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I have an older home, complete with a damp basement and some musty smells around the house. We're in the process of renovating but that will probably take a while for us to get around to ripping out carpet, and finding all of the surprises.

After some quick research, I picked up this ozone generator for around $120. It's rated at 7,000 mg/h, which is higher than a bunch of other generators I found. It also had raving reviews so I figured for the price it was a good buy.

My question is, how long would you have to let this run in the average room (250 sqft.) in order to remove airborn pollutants/smells?

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    Do ozone generators even do anything? The EPA is skeptical about their usefulness and safety, to put it mildly: epa.gov/iaq/pubs/ozonegen.html
    – Hank
    Commented May 13, 2015 at 23:35
  • Yeah, if you just want to "remove airborn pollutants/smells", an ozone generater would surely not be any better than opening all the windows? (and maybe spraying some febreeze).
    – MGOwen
    Commented May 14, 2015 at 0:42
  • Hmmm, there are a lot of positive reviews on this thing. I wonder what O3 is doing then to make them think that its working.
    – Tyler
    Commented May 14, 2015 at 4:12
  • 03 might be doing nothing, but if people think it is doing something the mind does some great and power tricks to make people think it was it. It's a good theory but the volume it is being used at I can't image it working. The 7,000 mg/h is about 3 liters an hour, which might work in a small closet but once you move up to room size with a high air exchange... those 3 liters will not do much.
    – diceless
    Commented May 15, 2015 at 16:49
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    Also Ozone is an equal opportunity oxidizer, if the concentration is high enough to 'shock' your rooms it will also 'shock' your lungs.
    – diceless
    Commented May 15, 2015 at 16:59

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Hotels and other public facilities are heavy users of ozone machines, but no need to buy a high priced box with a fan, and definitely don't get the UV type. Make sure you get ceramic plates even if you don't get this specific machine.

I have the exact same unit and used it on an old house we bought. I ran it in one hour increments several times a week when the house was EMPTY of people and pets (it can irritate your throat and eyes). The free oxygen atoms available when the O3 molecules break up attach to nasty bits and "oxidize" the stuff that stinks.

It worked for me and I just broke one of the plates being careless so I'm ordering some backups in case this guy disappears. It's barebones and can be fragile, so be careful. I use the Woods Import - Digital Countdown Timer (http://amzn.com/B001DD7YSE) to control it.

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Ozone is highly toxic and dangerous. It's pretty much comparable to trying to clean your home with a flamethrower. Either the flame is candle-sized, then it doesn't do anything. Or it's big enough to kill the fungus in the walls, your dog, your wife and ultimately the walls themselves if you let it run for too long.

Laser printers have problem with ozone emissions, and it's tightly regulated to keep ozone down to a minimum. Ozone is good only in stratosphere, where it can't harm living organisms like humans.

Your real problem is the damp basement. Fix the root problem and other will disappear on their own. Ripping the carpets won't do anything in the long run. Renovating a house without waterproofing the basement is like perfuming a corpse - it'll seem nice for a moment, but the stench will return sooner or later.

Fix the water problem or get rid of the house. It's unsafe to live in mold-infested building.

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    since this post i've ripped out the carpet and that took care of the smell in the one room, the basement is unfinished so mold wasnt a problem, just dampness which also is being remedied
    – Tyler
    Commented Dec 10, 2015 at 15:51
  • @Styler That's good to hear!
    – Agent_L
    Commented Dec 10, 2015 at 16:10

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