How Ozone Removes Odour

For more than twenty years, ozone has been used by industry to eliminate odours, allergens and purify water.  Ozone is extremely effective on smoke, foul organic odours, pet odours, and urine smell. Nearly every odour can be eliminated. However the equipment to achieve these results was expensive. Recent adaptions of ozone, hydroxyl, and UV irradiation systems are now compact and portable. But since these powerful treatments cannot be bottled or sold in stores, profit-minded companies aren’t boasting of their effectiveness.

Ozone is just another form of oxygen. We breathe O2, but when the right process is applied 03 (ozone) is formed. It lasts about 20 minutes then reverts back to O2. So, you can see why this is a “green concept”. Ozone is also formed in nature when sunlight interacts with oxygen or when static or lightning is discharged. When active, ozone causes some wonderful things to happen. The third oxygen atom is loose and wants to find a place to attach. When it does, it causes a reaction that will remove odours, kill bacteria and mold, and sanitize the area.

Ozone, hydroxyl, and UV must always be produced on the site because these things are not easily portable. The great news is that when professionally applied it reaches places that workers and cleaners can not reach and kills what most cleaning products cannot. This process happens on the molecular level, and happens rapidly.

UV irradiation is often used to sanitize an area or the air. UV is effective but is limited in volume and reach. UV is part of the sanitation process, but is not a single solution.

Hydroxyl treatment is very effective allowing people and pets to stay in place, but suffers from reach due to fast decay of the hydroxyl molecule. Some people do not care for the  “Clinical Smell” left behind by hydroxyl treatment, even though it dissipates in short order.

Ozone is the workhorse of the various odour and sanitizing treatments. Whether from UV or corona generation, ozone has a longer half life and therefore it can stay active to access the hard to reach areas. When professionally applied, ozone levels can used at one of three levels:

1. Sanitizing;
2. Odour Elimination;
3. Pest Elimination and Mold Kill.

The key is the application process –  generator volume along with temperature and humidity. If the application does not keep up with the decay rate, leakage or ambient factors, the ozone process will not be fully effective.

Commercially available ozone generators are not always effective for a odour removal or sanitizing treatment. The volume is generally too low to do the job and cannot keep up with the decay rate. Therefore, hiring a Certified Ozone Technician means that he or she is trained in protocols for ozone, hydroxyls, and UV applications.

Want a trained professional to tackle your worst odour removal or sanitizing job?  Call us today!