How to Use Ozone Generators in Home: Basic Safety Rules

Do you want to get rid of microorganisms that cause bad odor, germs, bacteria, and pollutants from home? Then you should invest in a premium-quality ozone generator.

However, it’s important to understand to operate ozone generators with great caution by removing indoor plants and pets. Furthermore, you should also evacuate the room or the apartment before operating an ozone generator. It’s because the total amount of ozone that kills molds, bacteria, or viruses is certainly higher than the public health standards.

Read the following guide to learn how to use an ozone generator in a home, keeping your family’s safety in view.

How Does an Ozone Machine Work?

The ozone machine is essentially used in a home, office, or inside a car to remove the unpleasant odor or other pollutants from the closed environment.

An ozone generator works on a general principle known as silent corona discharge. In this process, the electrical discharge splits the oxygen molecules in the air to create individual oxygen atoms. Later, these oxygen atoms join together with other oxygen O2 atoms to form the O3 ozone.

As a result, the ozone machine effectively disinfects indoor environments and removes odor, germs, viruses, or other bacteria.

Unlike the breathable oxygen present in the air with two oxygen atoms, ozone has three oxygen atoms. Moreover, the three molecule bond is unstable and highly reactive compared to the stable two molecule oxygen bond.

That’s why the third oxygen molecule present in ozone detaches and reattaches to the chemical structure of microorganisms or other smoke particles to make them ineffective.

People usually turn on the ozone machine in a room or an office when it’s empty. Furthermore, once the machine disinfects the environment, it’s essential to open the rooms to let the air escape.

Do Ozone Generators Work On Cigarette Smoke?

An ozone generator can eliminate tobacco smell and cigarette smoke from your home. For instance, if someone has smoked cigarettes in a room for a few days, you can use the generator to eliminate the tobacco smell in less than an hour.

As discussed above, ozone primarily removes the smoke odor by altering the chemical structure of the molecules responsible for creating the smell of cigarette smoke.

Consequently, the oxidation process rendered the newly created structure odorless and harmless.

How Dangerous Is Using Ozone Generator?

An ozone generator is undoubtedly a great solution to remove the odor and kill mold or other bacteria to improve the overall indoor air quality. However, ozone makes you sick and poses some serious health risks depending upon the total duration, frequency, and concentration of the ozone exposure.

For example, you can experience these symptoms upon exposure to certain amounts of ozone:

Chest pain
Throat, nose, or eyes irritation
Shortness of breath
Inflammation in lung tissues
Respiratory infection
Coughing or asthma allergy

Similarly, the effects of ozone are adverse, especially on children and older people. Inhaling ozone can severely affect the immune system, thus damaging its ability to fight infections.

Temperature is an important factor that decides the right time to run the ozone generator. It’s because ozone depletes quickly at higher temperatures. As a result, it’s better to use an ozone machine when the temperature is high to prevent health issues.

Are Ozone Generators Safe for Pets?

Not at all. It isn’t safe for humans and pets to be in a house with an ozone machine operating. The ozone has harmful effects on all living things, including microorganisms, bacteria, humans, and their pets.

For example, if the ozone is present even in small concentrations below 0.5 ppm, the pets can experience respiratory issues or lung irritation. In the worst-case scenario of higher ozone concentration, the pets won’t b able to survive.

Other damaging effects of ozone generators on pets include:

Respiratory system irritation can cause coughing, chest pain, or soreness.
Damage lungs and lead to severe respiratory inflammation or infection.
Disruption in lungs functionality leads to discomfort while breathing or shallow breathing.
Like humans, pets can also suffer from respiratory allergies or asthma.
Prolonged exposure to ozone can damage the lungs permanently.
Other health issues include structural changes in the heart tissues or permanent vision damage.

How Long to Run Ozone Generator in a House?

The duration of running an ozone machine depends on the type of required disinfectant treatment. For example, mild ozone treatment successfully eliminates fumes, exhaust gases, smoke, etc.

On the other hand, you need to run the ozone generator for a relatively longer duration to kill bacteria, molds, germs, pungent smells, or heavy cigar smoke.

First, it’s important to empty the room and remove all the indoor plants before operating the ozone generator. Next, you can run an ozone generator for 3 to 6 hours in a small room.

Alternatively, an ozone machine requires up to 30 hours to clean and disinfect an entire house.

How Long Should You Run an Ozone Generator in a Car?

No one likes to sit in a smelly car. If you have tried all the cleaning methods to remove the unpleasant smell but still failed to receive expected results, you can use an ozone generator to remove odor from the car.

Depending upon the intensity of odor and vehicle size, you can run the ozone generator in a car for 30 minutes to 2 hours maximum. Furthermore, it takes only 15 minutes to remove the slight odors from the car.

However, in the case of an intense smell, you need to repeat the ozone treatment several times to achieve the desired results.

After the ozone treatment, you shouldn’t sit inside the car for a couple of hours. Lastly, don’t forget to keep the doors wide open for the ozone to dissipate.

How Long to Wait After Using Ozone Generator?

The wait interval, known as the cooldown period, depends on the time required by ozone to convert to breathable oxygen. Generally speaking, the third oxygen atom takes around 30 minutes to 4 hours to break from the ozone molecule and convert to the regular O2 oxygen.

For example, a lower ozone concentration stabilizes under 2 hours, while the higher ozone concentration may take 3 to 4 hours to dissipate.

Hence, on the safe side, you shouldn’t return to the disinfected room for at least 4 hours after the ozone treatment. Additionally, it’s recommended to open the windows and doors after switching off the ozone generator.

Once the wait time is over, you can place your indoor plants back, remove the covers from the essential items, and let your pets inside the room.

Ozone Generator Safety Precautions

You can minimize the risks posed by ozone generators by following these safety precautions:

Manual – It’s essential to read the instructions written in the ozone generator manual for safe operations.
Proper seal – Always seal the room where the ozone generator operates. For example, you can use tape or a towel along with the door and windows and cover the vents. However, evacuate the house, remove indoor plants, and pets while using an ozone generator to disinfect the entire home.
Valuable Items – Use a blanket to cover the furniture, metal things, paintings, and other items present in the room before operating an ozone machine.
Total Duration – The ozone generator normally runs between 3 to 6 hours based on the total number of rooms. You need 26 to 30 hours to clean the house by distributing the ozone using the air conditioner or the vents.
Timer – Advanced ozone machines include a timer that usually runs for 20 minutes to 8 or 10 hours. Later, the machine automatically shuts off, thus preventing you from entering the disinfected area. However, if the ozone machine doesn’t have a timer, you should cover the mouth and nose with a towel to prevent ozone from entering the respiratory system.
Wait Time – As discussed in the above guide, inhaling ozone poses serious health threats. Hence, it’s better to wait for a couple of hours after switching off the ozone machine before entering the disinfected home or room.
Maintenance – Ozone generators that come with collector plates should be cleaned every 2 to 6 months to ensure efficient performance. If you use an ozone generator heavily, it’s important to regularly clean the output area to remove the fine dust particles or other oily residues.

Conclusion

Exposure to ozone can lead to different respiratory problems, such as lung and throat irritation, chest pain, shortness of breath, and eye or nose irritation. Similarly, ozone has an adverse effect on pets and indoor plants. That’s why you need to ensure indoor space is unoccupied before operating an ozone machine.

The key takeaway of the above guide is to safely use an ozone generator in your home to remove odors, contaminants and kill mold.

Table of Contents