Ozone air treatment warnings:

Ozone has been widely used as a disinfection method for more than 100 years and has applications ranging from hospital disinfection to water treatment. However if ozone treatments are not properly matched to the application the results can be both ineffective and potentially harmful.

This article provides government and other authoritative warnings about using ozone generators and ozone air purifiers in buildings to "purify" indoor air or to "kill mold" in buildings.

We give a definition of ozone or O₃, we explain what problems can arise when using ozone generators to try to get rid of odors indoors or to try to kill mold.

We explain the problem of oxidation of building materials from excessive ozone exposure and the horrible chemical smells that may follow such mistakes. We describe how to track down which building materials were over-dosed with ozone and are now giving off a new stink, and we explain how to cure that problem. (Note: other uses of ozone as a disinfectant can be effective and are important in many applications.)

Warnings About Using Ozone for Treatment of Indoor Air: Respiratory System

Article Contents

• WHAT IS Ozone - O₃
• PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED USING OZONE to Get Rid of Skunk, Indoor Odors, or Mold Smells
• OZONE HAZARDS & OZONE TOXICITY LEVELS
• OXIDATION OF BUILDING CONTENTS, CARPETS, COATINGS - MIS-USE / OVERDOSE of OZONE
• MATERIALS BECOME OXIDIZED & BECOME ODOR SOURCES - OVER-USE of OZONE
• USING OZONE LEFT A SMELL - HOW TO GET RID OF IT?
• SMELL PATCH TEST KIT TO TRACK DOWN ODOR SOURCES
• HYDROXYL GENERATORS & PHOTO ELECTROCHEMICAL OXIDATION - free radical oxidizer for odor removal?

What is Ozone - O₃

While there are many sound and important uses of ozone (such as for medical disinfection under controlled conditions), in general this is an idea which ranges from bad to dangerous in the home.

Ozone is widely promoted by ozone generating equipment companies and cleaning services for use in indoor building environments to deodorize, disinfect, "kill" mold, and for "general health".

Ozone generators are also promoted for use to reduce the level of airborne particles, pollen, animal dander, and allergens, ostensibly to improve indoor air quality for asthmatics and people with allergies.

Ozone or O3, or "trioxygen" is a molecule made of three oxygen atoms. In this form, and referred to as an "allotrope" of oxygen, ozone is an unstable gas - that means it breaks down into oxygen molecules.

While ozone is helpful in the upper atmosphere (filtering out UV light rays), in lower atmosphere, or in buildings, it is an air pollutant that is harmful to humans and other animals, and a gas that can oxidize or "burn" plants or various materials found indoors.

Ozone is widely used in industry in a variety of applications and can be of significant benefit and use when applied

A separate question remains, in some cases, of whether or not building occupants have been exposed or are being exposed to harmful ozone levels.

Problems Encountered Using Ozone to Get Rid of Skunk, Indoor Odors, or Mold Smells?

But nevertheless, ozone is a highly toxic gas. Now even highly toxic substances can be encountered safely. The main concern with ozone exposure is that the ozone concentrations to which people are exposed

1. should not average more than 0.1 ppm over an 8-hr day, and
2. should not exceed that value by more than a factor of 2 or 3 during the exposure." [1]

Ozone Hazards & Ozone Toxicity Levels

Exposure to a level you can smell or exposure to ozone over long periods at levels greater than 0.05 ppm for 24 hours at a time is likely to be dangerous: [2], [3]Health hazards to humans and animals occur and can be severe at ozone levels used for indoor cleaning purposes.

At least some people can smell levels of ozone down to 0.05 ppm. This odor-detection level is already half-way to the recommended limit. If you are generating ozone indoors, even at "low" levels a problem may be present. People become desensitized to odors in a short time, perhaps 20 minutes. So if you do not smell it, the ozone level could still be hazardous. Problems include:[4]

• Lung irritation and infection. Breathing pain, coughing, wheezing, difficulty when exercising.
• Permanent lung damage.
• Aggravation of pre-existing asthma
• Increased risk of lung illnesses such as bronchitis and pneumonia
• Reduced breathing capacity

Use of ozone to "remove" or "kill" mold is ineffective, not recommended, and may be dangerous. Even if ozone were applied at a concentration and for a duration sufficient to "kill" every mold spore in a building (which is a very dubious claim), depending on the mold genera/species present there is a good chance that the process leaves toxic and allergenic particles in the building.

Details about the toxicity of ozone are at OZONE TOXICITY

Also see OZONE EXPOSURE STANDARDS

Odors from Ozone-Oxidation of Building Carpets, Contents, Coatings from Misuse of Ozone Generators

A second class of problems when ozone is misapplied indoors is the creation of lingering odors due to the oxidation effects of the highly reactive ozone gas while it was present.

In our OPINION, following ozone use as a "deodorant" if there is no lingering odor from oxidized materials in the enclosed space (a building, car, boat, RV, etc), and considering that ozone itself is so volatile that it does not hang around in the building, then its application probably did not create a problem for the building.

Ozone is never recommended as a "mold killer" since that strategy is fundamentally flawed in the first place. Details are

at MOLD KILLING GUIDE.

Ozone Oxidation Problems: Second-Cause Odors in Buildings Following use of an Ozone generator

At OZONE AIR PURIFIER WARNINGS we include an example report of horrible building odors that were caused by attempts to get rid of an indoor odor using an ozone generator. when high levels of ozone have been produced in an enclosed space, we find that other materials in the space become partly oxidized, subsequently giving off horrible, often chemical-like odors.

We have traced odors to painted surfaces, furniture, upholstery, curtains, carpeting, carpet padding, and other materials.

Common Materials that May be Oxidized & Become Odor Sources from Excess Ozone Treatment

Here are some examples of material we've found giving off horrible smells after misuse of an ozone generator. (Misuse means using the ozone generator to try to kill mold, or running an ozone generator too long at too high a setting in too small a space - overdoing it).

• Carpets, especially synthetic carpets
• Carpet padding
• Fabrics, particularly some synthetic fabrics
• Foam cushions or cushion fillings
• Other plastic furnishings or furniture covers
• Rubber pads, padding
• Paints & coatings: we have received reports of ozone oxidation complaints in which occupants suspected that paints or coatings had been affected by excessive ozone treatment and levels; field work to confirm this source has not been confirmed.
• Also see PLASTIC ODORS-SCREENS, SIDING for an example of plastic type odors in buildings that may be traced to heat exposure of certain plastics (not ozone)

Using Ozone Left a Smell in our Home - How do I Get Rid of It? - Using Ozone Indoors to Cure Skunk Smells, Mold Odors, and other Stinks

This quote from a reader's email pretty well sums up what happens if you overdo it when using an ozone generator indoors to try to "kill off" odors:

It's a long story, but I used a high powered ozone generator in our house, to get rid of skunk smell.

Now I can't get rid of the left over nitric oxide, or whatever odor or gases, that linger in our house. I have been leaving the windows open every day, with running the heat on high (85 degrees) at night, to try to force off-gas the odors/gases.

We have investigated a number of cases of misapplication of ozone generating machines both to "kill mold" (no good, you're leaving toxic or allergenic particles, and you haven't corrected the reason for mold growth in the first place).

We have also investigated several cases of excessive ozone-use to try to remove odors from buildings, including fire or fireplace smells, mold smells, pet or animal smells, skunk odors, smoking odors, etc.

Here is another similar case:

Our dog was sprayed by a skunk and then ran through our house. The skunk smell was terrible. We hired servpro to get rid of the odor. They used the ozone machine and although is helped to get rid of the skunk smell, we now have a lingering chemical smell.

We have had our walls, ceiling, furniture, rugs, clothes, bedding all professionally washed but the smell still remains. What do you recommend? BTW, we live in eastern massachusetts. Thanks for your time and for this service you provide. - S.M.

Find & Eliminate Odor Sources Using This Simple Smell Test Procedure

To track down the source of post-ozone-treatment smells, try making a smell-patch test to determine just which building component has been oxidized.

Following this procedure we can often narrow down the source of post-ozone-treatment smells to a single material that can then be removed or remedied, such as carpet padding or a specific piece of furniture.

A complete guide to tracking down odors in buildings is

at ODORS, SMELLS, GASES IN BUILDINGS-DIAGNOSIS & CURE

The smell patch test procedure and its use to track down building odors caused by over-dosing with ozone is described here and more details abouit this method are

at SMELL PATCH TEST to FIND ODOR SOURCE for details.

Before Using Ozone or Gutting a Building to Get Rid of Odors, Try the Smell Capture Patch Test to Pin Down a Specific Indoor Odor Source

Our friend and fellow forensic investigator Jeffrey May suggested a smell or odor source track-down procedure for pinning down a specific odor test in buildings - it has worked remarkably well for us where ozone had caused an indoor smell that could not be tracked down as well as for general odor emitting source identification.

The odor source pinpointing procedure uses simple materials readily available: paper towels, masking tape, aluminum foil, and a person with a good sense of smell.

However, essential for success are the steps and their sequence, and the choice of who is going to do the sniffing, as we describe in detail in our adaptation and illustrations of Jeff's idea, now found

at SMELL PATCH TEST to Track Down Odors.

We have had very good results with this procedure when used to narrow down odor sources in an ozone-treated building, and in a field study we obtained roughly 95% odor source identification reliability when we used additional smell test patches.

How to Use the Smell Patch Test to Track Down Ozone-Oxidation Problems

Look First at These Prime Suspects for Ozone Oxidation

If you have aired out the building and days or more have passed and you still smell a "new" chemical or plastic or other odor that was not there before you tried using your ozone generator, you'll need to determine just what materials were oxidized by the high levels of ozone in the building.

It's been our experience that once you identify and dispose of the new-smelly material you'll probably be fine.

However, by nose alone, it is very difficult to track down a specific indoor material to the odor source in this case. Jeff May suggested[1b], and I've more extensively explained and documented an inexpensive means to track down odor sources to indoor materials or furnishings:

see SMELL PATCH TEST to FIND ODOR SOURCE for details.

The procedure works best if you have as the "smeller" a person with a good sensitive ability to discriminate among odors.

The smeller can briefly go indoors to become familiar with the odor whose source you are seeking. But they then have to stay outdoors breathing clear air long enough to regain their original smell sensitivity. (When we are exposed to an odor for some time, our brain starts to tune it out.)

So typically you bring in the smeller, let her sniff and agree that she will recall the objectionable odor, then give her a few days off while you prepare the test we describe above. You use the foil, tape, and paper towel procedure I describe at the link above.

Watch out: People become desensitized to odors in a short time, perhaps 20 minutes. So if you do not smell it, the ozone level could still be hazardous.

The reader/moderator (Daniel Friedman) conversation below illustrates the trouble caused by over-treating with an ozone generator and discusses possible solutions.

Reader Question: We left the ozone machine running and are now left with a strong chemical smell

We purchased second hand furniture for my sons room that smelled like smoke.

A friend gave us an ozone generator to eliminate the smell. Unfortunately, we did not know much about ozone.

We left it running on high in his room for many hours and now are left with a strong chemical smell. Upon doing research, we now realize that ozone is unsafe and have sealed off the room and had windows open and fan running for a week.

However, the smell still lingers and gives us a headache to even walk into the room.

I am concerned for my 8 year old son to move back into that room and he is concerned for all his belongings!

We have small children as well as a newborn. How do we keep them all safe once this toxic gas is already in the house? How do we eliminate it? No one seems to know much about ozone or how to get rid of it once it is present.

Please help! We are very concerned. - (May 6, 2014) L.K. [reader anonymity protected]

Reply:

Sorry to read you're another victim of over-dosing a room with ozone.

The ozone itself is very volatile and will be long gone if you turned off the equipment and aired out the room.

The smell that remains is probably from oxidized materials, possibly carpeting, padding, foam cushions or something else. That outgassing odor tends to continue for a long time. The solution is usually to identify exactly what is giving off the odor and dispose of it.

See our SMELL PATCH TEST procedure linked to throughout this article.

for an inexpensive and easy way to track down the offending material.

Keep us posted.

Reader Follow-up:

Thank you so much for your response! We had contacted home inspectors, EMT, Poison Control, doctors etc and no one knew anything about ozone!

I am glad we found someone who is knowledgeable in the area, as I have been very concerned.

Here are the circumstances of our situation.

The ozone generator was left on high in a small bedroom for aprox 6 hours. The door was sealed, the AC vent closed, the window opened and ceiling fan on. Upon turning off the machine, there was a terrible smell and we had to run out of the room. We got headaches instantly. We then left the ceiling fan on, door sealed, windows opened and box fan blowing out the window, for a week.

However, the room still has a sweet – like, artificial smell to it. There is no carpet in the room. Just a bed, dresser, closet full of spare pillows and blankets, and lots of stuffed animals and toys.

The clothing that I retrieved from the room continue to have the same artificially sweet smell even after washing them several times. I got a headache once again from just entering for a moment even after a week of airing out, and every morning I now wake up with a sore throat.

We have small children including a newborn and I worry for their health. I keep all the bedroom windows cracked open every night.

The website was very helpful. However, after reading I am a bit confused. I have several questions.

You mentioned in your response that the ozone would be gone by now.

• Is that “sweet” smell the smell of ozone?
• If the ozone doesn’t stay around, why do I still smell it? And why do I still get a headache?
• Are the dangers of exposure only referring to the actual time when the generator is on, or are there dangers in the lingering smells from the ozone machine? Is that smell toxic as well? Why did people say they had to throw out all their belongings or leave their home, if there was no danger once the machine is off?
• How do I know the ozone level in that room? Is there a way to measure it? Is there a machine/purifier to take ozone out of the air or a way to detox the room and belongings?
• ·Do I need to throw out everything in the room if it continues to have this smell? Is it safe for my son to sleep in there? Safe for infant to be exposed to?
• ·What department does this topic fall under and why doesn’t anyone else seem to know anything about it?!

Reply:

My intention suggesting the smell patch test was to try and focus on what is the source of the horrible odors ensuing from overdosing with ozone - the oxidized materials.

If you can relate one or more of your smell patch tests to the odor that was bothering you in the first place you know what needs to be tossed out (as oxidized materials usually won't be much deodorized by washing or dry cleaning).

Other odor sources can usually be cleaned successfully, or cleaned then sealed.

Reader follow-up:

Is the odor caused by oxidized materials toxic as well?

At this point, the smell left behind in the pillows, blankets and clothing don't seem to bother anyone (or be noticeable to anyone) but me. So I am wondering if it would be harmful to keep my sons clothing etc once I've washed them several times and the smell is very faint - L.K.

Reply:

Possibly, the odors you smell are harmful in any of a variety of ways: respiratory irritant, or even toxic. One can't say what's toxic or not with not any idea of what was oxidized.

L.K. as people vary in their sensitivity to odors and chemicals and as we're talking vague generalities here "clothing" and "faint smells" niether I nor anyone can by e-texting reliably assess risks to your family.

I would agree that if you are confident that a noxious odor remains and that you can't get rid of it by laundering or cleaning, and if by comparison with other non-ozone-exposed items made of the same material you can confirm that the odor of the offending items truly is due to the ozone treatment, then your choices are to tolerate the odor or dispose of those items.

More war stories and complaints about excessive oxzone treatment causing trouble in buildings will be found

at OZONE ODOR TREATMENT FAQs

General Use of Ozone Generators nor Ozone Shock Treatments as a "Cure" for Building Mold or Odors is Not Recommended

This topic has moved to a separate article now found

at OZONE SHOCK TREATMENTS NOT RECOMMENDED

Watch out:  Ozone is a highly toxic, oxidizing gas. It can be absorbed into the body via inhalation, skin or the eyes. It can also oxidize building materials. See the Ozone hazard and use warning articles listed at the end of this article.

Watch out: In-Home or "portable" ozone generators and industrial or "shock treatment" ozone generators not only fail to find and remove the source of mold or building odors, in addition ozone concentrations generated by ionic air purifiers can exceed (industrial) levels permitted by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Hydroxyl Generators & Photo Electrochemical Oxidation: Similar Hazards as Ozone Generators

Question: need help with terrible odors after using hydroxyl generator

I found your webpage on ozone ( inspectapedia.com/sickhouse/Ozone-Treatment-Warnings.php ) and thought you might have information pertaining to my situation -- I've scoured the internet and have unfortunately come up empty-handed.

In January of this year I borrowed a friend's Molekule air purifier (https://www.amazon.com/Molekule-Purifier-Purification-Technology-Silver/dp/B07YT95V42), which has a PECO ("Photo Electrochemical Oxidation") filter -- this essentially means that it creates hydroxyl radicals to purify the air.

Unfortunately I ran the machine for a few days without checking on it, and upon my return I found that my entire apartment had a strong chemical smell, like fire smoke crossed with a Glade plug-in.

I've tried washing textiles and scrubbing surfaces to no avail. Either the smell quickly returns, or another equally caustic smell takes its place. For example, I dry cleaned a cashmere sweater, which then reeked of dry cleaning chemicals.

I wiped down a metal surface with isopropyl alcohol, which then reeked of alcohol. I washed some fabrics in Dawn detergent and then placed them in a plastic tote, and now they smell strongly of plastic.

The smell also infects anything that's clean, and once this happens, it then becomes impossible to remove it from the new item -- it's gotten to my hair, hands, washer/dryer at my parents' house, car, office at work, and friend's clothes.

I even put an infested bag into a clean wooden dresser, and then the dresser started permanently emitting a noxious artificial pine smell. This means that I'm essentially dealing with the chemical version of bedbugs, and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to contain it.

In the meantime, I've placed multiple charcoal filters throughout my apartment and cranked up the heat; the smell has morphed, but I don't think it's lessened in severity.

It seems like the properties of this smell slightly differ from that of ozone oxidation, in the sense that this one is highly transmissible, whereas the ozone one is not. I can't figure out which types of surfaces it's drawn to, but I do know that it attacks almost all textiles, especially those that are natural. I've also smelled it on aluminum (laptop), paper (notebook), and plastic (laptop charger).

I've read about your smell patch test, but because the smell spreads so easily, I'm not sure if there's an original source that I could point to as the off-gassing culprit. Anything and everything that's infected can now act as a scent vector.

I know how many people have reached out to you with similar horror stories, so I was wondering if you might have a sense of timeline. Will the off-gassing continue for months, years, decades? If I put my possessions into storage, is there a possibility that at some point in the future they will return to "normal"? Or are they all a lost cause?

Furthermore, do you know of any materials that the scent is _not_ drawn to?

I need to figure out how to deal with my apartment while not getting infected by the smell and then transferring it elsewhere. I'm contemplating buying disposable hazmat suits, but I'm not sure if that material would be an improvement over my own (clean) clothing.

Thanks for your help, - Anonymous by private email 2023/05/09

Moderator reply: Hydroxyl radicals are highly reactive species that attack most of the organic molecules. They are highly oxidizing in nature which is attributed to their oxidation potential.

@RE- hydroxyl

What a mess. I'm sorry for you. Indeed overdosing with "odor-killing" systems happens too often. I think it's no surprise that overdosing with hydroxyl radicals to "purify air" might be too-reactive with building contents if overdosing occurs.

"Hydroxyl radicals are highly reactive species that attack most of the organic molecules. They are highly oxidizing in nature which is attributed to their oxidation potential." (Tchobanoglous et al., 2003 - still looking for the original citation - Ed.).

A competent onsite inspection by an expert usually finds additional clues that would permit a more accurate, complete, and authoritative answer than we can give by email or text-post alone but I'll give it a shot:

Sometimes a lot of fresh air ventilation and heat can make a big improvement in the smell problem, but usually there are one or more 'oxidized' products that can continue to emit odors for a very long time. That's why I recommend trying the smell patch test procedure.

Perhaps try airing out things first, then setting up the test. If you follow it just as I describe, the worst-offender is probably the problem source - such as carpet or carpet padding.

I wouldn't move things into storage without airing out enough that they don't smell; else you're just compounding the problem.

Air purifiers and charcoal filters might improve the smell in an enclosed space but there is not the slightest chance (zero) that those devices could possibly correct the problem you describe - because they can't touch the actual odor source, they just deal with what's in the air.

After airing out the home to make testing easier, find the source and remove it - that's what works. If it helps you diagnose, you can temporarily wrap up furnishings or wall off areas of the space or cover a floor with tightly-sealed 6-mil poly, but beware that SOME poly products themselves can smell horrible - depending on who made them where and when.

So don't try plastic covering/sealing/isolating without checking first that your plastic itself doesn't have a strong odor.

In sum:

1. air out the home

or apartment when weather permits

2. try isolating areas or sections u

sing low/no-odor plastic sealed down with blue masking tape to notice if that improves or changes the picture - that's diagnostic

3. identify the worst oxidized materials / smell sources

using an accomplice in fresh air as I've described, try the procedure

at SMELL PATCH TEST to FIND ODOR SOURCE

I understand and respect your concern that the smell has now invaded lots of stuff in the home - that's why airing out and isolating may be helpful.

Usually the strong odor problem is from a large, specific source like carpeting and its padding, often made of synethetic fabric, vinyl, plastic, or rubber. But some organic materials may be oxidized and become smelly too.

Keep us posted - that may permit more suggestions and will also help other people facing the same Photo Electrochemical Oxidation "Filter" system overdosing odor problem.

Reader follow-up: I had absolutely no idea the air purifier was a free radical machine

@InspectApedia Publisher,

Thank you for your speedy response! Yes, it's deeply upsetting to say the least. I had absolutely no idea the air purifier was a free radical machine; otherwise, I would have stayed away!

What's interesting is that this odor actually came from the filter -- basically the air purifier blasted it all over my apartment. The filter absolutely reeks of it. I'm not sure how the odor chemically reacted with all of my possessions, but I assume it caused some sort of chain oxidation reaction. Have you many stories about hydroxyl generators and PCO/PECO air purifiers?

Am I correct in assuming that the off-gassing odor is toxic, and that I should interact with it as little as possible?

To follow-up on your comments:

What kind of expert should I search for?

I had someone who specializes in remediation/cleaning take a look at my apartment, but he kept insisting that it was impossible for hydroxyls/ozone to have this effect. He took a few things to test clean, but I'm not optimistic that his efforts will work. For what it's worth, I'm located in Portland, OR.

I ventilated my apartment with fresh air for a few weeks in January, but the only thing it did was to circulate the odor and cause it to latch onto more items. Then for the next few months I cranked up the heat to 90-100 degrees while running carbon filters 24/7.

Again, this only changed the type of odor being emitted; the intensity is still the same (just as you described). Now the apartment smells less like "wildfire smoke" and more like "Glade plug-in."

If I'm able to identify and remove the oxidized products, will the smell on everything else gradually fade? If so, approximately how long will that take? How long do other people usually wait before putting things into storage?

Is there a 6-mil poly brand that you recommend? Maybe I could try wrapping all of my textiles in that and then seeing if the smell decreases?

Alternatively, I was thinking I could move some plastic/wood/metal furniture out of my apartment to see if those are odor vectors?

Have you been able to identify specific materials that tend to latch onto the smell? How have other people prevented the smell from getting onto their own clothing and hair?

Moderator reply: complaints about hydroxyl generators and PCO/PECO air purifiers?

@Re-Posted Photo Electrochemical Oxidation SNAFU,

A few comments that may be helpful

1. The fact that the filter in the Molekule air purifier smelled particularly strong

may not mean that it's the odor source. Consider that a lot of indoor air and its contaminants are being sent through that filter so indeed they'd be concentrated there.

Test: if you un-package a brand new Molekule air purifier filter and find that it smells like the bad odor in your home that would be a compelling and concerning observation and one you would want to report to the companyt

2. Complaints about hydroxyl generators and PCO/PECO air purifiers?

No, we've not had a lot of posts nor heard from many readers about hydroxyl generators nor PCO/PECO air purifiers.

But remember that "absence of evidence is never evidence of absence". For example, once those phrases and terms appear at InspectApedia.com, more people with experience, good or bad, with hydroxyl generators and PCO/PECO air purifiers may find this discussion and add to it.

We have, however, included recent research on hydroxyl generators and PCO/PECO air purifiers

at OZONE REFERENCES & OZONE GENERATORR INSTRUCTIONS and include some researcher abstracts or comments,

For example see Zeng 2021 reporting that the Hydroxyl generator functioned as an ion generator, and see Kawamoto (2012) warning about lung damage. Reasons to be cautious especially about "over-dosing" building areas with these machines.

Also even where a report seems favorable we need to exercise some respectful caution: that is to say,

Watch out: I do not assume that supporting research for air cleaning and air purifier equipment is always reliably without bias. For example I know personally of respected researchers whose research was funded by the manfacturer of the very equipment the researcher was studying.

While such reports may not have been blithely dishonest in their description of findings, I found that it was far too tempting and easy to design a test that pleases the funder.

As a basic example, testing any "air cleaner" inside of a closed chamber will produce very good results and make the device look perhaps far more effective than it will be in real-world use in the field where the same machine has to function in a space where the source of the contaminant has not been addressed and where the source therefore continues to emit the problem particle or gas contaminant.

In that "real world" condition, an air cleaner can no more "remove all or even most" of the contaminants than we can remove a dust bunny from under the living room couch by standing in the kitchen and waving our vacuum cleaner wand in the air.

3. "Toxic" odors from oxidized unidentified building contents

consisting of un-identified gases is a bit too broad term but there is ample research indicating that not only is exposure to ozone at high levels harmful, but the oxidized off-gassing chemicals from some materials commonly found in buildings may be harmful as well. Remember that the dose makes the poison, and that individual risk levels from such exposure would probably vary significantly.

Similar and helpful research on the off-gassing of building materials and risks from such has been done for fire fighters, though fires of course would be expected to produce a greater degree or level of contamination and range of contaminants than oxidation via hydroxyls or ozone.

4. The opinion of your cleaning contractor that "it was impossible for hydroxyls/ozone to have this effect" i

is in disagreement with an ample body of research and field experience. I'd have defended that person's view IF s/he had said "when used at low levels as is typically recommended by the equipment manufacturers".

Just because someone has not "seen" something or "experienced it" doesn't make it untrue any more than not having traveled to the moon made me think that Neil Armstrong was making it up.

Better help, you may find, will come from contractors or investigators who have experience with the same over-dosing by an "air purifier" that your home experienced.

As I speculate earlier, SOME items that "smell" after over-treatment of an area may off-gas and no longer be a source of irritating or unpleasant odors but others, in the experience of people who've written to us about this over several decades now, is that some building materials that are oxidized are so significantly-changed that they become, in any practical sense, un-curable except by removal and replacement.

That's why we focus on effort to identify the worst offenders after airing out a problem building area.

5. Ventilating an area after the ozone or hydroxyl oxidation problem has occurred,

if that means bringing in fresh air, and preferably using warmth as well to speed off-gassing, would not explain a perceived "incrfease" in odor offgassing from the contents of your home.

I have not found field reports nor research supporting a claim that clean fresh-air ventilation dilution (that's non-reactive air) of a contaminant or smelly material makes that source worse.

However our perception of odors varies significantly for a number of reasons even within the same individual. It's well-known that odors *appear* to diminish when we remain exposed to them at a constant level.

So after breathing fresh clean air for time then closing that fresh-air off, our olfactory sense has been "rested" and odor perception might quite naturally appear to have worsened when we then go back into a contaminated, no-longer-ventilated space.

6. Odors will fade from some materials, not others.

7. Recommended polyethylene sheeting brand for isolation/containment:

I don't have a specific brand of polyethylene sheeting to recommend for your use, nor do I trust that any single brand will always be chemically or "olfactory" consistent across all production runs.

That's why I said to do your own sniff test before buying polyethylene to use as a temporary odor barrier or containment.

However I have noted that some vendors claim to sell "no-smell" clear plastic sheeting or "no-odor" plastic sheeting.

That not only might be a place to start, it's a confirmation that the plastic sheeting manufacturers know perfectly well that some poly smells and some smells strongly.

8. Do some materials pick up more odor than others?

Yes of course. We have observed that

- porous materials "latch on" to airborne odors, chemicals, and particles more than hard-surfaced materials - carpets, drapes, couches
and IF those materials were not themselves the subject of oxidation by ozone or hydroxyls then they *might* respond well to ventilation and cleaning

- BUT among those, synthetic fabrics may be more prone to odiferous oxidation by ozone and hydroxyls - carpets, drapes, couches

- hard surfaces are easy to clean and less reactive

- BUT among hard surfaces, among those, some such as vinyl flooring and some surface coatings and paints may be more prone to odiferous oxidation by ozone and hydroxyls

So there is no single absolutely reliable conclusion except for unambiguous materials such as an uncoated glass or metal surface that can be easily cleaned.

Reader Follow-up: what sort of professional do I call to diagnose odors and damage fdrom hydroxyl odor machine?

Thank you so much, I sincerely appreciate your taking the time to respond and educate me. I find that in situations where there's no viable solution, at least understanding the problem makes me better able to cope. So thanks again for your help. It means a lot to me.

If you don't mind, I have a few more thoughts (I apologize for the onslaught of emails -- you're the only expert I've been able to find on this niche subject matter!):

1. What sort of professional/contractor deals with ozone oxidation remediation?
   
   I've searched online and am coming up empty-handed. I'm only finding remediation services for fire, water, mold, radon, and asbestos.
2. Would you recommend testing for VOCs? If so, what is your preferred method?
3. In reference to the fact that the smell "increased" when I air ventilated,
   
   I meant that it spread to surfaces that the initial air filter stream did not reach.
   
   So it increased in coverage but not in intensity. Apologies for the ambiguity.
   
   I've noticed that this happens each time the HVAC runs or I open a window -- the smell reaches items that previously were untainted. That's why it's been a nightmare to contain.
4. In your original email you mentioned that I should not put into storage items while they still smell.
   
   In that case, what is the best way to hang onto items while waiting for the off-gassing to finish? Much to my chagrin, I can't afford to continue paying rent on a vacant apartment.

Thank you, Anon. 5/19/2023

Moderator Reply: when to hire an on-site expert to solve an Ozone over-treatment problem

E-text, reports, photos, phone calls are never a substitute for an on-site expert.

CONSULTANTS & EXPERTS DIRECTORIES - at inspectapedia.com/Expert-Consultants-Directory.php may be of some help to you.

Talk to a potential onsite investigator to get a feel for his or her experience with oxidation odor issues from ozone or similarly, from your hydroxyl photo-oxidation machine.

The object is to identify the most-likely odor source to determine whether you need to simply remove it (carpets & padding, for example) or to try to ventilate and perhaps paint with a post-fire type odor sealant coating.

Reader Follow-up:

I am searching elsewhere for testing. What type of expert should I be looking for? And I assume that hiring an expert is better than ordering a kit online?

I am also thinking about placing my possessions in storage in order to let them finish off-gassing. Could you recommend the best type of storage unit for this?

I assume I want something that has a constant temperature (via an HVAC system) and that has some sort of air flow (rather than a closed box)? - 5/26/2023

Moderator Reply: General tips on hiring an onsite odor & Hydroxyl machine damage investigator

@Re-Posted Photo Electrochemical Oxidation SNAFU,

Ask anyone you're considering hiring to listen to your concern and a brief case history and then tell you if they think they can help and if so, what they'd do. 

I'm not sure what test kit you're thinking of ordering online so I can't comment on how useful is is in tracking down odors to a source. 
About "airing out" furnishings in storage, I'm unclear how you'd do that effectively. What's wanted is plenty of fresh air ventilation, perhaps alternated with heat to speed off gassing. 

I'm not aware of an open box, ventilated, heated, storage system though you might know of such. There are other limitations. 

Into storage you'd surely not be moving wall to wall carpets and padding, all of your curtains, etc. as well as all furnishings, and worse, besides there being little or no fresh air and perhaps no heat in storage, any of the true oxidized odor-source materials simply continue to add their scent to their neighbors. 

Also, we don't know what the odor source is but I've warned that some materials can off-gas practically indefinitely, so on returning to your storage unit to check the status of things I'm unsure what improvement or worse, cross-contamination you could sort out. 

Given the chemical complexity of odors from the very wide ranger of materials found in a home exposed to over-dosing with an oxidizing "odor remover" machine, I'm also unsure the ability of any airborne gas or chemical test, some of which are very costly, (and if that's what you're considering) to pinpoint the source material or surface. 

For those reasons I often recommend the simple and very low cost SMELL PATCH TEST to FIND ODOR SOURCE described at  inspectapedia.com/odor_diagnosis/Smell_Patch_Test.php

Reader Follow-up: results of using the smell patch test procedure - The items that don't smell like "ozone" instead smell strongly of themselves

I apologize for the delay in responding. Thanks for your answer.

I've gone ahead and done the patch test for a large number of items in my apartment, but I'm confused as to how to proceed.

The items that don't smell like "ozone" instead smell strongly of themselves; I've noticed that the side exposed to the hydroxyl machine smell much more strongly than the non-exposed side.

What does this mean? Is the top side now off-gassing, and if so, can this be transferred to another object (like how the "ozone" smell transfers to everything it comes into contact with)?

And if an item does not smell, does that mean it has not been contaminated? Thanks as always for your help.

Moderator reply: After ozone overdosing you don't detect ozone you detect smells from oxidized building materials or furnishings

Thanks for following-up with me; this makes clear that WE need to be more clear.

When you're doing a smell patch test to see what ozone might have done to materials in your building, you will NEVER smell "ozone" when sniffing the patch after it has been exposed on the surface for a time.

That's because ozone itself is highly volatile. Minutes or so after an ozone generator is turned off, the ozone smell will dissipate quickly from a building. What remains is the odor of oxidized materials that were in effect "oxidized" by the reactive ozone molecules.

To be clear, you're not smelling ozone contamination you're smelling the odor that some materials give off after having been over-dosed with ozone. So the purpose of our smell patch test procedure is not to detect ozone it's rather to determine which substances in a building are the main odor sources.

This approach can work regardless of why the material is smelly or offgassing. When you've identified the offending material, it is occasionally possible to clean it or seal it, but many materials such as carpets, carpet padding, other plastics and synthetics, may need to be replaced to get rid of their odor.

In sum, you use the smell patch test to determine which items need to be cleaned or replaced.

Reader follow-up: if there is no "ozone" smell but there are other intense smells, is there off-gassing or not?

Yes, I understand. However, there are two types of smells: 1) typical "ozone off-gassing," which has a sweet, artificial smell (this is the smell that came out of the hydroxyl air purifier) and 2) each individual item's innate smell.

I've noticed that for items that were exposed to the machine, if they don't have the "ozone off-gassing" smell, they instead just smell strongly of themselves.

The sides that were exposed smell much more strongly than the sides that were not exposed.

In other words, the non-exposed sides smell normal, whereas the exposed sides reek of their innate smell.

Does this mean that they are off-gassing? Thanks, and sorry for the confusion. - 2023/06/24

Moderator Reply: - if "it smells" then "its's offgassing"

I'll be grateful to see a citation or reference for the research that supports your description of a generic characteristic sweet smell ozone off gassing as that's not consistent with what I have experienced nor read. There's a specific ozone odor that comes while ozone is being generated.

After that, what odor is emitted from materials subjected to ozone depends on the chemistry and other properties of the various materials. If a material in your building is making a noticeable odor that wasn't there before then it's quite possible that it's in response to the ozone treatment.

The object is to identify the strongest smell sources and get rid of them. Yes, speaking rather generally, you could rephrase " it smells " to " it's off gassing "

Reader follow-up: what about objects that are offgassing but we don't smell anything?

Thanks, Daniel. I apologize -- I was under the impression that the off-gassing produced by ozone had a sweet, chemical smell, which is what emanated from the hydroxyl air purifier. Thanks for explaining the smell patch test

I see now that it is used to identify the item that is producing the smell in a room -- you match the smell in the room to the smell on the item.

However, is it possible to identify the items that are also off-gassing but whose smells do not permeate the room? This seems more challenging to me, since there is no smell to "match" -- you instead have to determine whether the item's odor is stronger than expected.

Is that correct?

How would you go about testing fabrics, small items (cords, etc.), and items that have multiple parts (like a chair with metal legs, a plastic back, and a fabric cushion)?

Originally I put fabrics into trash bags, but this just causes the trash bags to smell, which masks the odor of the item inside. Doing patch tests on these types of items seems challenging. I assume that if you do not remove *all* items that are off-gassing, you risk "contaminating" more items. Is that correct? Thank you,

Moderator Reply: it's the "after-odors" that remain a potential health concern

Thanks for the discussion - it's helpful to us both. There may be characteristic odors during Hydroxyl treatment - like ozone treatments - but it's the after-odors that are our concern here. You've now got the right intent of the smell patch test.

Regrettably that can't help with offgassing that you don't smell. You're quite right. An interesting research question for us both to pursue is what are the sources and hazards of offgassing of building materials that are not smelled or "noticed" by building occupants.

This is a very tricky question to tackle because there may not only be gases that we don't smell (I'm doubtful as product offgassing is so chemically complex that I'd expect there to be SOME odor) but also because individual sense of smell varies enormously and because people spending time inside any environment where there are odors become desensitized to them.

That's why I suggest using a person with a good sense of smell and who has not spent time in the building, and who is in fresh outdoor air or has just entered from fresh outdoor air as the "sniffer"

Reader follow-up: how do I identify which furnishings or posessions are a problem?

Thanks

Thanks. I'm not necessarily concerned with the building materials (I rent and intend on moving) but rather with identifying what possessions of mine have been ruined by the hydroxyl machine. I have so much stuff that it's incredibly overwhelming to systemically test each item -- doing so would take months and would be an exercise in futility.

The smell patch test, from my understanding, is best suited to large, solid objects -- not fabrics or objects composed of multiple materials (like a chair, as I described previously). On top of that, I don't understand what I'm looking for or how to identify "strong smells," especially since odors increase in intensity according to humidity, wind, temperature, and other factors.

There have been multiple instances when an item smelled strongly one day but like nothing the next. I genuinely don't know how to proceed. 

Moderator reply: either use smell patch test or isolate items to smell for off-gassing

Watch out: take care not to let fear carry us away into the netherland of pouring money into the trash pile or pouring it into hired experts.

See details at OTHER PEOPLE's MONEY 

In my OPINION it's not cost-justified nor reasonable nor necessary to test every single posession or item of clothing nor small furnishings like a throw-pillow or bathroom rug for ozone- or hydroxyl- treatment off-gassing hazards.

The substantive health risks, if there are such, will surely be from larger furnishings like wall-to-wall carpet, carpet padding, draperies, large furnishings such as a couch - few in number and reasonable to test with a smell patch.

Most hard surfaced furniture such as a dining table or a lacquered or painted chair are not usually a substantive off-gas problem after odor treatments though I agree that depending on the chemistry of the coatings on un-upholstered furnishings there could be an odor issue.

Other hard-surfaced furniture that's plastic such as a plastic outdoor chair might be ozone- or hydroxyl- damaged but are usually so inexpensive that the cost of any sophisticated testing would exceed the simple cost of replacement.

Watch out: even brand new plastic furnishings may be a source of substantial plastic odor off-gassing.

Smaller items that seem to smell bad to you after normal laundering or dry-cleaning might simply be disposed-of.

...

Ozone as Possible By-Product of Xenon Light Disinfection

This discussion has moved to a separate article. Please

see XENON LAMP OZONE OUTPUT?

...

---

---

ADVERTISEMENT

---

---

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

Smells after I used an ozone generator in my vehicle - is it unsafe?

I used a small ozone generator inside my vehicle overnight to get rid of an odor in my vehicle. I turned it off the next morning and I aired the venicle out for a couple hours. Now I am left with a new, unpleasant chemical odor.

Is it unsafe for me to be inside this vehicle with the windows up? Will the odor go away as time passses?

If the odor is being emitted from the seats, and carpets then replacement of these items would be prohibitively expensive and likely not covered by insurance. On 2022-08-11 by James Culliton -

Reply by InspectApedia-911 (mod) - ozone-oxidized car carpets, seat fabrics, headliners: persistent smell

@James Culliton,

Gee I'm sorry to bring bad news - but if the ozone oxidized car carpeting, seat fabrics, headliner, etc. the smell may be persistent.

I can't say just how unsafe it may be as we have no objective data such as concentrations, offgas rates, and also because individuals' sensitivity to chemicals and gases in air varies quite a lot, but in general you wouldn't want a prolonged exposure to vinyl off-gassing (as an example.)

Try removing what you can like floormats to see if that makes a difference, and try airing the car out in fresh dry air on a few sunny days.

I attach some examples of hazard research specifically about vinyl chloride, which of course may NOT describe many of the components inside of your vehicle.

Keep us posted.

See details of health hazards associated with vinyl chloride and PVCs at

VINYL CHLORIDE HEALTH INFO

 

Do Ozone machines continue to emit Ozone even if they are turned off?

Re-posting from private email:

I am concerned about possible Ozone poisoning and wanted to reach out. I have not been able to find much information besides your website.

A friend let me borrow an ozone machine due to a cleaning supply smell in my apartment.

I read up on them a bit and choose not to turn the machine on.

However, I left it on a shelf in my living room for about 1.5 weeks while I waited for my friend to pick it up. - On 2022-06-26 by Anonymous worried -

Reply by InspectApedia-911 (mod) - No.

Hhow do ozone generators work? Will it cause harmful gases if turned off and stored?

@Anonymous worried,

No, you don't need to worry about ozone emissions from an ozone generator sitting on a shelf in your living room.

An ozone generator machine will not produce ozone when it's turned off.

Ozone generators work to produce and release ozone into the air around the machine by using electricity - so not turned on means not doing anything.

How does an Ozone Generator work anyway?

The machine uses what's called "silent corona discharge" - a name that won't have much meaning to a consumer. In essence the machine uses an electrical current to divide normal oxygen molecules in the air (O2 molecules) apart: each O2 molecule is split into two individual (and highly reactive) O molecules.

When those single O-molecules enter the room air they combine with normal Oxygen molecules (O2) by sticking to them to form an Ozone (O3) molecule.

Turned off the machine has no electricity so can't split O2s into Os. Instead, it's just a book-end on your shelf.

Thanks for a helpful question that I re-phrase as " how do ozone generators produce ozone?"

Illustration: an Airthereal portable ozone generator.

You can find the user's manual for this and other ozone generators and "air purifiers" at RECOMMENDED ARTICLES at the end of this page.

Can You use a non-toxic sealer to paint on your walls after ozone treatment?

I was directed by my doctor to use an ozone machine, reverse air scrubber, and Decon to get rid of mold in my sons room. It’s been months and I still smell the ozone.

We removed all items including doors amd hardware and still feel sick. We did the sniff kit test and the smell is in the walls.

I want to seal the drywall if possible so we don’t have to remove it all but I can not find info on a non toxic sealer for walls. Please advise. - On 2021-12-10 by Pasha Marlowe -

Reply by Inspectapedia Com Moderator (mod) - criteria for a non-toxic sealer to paint on your walls - DO NOT use Decon rat poison

@Pasha Marlowe,

I'm not sure what are the criteria for a non-toxic sealer to paint on your walls. The sealants that I have found most effective are typically those that are lacquer based such as Bin or Enamelac.

Those off gas significantly when they're first applied as the lacquer certainly smells.

It might be possible however to apply those with sufficient ventilation and of course keeping sensitive people away until the off-gassing is complete.

That's usually pretty rapidly.

You Follow That by painting with whatever topcoat low VOC paint you choose. It might be worth a try

Watch out: rodent poisons like Decon are absolutely not intended for use as an odor remover nor a mold treatment. Roden poisons can be highly toxic to humans and other animals.

Be darn sure you apply them ONLY as instructed by the manufacturer lest you poison your son, not just the smaller rats.

I am another victim of over dosing a room with ozone: what remedy is best?

Unfortunately I am another victim of over dosing a room with ozone and being left with a lingering smell. From the smell test I believe it is the painted plasterboard walls that are still off gassing.

What remedy would you suggest? Washing the walls and repainting with a waterbased paint? Or should I use a specific sealant? Thank you! On 2021-01-12 by Debbie -

Reply by (mod)

Debbie:

Sometimes it's possible to clean the wall surface and then seal it using the same type of ceiling paints that are used to try to contain building odors after a fire. More details are in our Recommended Articles, and at this link

https://inspectapedia.com/sickhouse/Ozone-Treatment-Warnings.php#OLeft

Ozone treatment for furnace odor made my house unlivable

My furnace left a bad odor had it replaced the odor remained I removed all carpet bedding couch chairs had a man come in with ozone machines he left running feor 14 days still have odor cannot get it out have left windows open cannot stay in house or use water what should I do? - On 2014-04-01 by JR -

Reply by (mod) -

JR

Read the warnings about over-use of ozone and the problems it produces - starting on this page at the top.

You may need to track down the actual odor source using the "Smell Patch Test" approach that we describe so that you know what material is the odor reservoir.

In our experience it's usually the case that one or two over-ozone-treaded materials will be the obvious worst offender.

Is 360 mg / hour output from an ozone generator harmful to people with allergies?

my husband bought an ozone generator with a 360mg ozone output per hour according to the manual. 3 members of my family suffer from allergies. Is it harmful? - On 2014-03-08 by marian -

Reply by (mod) -

Marian,

We've given our best shot at warning about mis-application of ozone in the article above.

Yes ozone exposure can be quite harmful - if it's over-done, foddr example: if you smell ozone in your home then there is a potentially harmful level;

If your building occupants suffer from allergies removing the source (irritating particles) is more likely to be effective.

Reader Comment: The use of strong oxidizers in buildings may release harmful VOCs including formaldehyde

The use of strong oxidizers in buildings can cause building materials, furniture and other property to release VOCs, particularly formaldehyde. The worst formaldehyde-producing oxidizer is ozone. The University of Texas at Austin did comprehensive research on formaldehyde-producing oxidizers and is a good resource for additional information.

The use of ozone in any building should be followed by testing for airborne formaldehyde.

Standards for formaldehyde levels in dwellings are determined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). The ATSDR provides standards for dwellings and other locations where people remain longer than workplace hours.

Washing building materials exposed to ozone can reduce formaldehyde emissions. If washing does not correct the problem, the dwelling may need decontamination. - On 2012-11-16 by Michael Rowzee -

My home is unlivable after using an ozone machine in too small of a space

Hi, my home is unlivable after using an ozone machine in too small of a space. The off-gassing makes me instantly dizzy, cough, and tightness in my lungs (all the things you've reported in your postings).

I know that items in my home will need to be removed and some things discarded (it is also in my car as a result of transporting some items in the beginning before i knew what was going on). It is going to be a big undertaking and i need some professional help. I cant seem to find a company that understands this deep enough.

Do you have a list of inspectors / air quality experts / hazardous clean up businesses that you know understand this and can come up with a plan to help me? Second question is ... what is the type of gas that is being released? wanting to know for health reasons.

Thank you so much - InspectApedia has been THE source for very helpful information on this horrible situation with Ozone Treatments. - On 2020-02-05 by John -

Reply by (mod) - home got over-cooked with Ozone -

John I'm sorry that your home got over-cooked with Ozone -

The smell in your car might dissipate given time and fresh air and sunlight, as the car materials themselves were not oxidized just by carrying damaged items.

You're asking about the make-up of the smell we observe when a material is over-dosed with ozone or over-cooked.

I can't give a single answer because it depends entirely on what materials were exposed to ozone as well as exposure conditions like temperature, duration, humidity etc.

You'd need to identify every material that was affected by the ozone over-treatment, then we'd need to look at off-gassing of that specific material when oxidized.

There are some very general guidelines used by fire-fighters and kits to screen buildings for toxic gases after a fire, but those are not specific to the various items in your particular home.

Examples of Gases Given Off by Burning Various Materials

Here are just a few examples of research on what gases are given off by some common materials when burned; off-gassing from over ozone-treatment would be similar but NOT identical as the ozone oxidation isn't taking place at high temperature as occurs in a fire.

Interestingly some plastics are uniquely resistant to ozone (Patrick 1939)

• Hurst, Nichoas W., and T. Alwyn Jones. "A review of products evolved from heated coal, wood and PVC." Fire and Materials 9, no. 1 (1985): 1-8.
• Takeuchi, Yoshiyuki, Tadaaki Tamura, Masayasu Sakai, Takayuki Harada, Kunihisa Fujiwara, Ritsuo Hashimoto, and Hirotoshi Horizoe. "Process for the gasification of organic materials, processes for the gasification of glass fiber reinforced plastics, and apparatus." U.S. Patent Application 10/883,531, filed December 2, 2004.
• Patrick, J.C., Cordant Technologies Inc, 1939. Plastics and process of producing the same. U.S. Patent 2,142,145.

I ozoned my car which has resulted in oxygen damage to the interior - what can I spray to fix it?

Re-posting from private email

I have read many of your articles; most suggest removing the items outgassing. This is not possible in my car.

Under direction of a doctor I ozone my car which has resulted in oxygen damage to the interior of my car.

The backseat continues to outgas. It is less evident when stuff is piled into the backseat.

What products can I use to seal the various materials? Amazon keeps recommending 303. - On 2019-12-10 - by anon by private email

Moderator reply: NONE

Sorry but in my opinion sprays are not likely to be fully effective. There is no "sealant" that you can reasonably spray inside of a car on its upholstery, head liner, floor mats, carpet padding, vinyl surfaces, that would seal and stop an ozone oxidation or over-treatment off-gassing.

What may make repair economically feasible is to try a SMELL PATCH TEST KIT (easy, Do-it-yourself - search inspectApedia.com for that phrase) that might point out that just one material like carpet or padding is the culprit.

If lots of vinyl and rubber components were oxidized I'm afraid that the ozone treatment has made repair very expensive.

 

What can be sprayed onto car interiors of vinyl plastic rubber to seal-in or reduce outgassing after oxidation by decomposed ozone?

What can be sprayed onto car interiors of vinyl plastic rubber to seal-in or reduce outgassing after oxidation by decomposed ozone? - On 2019-12-10 by doug -

Reply by (mod)

Doug

Thank you for an interesting question. Unfortunately I'm not aware of any spray treatment of automobiles that's an effective seal or cure for odors or for the oxidized off-gassing if a car interior is over treated with ozone.

Instead I'm afraid that the oxidized materials need to be replaced.

Dianne said: we used an ionizer in our airstream trailer then had to gut it

We used an ionizer in our airstream trailer as part of mold prevention about a year ago and we still have strong ozone smell. We now know we overused the ionizer - too long ( 3 days) in this small space.

We just finished removing as much as we could- basically gutted the trailer out except for the heavy wood cabinets that couldn’t be removed.

We had our cushions and mattresses steam cleaned. We had every surface of the interior cleaned by a restoration company. We removed the floor to the subfloor.

All of the cushions and mattresses are being stored in a separate gazebo after cleaning. I think the steam cleaning removed the O-Zone smell from them based on the fact that when we enter the gazebo where they’re being stored there is no O-Zone smell.

The O-Zone smell is as strong as ever inside the trailer though.

Questions:

1) should we put a sealant on all surfaces to try to eliminate the O-Zone smell that continues in the trailer (For example, on all of the walls ( I think a lot of them are of plastic material ), and on the hardwood cabinets, etc: if so, what sealant would you recommend?

2) do you have any other suggestions to eliminate the smell of O-Zone which seems to have permeated everything inside the structure of the airstream ?

3). Where can I get an instrument that test the O-Zone level in our trailer to see if it’s on safe to be there ?

4) can you tell me what would be the unsafe ozone level within the trailer ? Thank you for any information! Desperately trying to fix problem so we don’t have to junk the trailer

Reply by (mod) - ionizer in Airstream trailer as part of mold prevention didn't work

Dianne

Unfortuantely *some* building materials, once oxidized by over-dosing with ozone, will continue to offgas - cleaning won't eliminate that problem.

Read SMELL PATCH TEST to FIND ODOR SOURCE for an inexpensive easy way to figure out which items are the odor source. Those over-ozoned items may have to be tossed - such as carpet or carpet padding.

I would not bother applying sealant before I had a pretty good guess at which surfaces are the problem source.

Ozone generator "to kill mites" damaged my car

I used a 20 gram/hour machine in an suv car and set it for 1 hour. Was told to do so to clear mites.

It definitely cleared them but has left a horrible chemically smell that causes nausea/headache and tightness in chest/difficulty breathing each time I am in the car - it has been 2 weeks now.

The car has a leather interior and is quite new so already had a bit of that new car smell but this has intensified it a lot. I had plastic carpet film on the floor that definitely oxidised - I took that out and it helped a little, but didn’t solve the problem.

Wondering what I can do and if anyone has been able to clear their car from the oxidisation of certain materials? And how?

Can’t really afford to rip out the whole interior and replace it unfortunately. Wondering if there are certain sealants that have helped for leather etc. and what parts of the car have become oxidised or usually do? It’s hard to rip things out in a car because it’s so compact - any help would be greatly appreciated! - On 2018-11-09 by Ellie -

Reply by (mod)

SMELL PATCH TEST to FIND ODOR SOURCE 

May help you narrow down just which materials in the SUV have been most-oxidized or are the primary odor source. That's the best bet.

 

Thank you to our readers for their generous comments

Thank you so much - InspectApedia has been THE source for very helpful information on this horrible situation with Ozone Treatments. - On 2020-02-05 by John -

...

Continue reading at OZONE SHOCK TREATMENTS NOT RECOMMENDED or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see OZONE ODOR TREATMENT FAQs - questions and answers posted originally on this page.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• OZONE HAZARDS - home
  • OZONE AIR PURIFIER WARNINGS
  • OZONE EXPOSURE STANDARDS
  • OZONE GAS EXPOSURE EFFECTS
  • OZONE GAS EXPOSURE LIMITS - EPA
  • OZONE GENERATOR EFFECTIVENESS for INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
  • OZONE HAZARDS
  • OZONE MOLD KILL TREATMENT
  • OZONE MOLD / ODOR TREATMENT WARNINGS
  • OZONE MSDS [PDF]
  • OZONE SHOCK TREATMENTS NOT RECOMMENDED
  • OZONE TREATMENT TIME RECOMMENDATIONS
  • OZONE TOXICITY
  • RELYING on OZONE to KILL MOLD
• SMELL PATCH TEST to FIND ODOR SOURCE

Suggested citation for this web page

OZONE MOLD / ODOR TREATMENT WARNINGS at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to BUILDING ODOR DIAGNOSIS & CURE

Or use the SEARCH BOX found below to Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia

...

Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia

Try the search box just below, or if you prefer, post a question or comment in the Comments box below and we will respond promptly.

Note: appearance of your Comment below may be delayed: if your comment contains an image, photograph, web link, or text that looks to the software as if it might be a web link, your posting will appear after it has been approved by a moderator. Apologies for the delay.

Only one image can be added per comment but you can post as many comments, and therefore images, as you like.
You will not receive a notification when a response to your question has been posted.
Please bookmark this page to make it easy for you to check back for our response.
Our Comment Box is provided by Countable Web Productions countable.ca

Citations & References

In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.

---

ADVERTISEMENT

---