What is ozone disinfection and how is it done?

Ozone disinfection is a technique that has gained popularity in recent years due to its speed and effectiveness. In just a few minutes, ozonizers are capable of disinfecting large rooms and eliminating particles that cause bad odors, and even traces of viruses. Furthermore, they are very easy to use, as you only need to calculate the time the device needs to be on based on the square footage of the area or room.

What is ozone?

Ozone (O₃) is a natural gaseous substance whose molecule is composed of three oxygen atoms. It is formed when oxygen molecules are excited enough to break down into atomic oxygen. The collision between the latter creates the ozone formula. The result of this process is called an allotropic form, which occurs when oxygen molecules undergo an electrical discharge, separating and then rearranging themselves.

It is a gas that, at room temperature and pressure, has an odor but no color, although in high concentrations it can turn slightly bluish. While it is not a toxic gas, exposure to large amounts of ozone can cause eye and throat irritation, which will pass after a few minutes of breathing fresh air.

Ozone is usually used to disinfect, clean, and deodorize the environment; or to treat and purify water. In this way, both pathogens and bad odors are eliminated. This gas is produced artificially through an ozone generator or an ozonizer. In fact, the WHO has classified ozone disinfection as one of the most effective against any type of microorganism.

How is ozone disinfection carried out?

Ozone disinfection works by oxidizing the molecules with which O₃ comes into contact, including virus molecules that remain in the environment. For this reason, it is a good resource to use in hospitals or similar places where many viral residues can accumulate. By cleaning with an ozone disinfection machine, the risk of infection will drop to practically 0%. For this reason, it is also a method widely used in other sectors such as the food industry, where it is used to disinfect, for example, water and meat. Of course, they also keep warehouses and cold storage rooms clean.

The function of an ozone generator, also known as an ozonizer, is to oxidize and completely destroy non-beneficial molecules in the environment. In fact, one of the advantages of disinfecting with ozone is that, unlike other disinfectants, it leaves no chemical residues. Because it is such an unstable gas, it decomposes rapidly into oxygen due to various factors such as light, heat, or electrostatic shock, etc.

This instability is also what gives it its great oxidizing power, as it causes it to attach to anything to recover. Thus, with sufficient concentration, ozone is capable of completely destroying (oxidizing) the molecules present in the air.

How to disinfect a house or vehicle with ozone

For ozone cleaning and disinfection to be effective, the room or place where the process will be carried out must be completely closed and sealed until it finishes and, of course, with no people inside.

Before starting to disinfect with ozone, calculations must be made to know the amount of O₃ that needs to be produced and for how long, although these indicators depend on the ozonizer used, so you will have to follow the instructions for each one. In general, ozone can last 20–60 minutes, depending on the environment to be disinfected, before turning back into oxygen.

Precautions for ozone disinfection

Ozone is a very effective disinfectant, but it is necessary to take a series of measures before starting an ozonizer:

• Keep the area to be disinfected closed and as sealed as possible during the process, so that it is as effective as possible.
• Stay out of the space being disinfected and do not leave any living beings inside due to possible side effects. In humans, it will cause temporary eye and throat irritation.
• Do not exceed the maximum ozone exposure values set by the WHO: 120 µg/m³ or 0.6 ppm for a maximum period of 8 hours, keeping the room or area completely closed.

Benefits of ozone space disinfection

While it is important to keep the indicated precautions in mind before performing ozone disinfection, it has many advantages that should not be overlooked.

• Destroys virus and bacteria molecules, leaving the area completely disinfected.
• Completely eliminates odors from the room.
• Ozonizers are easy to use and can be programmed according to the criteria each user needs.
• It leaves no traces of the molecules it traps, unlike other non-ozone cleaning and disinfection methods.
• It is a quite cost-effective form of disinfection.
• Acquiring an ozone disinfection machine is easy.

What is an ozonizer?

Ozonizers are devices whose function is to generate ozone artificially for the disinfection and cleaning of environments, odor elimination, as well as water treatment and purification. It is widely used in the food industry, in healthcare settings, and even for domestic use.

These machines require little maintenance and there are three types depending on their features: ozonizers for water, for air, and mixed.

The best ozonizers on the market

You can find many models of ozonizers with different features and power to perform ozone disinfection. At GrowBarato, we recommend the following for their quality, price, and incredible results:

• 18W-500mg/H Wall-Mounted Ozonizer. This ozonizer allows you to disinfect large rooms such as large dining rooms or industrial kitchens with bad odors, with minimal consumption (18W).
• Cornwall Electronics 200mg/H Wall-Mounted Ozone Generator. Perfect for any room in the house, from which it will eliminate all bad odors (including tobacco or cannabis odor), virus molecules, and bacteria present in the air.
• Water Master 400mg/H Air/Water Ozonizer. A mixed ozonizer that allows you to purify both the air in rooms of up to 300 m² and water tanks of 500 L without affecting the water’s pH.

These are some of the ozonizers available in the GB The Green Brand catalog; you can search for other models with different features on our website to achieve professional-quality ozone disinfection.