Ozone is highly oxidizing. It is an effective purifier and disinfectant on air and water. But for its strong oxidizing property, when used correctly, ozone is powerful for sterilization and odor removal. But when it is not used correctly, ozone can be harmful or even dangerous. Next, let’s take a look at what needs to be noted in the application of ozone and how to avoid the potentially dangerous situations.
1. Make sure no person, pets, or plants are in the room
Since ozone is highly oxidizing and it is corrosive. When ozone is used in a room, there should be no person, no pets, no vulnerable plants and materials such as leather and rubber. If there are paintings hanging on the wall, it is better to keep them in another room temporarily in case of potential damage. Ozone can cause the discomfort in people’s eyes, nose, and airways. Inhaling too much ozone may cause the symptoms of coughing, asthma and even bronchitis. Ozone can also oxidize the tissues of the plant and threaten its survival. When leather is exposed to ozone, ozone will dry and accelerate the damage. When ozone acts on rubber, it attacks the double bonds in rubber chains. This will accelerate the aging of the rubber materials.
2. Pipe ozone into the room from outside
When ozone is used for a room, to avoid the ozone generator from being oxidized by the gas it produces, a better idea is to put the machine outside the room and pass the ozone gas into the room through a pipe. The treatment time and concentration of the ozone will be decided by how the room is polluted. The ozone concentration should be at a proper level. If it is too low, it will not achieve the goal. But if it is too high, it will potentially cause damage to items in the room as well as the prolonged ozone diffusion time before the room can be reoccupied.
3. Leave at least 30 minutes for the diffusion of ozone
You don’t want to be hurt by ozone, right? So, after the treatment, there should be efficient time for the diffusion of ozone. The windows and door should be kept open for at least 30 minutes. And after that, the air in the room will be safe to breathe and the room can be reoccupied again.
4. Ozone can damage certain electronics
Can ozone hurt electronics? The answer is yes. In certain electronic products, there might be slender and fragile plastic, rubber belts or metal components used. To avoid the potential corrosion by ozone, don’t leave them in a room where an ozone treatment is in progress.
5. Ozone’s effect on clothes
Can ozone damage clothes? Ozone does not directly damage clothes, except the leather ones. But if clothes are left in the environment while an ozone treatment is in progress, they will carry the smell of ozone after the treatment. Such smell can dissipate quickly. However, if that is what you are concerned about, it is recommended to move the clothes to another room before the treatment to avoid direct contact with ozone.
6. For the use of ozone in cars
In most cases, there is plenty of leather materials used in the interior of a car. Ozone will damage these leather materials when it is released into the space. So for the odor removal with ozone, the treatment time should be limited to about 15 minutes. And it is suggested not to put an ozone generator into the car. It is better to use an ozone generator outside and pump the ozone gas into the car with a pipe through the window.
7. Avoid using ozone in a garage
For its highly oxidizing property, ozone can cause a corrosion effect on rubber materials. It will accelerate the aging of the rubber materials. To avoid such damage, it is recommended not to apply any ozone treatment in a garage.
8. External air source and built-in air pump
When an ozone generator uses an external air source, it should not work with an internal air pump together at the same time.
9. Can ozone remove heavy metals from water?
Can ozone remove heavy metals like iron and manganese in water? The answer is no and yes. When ozone is pumped and dissolved into the water, it will not be able to directly remove heavy metals like iron or manganese. But ozone has a flocculation effect for these elements, which means that ozone will cause the sedimentation of these heavy metal elements on the bottom. And after this treatment, they can be easily removed from the water.
10. About ozone’s insecticidal effect
Many people notice that when ozone is applied into a room for sterilization or odor removal, some family pests like bed bugs and cockroaches can sometimes be killed at the same time. So, can ozone be used as a pest killing method? The truth is that ozone treatment is just a temporary solution to dealing with the pests. Ozone treatment is not a substitute for conventional insecticide products.
11. Ozone is not a softening agent
Can ozone be used to soften water? The answer is no. The hardness of water is caused by the calcium it contains. When ozone is used in water, it is not capable of removing the calcium in the water. So, ozone cannot be used as a softening agent.
12. The use of anti-corrosion pipes is a good idea
Ozone is corrosive. So, the pipes used to carry ozone gas should be anti-corrosion. This is why galvanized pipes, steel pipes, and low carbon steel tanks should not be chosen to carry or contain ozone. If they are used by mistake, there might be potential risks of ozone leakage caused by the corrosion.
13. Refer to the user’s manual
Ozone’s insecticidal effect comes from its strong oxidizing property. But its effect can be affected by several factors. The size of the space, how polluted it is, the concentration of ozone, and the treatment time are some of them. Taking these into consideration will make the work easier and more effective. A user’s manual will contain the related instructions about how to properly use ozone in a certain environment.
14. Store it properly
Ozone generators generally adopt ceramic plates or quartz tubes as the ozone generating units. For ceramic plates, they are fragile. Their lifespan can be shortened by the exposure to damp air environment. Therefore, when an ozone generator is left idle, it must be properly stored, especially in a humid area. For the storage of an ozone generator, vacuum cotton or similar moisture absorbent items can be put in the storage box to prevent moisture. And for the sake of safety, eye-catching notice should be affixed to the box that contains the machine. In particular, children should be avoided from using the machine to prevent any potential hazards.
15. For non-professionals, don’t try to disassemble an ozone generator
Ozone generators often contain ceramic chips, quartz tubes and high voltage modules, which are fragile or have the risk of electric shock. Therefore, the cleaning, repair, or maintenance of the machine should be operated by professional personnel. For non-professionals, to avoid damage to the equipment or personal danger, they should avoid disassembling an ozone generator.
Summary
Hopefully the above-mentioned points can help you to better utilize ozone. Ozone’s efficiency in environment sterilization and odor removal have been widely recognized. When it is used correctly, it works better than many other sterilization methods. Ozone is an FDA-approved sterilization method that can come in direct contact with food. Just a small quantity of ozone can achieve a very good bactericidal effect in a short period of time. Since it is a gas, ozone can spread naturally to reach all parts of the environment. And ozone treatment does not produce any harmful ingredients.
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