Getting Rid of the Ozone Smell
One of the persistent calls or emails is the question of how to get rid of the ozone smell after a treatment. The good news is that after 20-30 minutes, the residual ozone smell is not actually ozone. Ozone reverts back to normal oxygen after about a half an hour. Or, just let the building air out for 15 minutes to speed up the normalization process.
Why doe the ozone smell linger after a treatment? Well, remember what ozone does in a the oxidation cycle. It metabolizes what it can effect. It drops off an extra oxygen atom and becomes normal O2 oxygen again. No problem withe O2, right?
So, the ozone is gone, but something has changed … even for a short time. What has changed is the elements ozone has oxidized. That is the source of the odor. This will normally fades in about 12-24 hours. If you want a quick post-treatment, try misting about rubbing alcohol with 9-10 drops of a lemon-lime essential oil.
However, if the small lasts longer than 24 hours, chances are that the building has been over-treated. According to the National Ozone Association, no ozone treatment should last more than eight hours.
The theory is that over-treatment can eventually convert more than odors. It will also convert the VOC gases already in the building. Like adding yellow paint to blue paint, you get green paint.
Since VOCs are rather permanent residents of a building, the newly converted gases are not ozone (blue paint) that have been altered to a variation of the original VOC (now green paint). They are not simply going to go away easily, and the alcohol misting is of little value at this point.
This happens when you are someone you hire runs too much ozone for too long in the building. Practically speaking, these odors didn’t happen in a few days, so why believe that one massive ozone dump will actually do the job properly.
Ozone Treatment Tips for Amateurs
Always clean before using ozone for best results
Keep people and pets out of the treatment areas until air clears
Wear a carbon filter mask when in active ozone areas
Try short 1-2 hour treatments cycles until the issue resolves
Clean with eco-safe products that do not give off a chemical smell
If you are an ozone amateur, take a moment and get the “Basic Ozone Course” that helps the non-professional avoid the known pitfalls.
