Ozone treatment for premises

How it works

An ozone generator produces ozone from the oxygen in the room's air. An ordinary oxygen molecule has two atoms; ozone has three, and that third bond is unstable. That is precisely why ozone is a powerful oxidiser: it readily gives up an oxygen atom to any molecule it meets, and in doing so it breaks down odour molecules, the cell walls of micro-organisms and other organic compounds.

What matters about this is simple: ozone does not mask or cover a smell. The molecule that caused the smell is no longer the same molecule after the reaction. So after a properly carried out treatment there is neither the old smell nor a new fragrance laid over it.

What happens after the treatment

After treatment the ozone gradually breaks back down into ordinary oxygen. That has two practical consequences. First, no residue is left on surfaces — unlike chemical products, there is nothing to rinse off. Second, ozone has no lasting effect: it works during the treatment, and afterwards the space is just as open to new contamination as it was before.

Why a gas reaches what a cloth cannot

The main advantage of ozone treatment is not chemistry but physics. Ozone is a gas, and a gas fills the whole volume of a room evenly. In practice that means it gets everywhere the air gets.

The last point leads to a simple but important rule for preparation: furniture does not need to be moved out, it needs to be opened up. Wardrobe doors open, drawers pulled out, the sofa bed unfolded, the mattress lifted off the frame, curtains spread out. The more freely air reaches the material, the more even the result.

There is another side to this. Because ozone is a gas, it does not accumulate in a material and stay there working. Where a lasting effect on a surface is needed, the right method is cold fogging or surface treatment, not ozone.

When ozone treatment is effective

• Smells — smoke, tobacco, damp, animals, food, or after renovation work. This is where ozone is strongest.
• Musty mould odour once the fungus has been treated and the damp dealt with.
• Textiles and soft furniture — mattresses, sofas, curtains, clothes that cannot be washed hot.
• Hard-to-reach places — ventilation ducts, gaps, behind fitted furniture.
• Preparing a flat after previous occupants or before a sale.

A practical example where the method is exactly right: a two-room flat previously occupied by smokers, being prepared for letting. First the ceilings and walls are washed down and the ventilation grille cleaned, then the whole space is ozone-treated together with the sofa, mattress and curtains. Without ozone the textiles would go on smelling; without washing the surfaces, ozone treatment would give a result lasting a couple of weeks.

When it will not help

Honestly about the limits — this saves you money:

• If the source stays in the room. Ozone treatment does not remove grease deposits, soot or urine crystals. Those have to be removed physically first.
• If the damp has not been dealt with. The fungus will keep growing and the smell will come back.
• Deep inside porous materials. Ozone treats the surface and the layer just below it, but not the depth of a material that has soaked something up.
• As the only routine disinfection. For contact surfaces — door handles, tables, kitchen worktops — the right method is surface treatment, because ozone has no lasting effect.
• If the space cannot be cleared. Ozone treatment in an office during working hours is not possible at all.

Ozone treatment is always the last step, never the first.

Safety — what makes ozone dangerous

This question deserves a direct answer, not an evasive one. Ozone is a powerful oxidiser — which is exactly what makes the method effective. And the same property makes it dangerous to breathe: the lining of the airways is also made of organic molecules that ozone reacts with. At raised concentrations it irritates the airways, eyes and throat. That is why no living creature may be in the room during treatment.

The second safety aspect is materials. Ozone also oxidises rubber and some elastomers, so at a high concentration over a long period rubber seals, natural rubber parts and some flexible materials can age faster. We take that into account when planning the intensity and length of a treatment.

Ozone does not persist

The third point is the one people do not know: ozone disappears on its own after treatment. It is not persistent. As it breaks down it turns into ordinary oxygen and leaves no residue, no traces on surfaces and nothing accumulating in materials. After proper airing there is nothing in the room that was not there before.

The practical rules:

• No people or pets may be in the room during treatment.
• Houseplants must be taken out — ozone damages the leaves.
• An aquarium must be removed or sealed and the pump switched off, otherwise it pumps ozone into the water.
• Food and medicines must be taken out or sealed airtight.
• After treatment the room must stay closed for a set time and then be aired thoroughly with a through draught.
• We tell you on site when you can return — it depends on the volume of the room and the intensity of the treatment.

These are not exaggerations and not a formality. Ozone treatment done properly is safe; done improperly it is not. That is exactly why a domestic generator left running in a room with someone in it is a bad idea — not because the device is anything special, but because nobody is monitoring the concentration.

How to prepare the space

Preparation takes fifteen minutes and has a direct effect on the result.

• Open cupboards, drawers, fitted furniture doors and the internal doors within the flat.
• Unfold the sofa bed, lift the mattress, spread out any textiles you want treated.
• Take books out of a tightly packed row if those are what smell.
• Close the windows — the room has to be sealed during treatment.
• Take out plants, animals, food and medicines.
• Plan where you will spend the treatment and airing time.

Very old, fragile papers, photographs and natural rubber items are the one category worth mentioning to us in advance — we can then plan a gentler treatment or recommend taking those items out.

Prices

Ozone treatment €1.20/m², minimum order €60. Travel costs within Riga are included in the price. Outside Riga we apply a surcharge depending on the distance.