Ozone machines - Do they work?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

Hi Folks,

Our first experience of an horrific fish cooking smell from a guest pervading the whole apartment.

Does anyone have an Ozone machine, how long do they take to work and what capacity machine should I buy?

Thanks

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

In my experience they work up to a point. If there is a locatable source of the smell you need to find and remove that. The place needs to be sealed up with no people in it while it works, then totally aired out with fresh air before you re-enter the building. Get the one rated for the square footage of the place. Good luck!

[Sudsrung0]

@Kitty-and-Creek0 

I have one in our office I had it on for an hour this morning, Im still alive 

My husband say the problem is people buy machines that are way to big,

The one we have does air and water he ozone's the bottled water and then puts in the fridge to drink,

We clean vegetables with it,

[Anonymous]

@Mike-And-Jane0   I don't know how economical it is for your location, but it's also possible to rent them rather than buy them.

https://www.nationaltoolhireshops.co.uk/product/ozone-generator-for-hire/

I can't really recommend it for a short changeover, as the ozone itself can leave a long lingering chemical odor for an extra 1 to 2 days after it's theoretically safe to re-enter the room. An air purifier with a carbon filter might be the better piece of equipment to own, as you don't have to evacuate the home to use it.

Before buying a whole machine, I'd at least try boiling a pot of vinegar on the stove and leave some small bowls of it around the other rooms. The fishy smell doesn't tend to permeate furnishings deeply like smoke, so white vinegar and fresh air might be enough.

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Mike-And-Jane0 @Anonymous 

Good advice Andrew - A PS to my caution on the toxicity of breathing ozone for living things, remove all plants before you use the machine. 

[Gillian166]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

YES, they work. We have one, they aren't expensive, and an absolute life saver. I used it 3 times just last week. 
we've got a mysterious pipe blockage (probably related to the group who clogged the drains last month, I think there's some issues further down the line still, ugh) and had a pongy smell, so i ran the ozone machine a few times and in just 15mins (+15mins wait time) it was all gone. It does leave a smell behind btw, I call it "lighting smell", it's hard to describe. Once you air it out with windows open it's all good though. 

We also had cat pee in our bedroom and the ozone machine sorted that out too. 
100% worth it! I have a note in my listing that I will charge $30/hr if I have to run the ozone machine. 

"how long do they take to work"
  you can do a small room in 10mins, which actually means 10mins running the machine and 10mins to let it settle. and another 5mins to open windows and get some fresh air back in. a bigger space (like open plan) i usually run it for 30mins + 30mins wait time, and 5mins with fresh air. 

"capacity"
i got the usual one, bit bigger than a shoebox, looks a bit like a ghostbusters' ghost catching device 😁

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Mike-And-Jane0 @Gillian166 

We spent several hundred dollars for ours, it is big. We borrowed an industrial one from our floors and carpets contractor, and after over a week  of his and another the same of ours, we gave up and had the entire place of carpets redone. A tenant had a smelly old dog in there, and when they left, nothing we did short of ripping up the entire house of wool carpeting  and replacing it with wood floors would help at all. I've used it in my office foyer when a terrible smell showed up that would not air out. After a few weeks of running it all night, it cleared it up. I think a cat had sprayed. So, I would not count on ozone with carpeting, and if you get better results let me know. I'm never having carpets in a rental again. 

@Gillian166 if you have potential plumbing issues, don't wait to get a good plumber. All it takes is a tampon, dental floss, anything with a string, and the entire house can erupt with a backup. I could tell you the experience and the cost,  but I won't. A word to the wise...

[Gillian166]

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 if you have potential plumbing issues, don't wait to get a good plumber. All it takes is a tampon, dental floss, anything with a string, and the entire house can erupt with a backup. I could tell you the experience and the cost,  but I won't. A word to the wise...

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We already unclogged it ourself, we spent 2 hours on it and pulled out heaps of baby wipes. We own plumbing tools because calling out a plumber on a farm is too expensive. My husband had a go last week (at the first whiff of a smell) at putting a snake tool thing in the drain and he gave up (ha! my daughter and I laughed at him for that), but we have a plumber on site all week for another job so we will just add it into the mix of his jobs. 

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Gillian166 

Don't you love your plumber? 

This is a mountaintop ranch 12 mountain road miles from town. We have every sort of tools and skills, like you, and always attempt to solve these things ourselves, first. Our plumber is amazing and worth every penny. First we had the septic pumping service out, and when that did not change anything, we called our amazing plumbing wizard. He took the entire house apart, all 3 bathrooms, all 3 toilets removed. Cleared the drains all the way to the septic tank, replaced seals, etc. It was huge, and guest related. I may be the only person who hugs their septic pumper person and their plumber in public, in town. 

[Gillian166]

@Kitty-and-Creek0  we've just changed our plumber  because the last one was so boring... which seems weird but actually you need to be quite a creative when you are a tradie. He had zero problem solving skills, so we've switched over to another one recco'd by our roofer. We also had a water leak last week (during a guest stay no less) and he went up and found 3 cracked tiles, another job poor hubby had failed at (think he's feeling his age this week, and going for an eye test too). I was SO relieved that this new guy was able to solve both the septic issue and the roof issue so easily, would certainly have hugged him had I been on site! 

Your job sounds like a massive undertaking, pity you can't really spruik "all new toilets" like i do when when we change over the pillows or get new furniture. 

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Gillian166 

I love your way of suggesting...

The toilets are all new, low flush and tall - for adults. Since he had them all off to check the in house pipes,  he put in new seals. We need to call the roofer for another house, and get someone to remove the roof moss which has recently arrived on the shaded side of this house. Those who yearn for home ownership have no idea.Might we work out how to share contractors? 

[Gillian166]

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@Kitty-and-Creek0 wrote:

Might we work out how to share contractors? 

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a slight geographic challenge.  🙂

Hubby has wanted to replace the roof tiles with tin for a few years and I was against it, but after this last episode (a broken tile for not reason, we assume the wind is the culprit) i'm feeling more supportive of the idea. 

[Helen744]

@Gillian166 so many tiles so little time . Tradies are either treasures or something else . The treasures should be treasured . We had a lovely electrician with a sense of humour . He removed all of the psuedo chandeliers and when I came around he had wired one into the bathroom .It could not stay there of course as we were putting in the IXl but it was the only place it looked fantastic .Always bear in mind that fake chandeliers have a place in this world and its the bathroom. roofing plumbers and other plumbing is now separate in Oz but those who have all the skills are treasures but tiled roofs are a nightmare .H

[Gillian166]

@Helen744 

I'm from Qld originally so i've grown up with tinned roof and a timber home, and the sound of the rain on a tin roof is 😍. We currently live in a bland (compared to my adelaide hills home) brick n tile on the GC and have had 3 cracked tiles this year (following solar installation) leading to 2 ceiling leaks, ridiculous!  I'm so over tiles. 

I can't tell if you're joking about the chandelier thing (we also have heat lamps in all bathrooms), but it's funny you mention it, cos i have to change our lighting in our small cottage (the 4poster bed is too big so lights need to change) and I was considering some kind of chandelier, but it feels too cringey and gauche. I found a modern timber one that looks pretty good but at $1200 it's not a smart investment.   

[Helen744]

@Gillian166 Ha ha , it was so funny I wish I had a pic .but this was a real retro vintage number aka 1940 all pale glass and flowers,truly horrible except in that space.I think it was all the mirrors and glass from the shower frame and window in close proximity that gave it the va va voom. As for the tiles I wish we all had alaskan tiles . my daughters house has been a nightmare since she bought it spring leaks everywhere even after repeated repairs. She is thinking about doing the whole thing tin too.I cringe whenever I see one of those roof cleaners with the high pressure hoses walking on tiled roofs.i lived in a reno house once that had no kitchen ceiling when I first bought it as well as other diabolical problems ,like the electricity metre in the lounge and on settlement day a big notice saying 'dont use ,risk of electrocution'. anyway every time it rained in a particular way the kitchen ceiling right in the middle started a downfall.After two lost ceilings and a rain phobia developed it had become a lot like that movie 'Money pit '. the rain was coming out of the central new shiny aluminium industrial light fitting. It was nightmare city . No plumber could trace the leak . The insurance company bade me goodbye and worse still I found out why there was a big tarp in the bin when I bought the place. I practically lived on the roof but the rain was not coming thru the roof . I woke one night and clearly heard where it was coming from and next day had a hole cut in an outside section of roof guttering and added another downpipe stormwater drain . I get all clammy thinking about it . Funny thing was the roof space in that house was so huge it would have made another storey and if I had lived up there instead of on the roof I would have found the leak immediately.I resurrected that house from certain demolition and it is now well and truly on the heritage register H