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!
