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Draeger gas pum and test tube for ozone © D Friedman at InspectApedia.com Ozone Shock Treatment Warning
Don't Over-Dose a Building: Hazards, False Claims, Overdosing & Oxidation

  • POST a QUESTION or COMMENT about using ozone generators to kill odors or mold: dangers & false claims & about how to get rid of odors caused by ozone overdosing

Ozone air treatment, shock treatments, and overdosing 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.)

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

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

Very moldy car interior, beyond salvage © Daniel FriedmanGeneral Use of Ozone Generators nor Ozone Shock Treatments as a "Cure" for Building Mold or Odors is 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. This problem is more severe when

In addition, a ban of in-home ozone producing air purifiers was announced by the California Air Resources Board in September 2007. This law requires testing and certification of all types of air purifiers to verify that they do not generate excessive ozone.

See "HEALTH HAZARDS of Ozone-generating Air Cleaning Devices", [PDF] State of California-Health and Welfare Agency, Department of Health Services, Indoor Air Quality Section

Research on Secondary Chemical-like Building Odors Following Over-Use of Ozone Generators in Buildings

Scholarly research cited here confirms our opinion that ozone treatments, particularly where over-exposed in buildings, vehicles or other enclosed spaces can create both health hazards to occupants and secondary chemical-like odors from the reaction of ozone with various furnishings, coatings, or other materials in buildings.

Reserarch is suggestive of the relationship between ozone treatments and both a preceived reduction in odors and (when over-used) the production of new "chemical-like" odors in buildings.

Remember that indoor temperature and humidity are important factors.

Although it was not focused on the oxidation effects of ozone on polyurethane coatings, there has been some research that confirms that polyurethane, the presumed coating on some wood floors, can be affected by ozone exposure. Other older floor coatings such as varnish or stain may also be affected by ozone treatments.

Ozone as Possible By-Product of Xenon Light Disinfection

This discussion has moved to a separate article. Please see XENON LAMP OZONE OUTPUT?

 




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Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above

Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

Question: Ozone shock treatment left strong electrical / chemical odor & many questions

I am hoping you can help me with my problem. I am quite desperate because there is little information to be found on the topic, and most people I contacted have never heard of my problem. Here is what happened:

A few days ago I had an ozone shock treatment done in one room of my apartment. I was gone during the process but when I returned I noticed a very strong electrical/chemical odor. The odor is concentrated in the room I had the treatment done but some of it can be smelled in other rooms.

I opened all windows for about 4 hours with little success. After a while my airways started to become irritated, and I left the home to stay with family. I spoke to the contractor who did the shock treatment, and he told me he left the machine inside the small room for 20 hours, which seems excessive to me.

I also think the room was not aired out until I returned to the home, which was 24 hours after the machine was removed. I read on your website that overdosing can cause furniture to oxidize, producing harmful chemicals.

Now I have the following concerns and questions[ about the ozone treastment that was performed]

I am not too concerned about the odor itself, but rather about my health. I am currently 23 weeks pregnant and I want to make sure that my home is safe for me and my baby to live in. I am sincerely hoping you can help me because I don't know of many resources I could contact about this. - S.O.

Reply: outgassing from oxidized plastics, synthetics, coatings, and some other materials might be harmful following an over-treastment by ozone indoors

S.O.,
I hate to give an answer that is easy for me and hard or costly for you, but pregnant .... I would prefer you stayed out of the environment untilthe odors and issues are removed. Check with your doctor and let us know what she or he says.

I want to add that the hazard would not be from ozone - which is long gone, but there could be toxic as well as irritating gases, possibly particles,in the environment, depending on the extent of oxidation that took place

Reader Follow-up: should I do air testing for ozone?

Thank you very much for your prompt answer! I am so grateful that you take the time to answer my questions.

I did see a doctor right after I left because I experienced some airway irritation. He said it was good I left but he could not answer any of my questions regarding the chemicals, neither could the poison control center. After reading the article and your advice, I have a few questions left:

Once I have found the items that have been oxidized, do they have to be replaced in all instances, or can cleaning them (wiping, vacuuming, steam cleaning) take care of the problem? Again, I want to be sure it’s 100% safe for me and my child to be around these items. If we have to move and replace some of the furniture in the room, then so be it.

If an item in the room has no smell to it (as determined by the sniff patch test), does that mean it is not contaminated with harmful chemicals or was not affected by the oxidation?

Do you recommend air quality testing?

Once again, thank you for helping me with my problem! It’s been quite stressful trying to figure out what to do or who to contact. Nobody seems to ever have heard of a case like mine.

Reply: no

Cleaning can sometimes help on hard surfaces but if you find that carpet padding, foam cushions, etc. are oxidized and smelling, they usually have to be replaced.

Perhaps you want to try to find what smells, remove or replace it, see what's left, before hiring an expert. The cost of bringing in someone who is actually competent is probably more than $1000 - you might spend that money on cleanup first. Beware of people who just stop by to collect a test - not diagnostic so not really helpful enough. Even if such a test indicates there's a problem you still won't know what it is.

Reader Follow-up: are items that don't smell therefore safe?

Your answers have been very helpful! I have one more question though: If an item has no smell to it, does that mean it is free from toxic particles and safe to be around?

Reply: who knows? probably not.

Your question is a bit too broad to make a promise but it's reasonable to suppose that if an object or material did not develop an odor from the ozone treatment it was probably not significantly oxidized.

Reader Follow-Up: I washed my clothes, now they smell different, are they harmful?

Alright, this should be my last question: I washed some of my clothes that have been exposed.The initial bad smell came out, however, I noticed that these clothes now smell a bit different from the clothes that have not been exposed. It is a normal clothes / fresh laundry smell and I only noticed a difference by directly comparing them. I assume they smell different because the chemical make-up of the fabric has somewhat been changed. Now, could it be harmful to wear these clothes? Once again, thank you very much!

Reply: balance the cost of worry against the cost of testing against the cost of replacement of things that worry you

I am doubtful that there is any easy, credible, inexpensive answer to the question you pose. I am doubtful that we can even assert that the odor change you report is due to ozone treatment, though I imagine that is a possibility.

To perform a detailed comparative analysis on two fabric samples to study their chemical makeup and chemical modification before and after ozone treatment, then cleaning, with possible effects of cleaners, laundry soaps, etc., I think you'd need two to four FLIR spectographic analyses done at about $1200. each.

To me that makes just no sense whatsoever. Worry itself has a health cost. If you are worried about these things in my OPINION it would be most economical to throw them away.

 

Comment: ozone shock treatment done for smoke odor problem - now a burnt smell remains

(Apr 25, 2016) Robert said:

I had a smoke odor problem in garage that wouldn't go away after weeks of airing area. Local restoration company recommended ozone shock treatment for a minimum of 24 hour

Garage was detached from house but ozone odor (which is almost as offensive to me as smoke) permeated my entire house.

Now I have a smell(sweet,acidic,burnt electronics) that has affected all of my possession: clothes, furniture, pictures, CD's and videos, counter tops, media equipment, everything.

A few things can be salvaged by washing but basically the ozone smell is the most resilient and pervasive I have ever experienced. For me, ozone treatment was a huge mistake and I would never recommend to anyone.


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