Fighting with an obstinate smell that absolutely refuses to budge? Whether it's a pet's lingering smell, a pungent chemical odor after a renovation, or stale cannabis smoke, bad odors in contained spaces such as cars and rooms can be annoying. While air fresheners merely conceal the annoyance, an ozone generator provides a definitive solution. In this guide, we explain how to effectively and safely utilize a small ozone machine to eliminate odors at their source, ensuring your space remains fresh and clean.
What Is an Ozone Generator and How Does It Work?
An ozone generator is a machine that produces ozone (O₃), a molecule composed of three oxygen atoms. You might be familiar with being able to identify it as that fresh, clean smell after a storm—nature is producing ozone.
What happens in a small machine is duplicated to eliminate odors. Here's how it's done:
- It Attacks Odor Molecules: The third oxygen atom present in an ozone molecule is highly reactive. It breaks free and links itself with odor molecules, smoke, and other particles present in the air.
- It Destroys Them Through Oxidation: This process, called oxidation, chemically changes the odor molecule, breaking it down into harmless, non-odorous substances.
Unlike air purifiers that trap things in a filter or air fresheners that eliminate odors with a scent, ozone eliminates odors at a molecular level.
Is Using an Ozone Generator Safe?
This is the most important question, and the answer is straightforward: ozone is highly effective for cleaning unoccupied spaces. High concentrations of ozone can be harmful to the respiratory systems of people, pets, and even plants.
To properly use an ozone machine safely, you must follow one hard-and-fast rule:
The treatment area should be left completely vacant by humans, animals, plants, etc., during treatment as well as for some time after treatment. It becomes completely safe if this rule is followed.
How Do You Use an Ozone Machine for Odor Removal? 6 steps
Using a small ozone machine is simple if you follow these steps. This process works for rooms, cars, closets, or any other small, enclosed space.
- Clean the Source: First, remove the source of the odor as much as possible. For example, clean up any pet accidents, throw away old trash, or remove ashtrays. Ozone works on airborne molecules, so removing the physical source gives it the best chance to succeed.
- Seal the Area: Close all windows and doors of the space you are treating. If you're treating a car, ensure all windows and doors are shut tight.
- Remove All Living Things: This is the critical safety step. Move people, pets (including fish tanks), and houseplants out of the room.
- Set the Machine and Timer: Place the ozone generator in the center of the space. Most small machines have a built-in timer. A typical treatment can last anywhere from 30 minutes for a car to a few hours for a room, depending on the severity of the odor.
- Vacate the Area: Turn the machine on and leave the space immediately.
- Air It Out: After the timer finishes, wait at least one to two hours before re-entering the space. This allows the ozone to revert back to regular oxygen (O₂). When you return, open all windows and doors to ventilate the area thoroughly for another 30-60 minutes. You’ll be greeted with a fresh, sterile scent, which will fade into a neutral, clean smell.
What Types of Odors Can Ozone Eliminate?
Small ozone generators are multi-purpose and amazingly powerful at destroying many of the common, lingering odors.
Eliminating Stubborn Pet Odors
Pet smells, particularly urine smells, consist of ammonia and various organic chemicals that don't easily come off. Ozone directly oxidizes those chemicals, destroying them totally. It's a lifesaver when it comes to eliminating that ubiquitous "wet dog" smell or lingering cat smell in the room.
Neutralizing Renovation and Chemical Smells
New paint, carpets, and furniture release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like formaldehyde. These are chemicals that release a bad, harsh smell and are toxic. An ozone treatment eliminates all of these VOCs by speeding up off-gassing, cleaning up the environment in your recently remolded area.
Removing Lingering Smoke and Cannabis Odors
Smoke particles tend to cling to carpets, walls, and clothing. Cannabis has a strong, resinous odor. Ozone is one of the few methods capable of effectively tracing smoke to those porous surfaces and destroying the odor-causing tar and other constituency components, eliminating all traces of the smell instead of covering it up.
How to Choose the Right Small Ozone Machine
When purchasing a portable ozonator for your home or vehicle, be sure to look for these valuable features:
- Timer Function: It is quite a basic safety element. It is possible to program a timer to run the machine for a designated period of time and switch off automatically, so that you need not enter the area again while it is in operation.
- Portability and Compactness: Opt for something lightweight and compact that can be easily transported from a room to your vehicle.
- Ozone Output (mg/h): Output, measured in milligrams per hour, defines how much it can treat every hour. For limited areas such as bedrooms and cars, a machine that has output of 500-2,000 mg/h is usually advised.
Conclusion Your Path to a Fresh, Odor-Free Space
Ozone technology is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to odor problems in small, enclosed spaces. If you learn to use it thoroughly and—most importantly—properly, you can safely obliterate everything from pet and renovation odors tostubborn cannabis smoke. Purchasing a decent quality little ozone machine that has a timer is a good investment in making your space a healthier, more pleasant space for yourself and those that you cohabit with.