A Cheap Ozone Generator Might Help You Get That Foul Smell Out Of Your Car

I posted this back in the Hertz Smoking post, I happen to own an Ozone Generator and it’s great, but my posts are still pretty relevant:

Aren’t they wildly unhealthy?

Ozone is not safe to breathe and an 03 generator should never be used in an occupied space.

When you use these machines, you need to seal off the room or car and make sure you have no people/pets/plants in the closed area. You run it for about 4-8 hours and you want the concentration to be high enough to be effective. Afterwards, you let the space ventilate for an hour or 2. Only after the room has cleared is it safe to return.

Basically, treat it like a bug bomb.

It’s perfectly safe to return once the O3 has dissipated and the air has returned to normal breathing levels.

What can Ozone cleaning do?

Ozone kills bugs, mold, bacteria, plants, pets, and people, if any breathe it long enough. It only really works in high enough concentrations and for a long enough period of time. It eliminates odors 1 of 2 ways:

1) O3 is an unstable molecule. It will attach itself to other molecules in the air and inside penetrable materials in order to change the composition or combine with with the air. This helps remove the odor-causing compounds when the air is recirculated.

2) O3 will kill off odor-causing organics, such as mold and bacteria.

What Can’t it do?

1) O3 is a gas, it can only go where air goes. It may or may not penetrate deep into plastics, cushions, or other solids.

2) O3 will not physically clean any surface of contaminants, such as ash, dirt, solids or liquids. You should physically scrub your car, seats, carpets, and plastics before you run an O3 generator to take up the final part of the cleaning, especially inside areas you can’t reach, like the AC ducts and inside the cavities of the dash.

You have to be careful with those things as I’ve heard O3 will start to eat plastics if left in long enough.

Ozone is an unstable molecule, so no doubt that it combines with other materials causing decay, erosion, or oxidation.

I’m sure if used long enough or often enough, it would certainly break down a lot of rubbers or plastics inside a car.

That said, I really have only used my O3 generator once or twice per vehicle/room, EVER. I wouldn’t call it a religious practice, like waxing my paint, it’s more of a one-time deal to clear out a stinky car.