Shock treatments

Factors to Help Determine Ozone Generator Size:

The recommendations we give are conservative and designed for professionals in the mold redemption, fire & flood restoration, and odor removal businesses. When charging for a service in these professions, companies cannot afford to have to come back and retreat, or re-initiate the application. This is the reason for our conservative recommendations.  Before choosing an ozone generator, it is important to understand ozone generator ratings and industry differences outlined in the following two paragraphs.

It is fairly common for some companies to advertise and recommend the size or output of an ozone generator with only square footage ratings for general air purification results in mind, rather than actual output levels needed for germ killing with Shock treatments.  There is some confusion of output ratings (usually square footage ratings) or how much ozone will be needed for a particular application.  Some of these sizing recommendations can be misleading.  (note that ppm, or "Parts Per Million" is not an ozone output measurement and should never be used to compare ozone generator outputs, only go by the Milligrams per Hour; "mghr").  Since sizing an ozone generator is dependant on several factors, we try to avoid giving unqualified square footage and ppm ratings.  Square footage ratings must also disclose whether they are for air purification, or for Shock treatments, as the mghr output recommendations will be vastly different.

One of the biggest competitive issues when purchasing an ozone generator is the ozone output rating in Milligrams Per Hour (mghr or mg/hr).  The most important thing to understand is that while mghr is the only fair way to compare the output of an ozone generator, the rating of 1 mghr of ozone output with one company does not always equal the 1 mghr rating with another company.  In fact, we often see discrepancies that are over-rated by a large margin; sometimes several hundred percent. 
The International Ozone Association (IOA) has an interest in this issue and expects to push ozone generator manufacturers to get a NIST (National Institute of Science and Technology) government accepted standard for mghr ratings.  The NIST standard was expected to be in place by now, but as the IOA is a Non-Profit organization, it has been difficult to get the required time allocated from appropriate directors to put towards this issue.
Allergy Purifiers LLC (o3ozone & www.o3ozone.com ) offers very conservative ratings designed for the professional fire, flood, MOLD, ODOR, and crime scene / death scene protein decomposition clean up industries.

For Recommendations on just air purification, see "How To Purify Air"  After reviewing the information on this page to find the basic variables that affect your application, you are welcome to email us your application information / variables for recommended output of an ozone generator at info@o3ozone.com.

There are a couple questions and a few variables to consider when choosing an ozone generator. 

The intended use should be determined.  The basic choice is:

1) Air Purification

2) Shock Treating along with air purification. 

We highly suggest including Shock Treatment use.  Shock treatment use is when ozone in put into a room at high levels, usually for a few hours, to even a few days, to kill germs, mold, smoke or any odor.  Shock treatment use requires significantly more ozone than air purification, but is the best way to get maximum effectiveness of an ozone generator.

6 variables to consider to determine the appropriate size ozone generator:

(1) Type of contamination:

• Odors only in the air, such as smoke, indoor air pollution, chemical fumes, exhaust, and other emissions can be eliminated with ozone usually in short time with mild shock treatments.  However, Mold, organic or protein decomposition, skunk, smoke damage from a building fire, heavy cigarette or cigar smoke build-up from tenants or heavy smokers, and other extreme odors require longer treatment times, and, or a higher concentration of ozone for several hours, to several days of treatment time.

(2) Level of contamination:

• If the contamination is severe, more time, and or more ozone will be needed for the treatment.  In the case of HEAVY MOLD, HEAVY FIRE DAMAGE (SMOKE), or Crime Scene Clean-UP (decomposed protein), an expert construction company or specialist familiar with proper clean-up / remediation procedures should be consulted.  You can get an idea of what will be necessary for complete remediation of these heavy contaminant issue types by viewing our MOLD page.  Similar procedures will be followed for Fire / Smoke, and crime scene clean-up and other decomposed protein treatments.

(3) Size of treatment area:

• The size of the treatment area is extremely important in choosing the right size ozone generator.

(4) Temperature:

• Ozone is depleted much more rapidly in high temperatures, than in low temperatures.  At COLD temperatures, such as freezing, ozone may not be depleted for over 30 Days.  It is important to use ozone in temperatures above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. See understanding ozone depletion.

(5) Humidity:

• corona discharge ozone generators will produce more ozone in dry air, than in humid air.  If you are choosing the new UV PRO 550, UV PRO 2800, or UV PRO 4000 ozone generator, or one of our industrial systems found on the Ultra Pure Products page, high humidity will not be a factor.  See the fully adjustable HVAC UV 560 Duct mounted ozone generator air purifier.
  

• Why are UV ozone generators a better choice than corona discharge ozone generators?
  
  (For all air or surface sterilization Shock treatment applications such as MOLD, Smoke, Fire odors, musty smells, flood odor, protein decomposition odor, germ and virus remediation, etc.)
  
  The Biggest difference between corona discharge and UV ozone generation methods is that UV ozone generators have stable ozone output levels throughout humidity ranges, while the output of corona discharge ozone generators is significantly reduced by just moderate humidity levels such as 40–70% (ozone output is reduced by approx. 40-70% with 40-70% humidity). In addition, with UV ozone generators, the cleaning requirement is almost eliminated compared to corona discharge ozone generators. Also, the ozone produced from a UV ozone generator is cleaner (no nitric acids) and smells better than ozone produced from corona discharge machines, and is just as powerful and often more powerful as ozone produced by corona discharge ozone generators.
  UV ozone generators include UV PRO 550, UV PRO 550AT, UV PRO 1100AT, UV PRO 2800, UV PRO 4000, and UV PRO 6800

  If you need an ozone generator with adjustable ozone output, two new models, the UV PRO 550AT or UV PRO 1100AT are ideal.  The "AT" stands for Adjustable with 48 hour Timer.  These models produce the cleanest and sweetest ozone ever possible - adjustable down to very low levels or high levels for shock treatments and are much more dependable than corona models on the market!  Please call 330-497-6900 for information or to purchase.

  
  

(6) Desired treatment time:

• more ozone will be required for shorter treatment times, less for longer treatment times.

Recommended equipment:

For commercial mold or decontamination shock treatments .5-2 g/hr ozone should be used for every 100 sq/ft, depending on how fast the job needs to be done and how bad the problem is. With .5 g/hr / 100 sq/ft treatment should last for 1-2 days +, with 2 g/hr / 100 sq/ft it should only take about  6-12 hours.  NOTE that for UV ozone generators, only half the rated ozone above is usually necessary as these formulas consider only corona discharge ozone generators used in average humidity (which greatly reduces output of a corona discharge ozone generator).  UV ozone generators ozone output is not reduced by humidity.

UV PRO 550, UV PRO 550AT, UV PRO 1100AT, UV PRO 2800, UV PRO 4000, and UV PRO 6800

CLICK HERE! for information about industrial output ozone water treatment systems for super high volume commercial and industrial uses.

CLICK HERE to SELECT AN AIR TREATMENT OZONE GENERATOR

For the do-it-yourself home owner, Shock treatments can be done one room at a time to allow the use of a much smaller unit. Just calculate the size of your largest room to come up with the size of unit that you will require. Also most home owners are not in as much of a rush to do the job, if this is so you can probably do the job with 1/4 of the above recommended ozone production.

The best choices are UV PRO 550, UV PRO 550AT, UV PRO 1100AT, UV PRO 2800, UV PRO 4000, and UV PRO 6800

Corona discharge models can also be used including PRO 700, PRO 3400 V1, PRO 3600 V1, PRO 3400 V3, PRO 3400 V5, PRO 3600 V5, PRO 5,000 V and the PRO 9000

Application Procedures:

Site preparation:

1. Mold usually occurs because of a leak or humidity problem. This leak or humidity problem must be fixed or solved or the problem will continue to persist. 2. All damaged or rotten items should be removed from the area as well as any carpet, wall board, or other building materials that are to be replaced.  3. Thoroughly clean all areas possible,  remove any visible mold, mildew, etc.

Ozone application:

Place the ozone generator in an area that will provide the best circulation and distribution of the ozone. Use auxiliary fans to help with circulation, this will also help to drive the ozone into the pores of materials. Turn the generator/s to full output and to the on position. Leave the premises and lock all entrances. Allow the ozone application to operate for the determined time. If the problem is especially bad increase the amount of ozone used or the length of the application accordingly. Upon returning to the premises, turn off the ozone generators by unplugging the extension cord or use timers available at your local hardware store for less than $20. Leave the premises and lock all entrances. Allow the building to sit for 4-8 hrs, this allows the remaining ozone to convert back to oxygen and reduce ozone exposure.

EXAMPLE for a 1,200 sq. ft. contaminated basement:

The UV PRO 2800, PRO 9,000, or UV PRO 4000 ozone generators have plenty of power for shock treating a 1,200 - 2000 sq. ft. basement with heavy contamination or odors. We recommend the treatment time to be no less than 4-8 hours even though results may be accomplished in 2 - 3 hours. More time is usually better, even 10 hours to 3 full days of treatment may be required.

If you have a few extra hours to shock treat, such as 10 - 18+hrs, the PRO 5000 will also do an effective job.
We have customers treating this sized area with 2,600mghr to 3,600mghr with excellent results, though we recommend the PRO 5000, UV PRO 2800, PRO 9,000, or UV PRO 4000  for ensured results or professional application or where time is a factor. (choice determined by size of area, contamination type, humidity)  It is recommended to choose one of the UV ozone generators.

CLICK HERE to SELECT AN OZONE GENERATOR from a list

Additional information for mold and mildew problems:

Mold, mildew, and fungus can be oxidized with ozone. o3ozone ozone generators reduce or eliminate the ability for the exposed mold, mildew and fungus to grow as well as oxidizing the existing mold. Mold and mildew grow in dark and humid places where there is a lack of fresh oxygen. In all cases the moisture and humidity in the walls, floor etc., must first be removed or solved permanently to effectively eliminate the problem mold and odor. Once moisture is removed, all visible mold and mildew should be removed, then a shock treatment procedure can be preformed lasting for 24-72 hrs. A small ozone generator can be used to help control continuous mildew problem odors if they persist.  More details on proper Mold Remediation can be found on our MOLD page.

 A mold test is recommended to know the effectiveness of the ozone application. If testing is not performed before and after the treatment, effectiveness may not be known. This test should be done on a regular schedule to ensure that the contamination does not return.

Understanding Ozone Depletion

It is a myth that ozone will only be active for a 30 minute period.  Ozone has a "half-life" of 30 minutes, which means, under normal conditions, that 50% of an amount of ozone is usually converted back into oxygen in 30 minutes, and again, 50% of the remaining amount of ozone is usually converted back into oxygen for each subsequent 30 minute period - and so the amount of ozone is being cut in half every 30 minutes.

Ozone is built up in concentration in much the same manner in which it is depleted, however, when performing shock treatments, the first couple 30 minute intervals or so will  actually build the ozone concentration slower than the subsequent 30 minute periods.  This is because the ozone reacts or depletes much more rapidly in the presence of contaminants, such as smoke, mold, bacteria, chemicals, and other impurities.  Larger concentrations of ozone can be achieved over several hours to days if needed for heavily contaminated areas.  An exception to this is when Industrial sized systems (described below) are used where exceptionally high levels of ozone can be built up in a very short period of time.

Temperature greatly affects how long ozone will last.  In freezing conditions, ozone can last over 30 days!

So if a competitor claims that ozone will be gone in 30 minutes, or that it is useless to shock treat for more than 30 minutes or an hour, it is now easy to understand this claim is either made from a simple lack of knowledge, or to gain more sales and help sell units with inadequate built-in timers.

Industrial Commercial Custom Ozone Systems Available:

We offer component rack systems for custom installation for stationary applications, and mobile applications for vans and trucks in the mold / smoke damage remediation business.  Some of the other uses for this type equipment include water or liquids purification, food rinsing applications, water bottling facilities, and wastewater treatment.  Many products relating to these applications can be found on our Ultra Pure Products page.

An ideal high volume mobile setup for mold and odor applications will run on an oxygen concentrator, usually sized to put out 8,000mghr - 120,000mghr This type of setup allows a smoke or mold redemption company to treat a 5,000 sq. ft. home in approx. 40 minutes very effectively.  A new alternative to this heavy equipment is to purchase several of the UV PRO 4000 model Ozone Generator as there are several advantages.

Ozone really works when the equipment meets or exceeds the application.  Remediation companies commonly make capital equipment investments by purchasing Ozone Generators.