreased after the introduction of ozone (Weschler, et. al., 1992b)"

"Conclusions:

"Available scientific evidence shows that, at concentrations that do not exceed public health standards, ozone is generally ineffective in controlling indoor air pollution.

The concentration of ozone would have to greatly exceed health standards to be effective in removing most indoor air contaminants. In the process of reacting with chemicals indoors, ozone can produce other chemicals that themselves can be irritating and corrosive."

You also said you washed everything that would fit inside the washing machine. If it's a small one maybe take things to a larger washer dryer? 

If it's above freezing outside, I would just turn the heat off or way down and open all the window and have a few fans running. I have two ceiling fans and doing that clears out any odors in a short time, while cleaning. Can even run a few space heaters and adjust to make it work. 

All my furniture isn't fabric, and no rugs, all wood flooring, and any kind of fabric, bed spreads, etc can all be washed between guest anyway. 

Although I didn't have any offensive odors when I tested my ozone machine and the bedroom where I only ran it for 10 minutes returned to normal by just opening windows and putting a fan in one to create a cross breeze. The other bedroom where I ran it for 15 minutes still has this chemical smell and either open the window with fan on, or if it's cold just crack it, although it's dissipating and almost gone. 

Good luck,  thanks for posting, and happy New Year! 

Edit to add: 

Be careful blocking off any vents. Not sure what kind of HVAC you have but restricting air flow can break things. I know people who have done this and cracked their heat exchanger because it got too hot. 

You also wouldn't want to run ozone though HVAC although reviews rave about it as ozone is corrosive to aluminum, and most HVAC have aluminum coils. it wouldn't break it right away but running one regularly could shorten the life of it, also anything like rubber seals on washing machine or fridge. 

I would try running three box fans for a cross flow and to circulate air in each room, and any fabric that can't be washed, like a sofa or rugs, steam clean. Just turn off heat and don't let it get below freezing. A few hours should work and would only cost maybe 10$ to reheat the place. Hope that helps!  

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[Angela3989]

@John5097 I still might try it very carefully, only because a good friend of mine used one and had great results. He ran it in an empty apartment though so I'll try to remove the area rugs and such. Maybe just do one room for 15 minutes at a time. The living room and kitchen are the worst rooms. I will let you know how it goes! 

[John5097]

@Angela3989 

Ok good luck! I was also told the same thing that I would "love it" .. and all the other great reviews.. be prepared though because it's going to be so much stronger. 

I returned mine. That one bedroom can still smell it but not bad and it's been warm outside so have kept the windows open with the fan on. I also ended up doing a deep clean yesterday, going around and cleaning every possible surface, and everything smells so clean now. So much work, I really need to do that to my living area every month, so I can totally understand. 

I hope it works out for you. That EPA article  did mention that it was effective against one of the chemicals in cigarette smoke. 

[John5097]

Thought this review summed it up. This machine has over 25,000 reviews with 4.5 out of 5 stars, but all the negative ones are like this and the awful chemical smell. 




 

[Zheng49]

Thanks for the clarification yet again.

Looks like it's very hit and miss. I would personally stay clear from ozone generators. 

Opening the windows (if possible) and/or running air purifiers has always fixed the residual smoke smell issue for me anyways. 

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Although I wonder if the VOCs off gassing is actually from the attempt to seal the room with plastics. The plastics may have chemically reacted with ozone somehow, and now you have VOCs going rampant and causing actual health issues.