In a care home the rooms cannot be fully emptied and the residents are a more vulnerable group — and that shapes everything about how the work is organised.
Two conditions set a care home apart from every other type of site.
The home never stops. There are no weekends, no night break and no term holidays when the rooms are empty. So we work zone by zone: treating one part while residents are in another.
Residents are a more vulnerable group. Older people more often have chronic respiratory conditions, and many cannot move quickly. That means we are more conservative than on other sites, both in choosing a method and in setting the return time.
There is no window here when the building is empty — so the work is split by zone and planned together with the staff.
| Zone | Note |
|---|---|
| Residents' rooms | Treated one at a time, while the resident is elsewhere |
| Mattresses and textiles | The commonest source of smells |
| Sanitary rooms | Priority zone |
| Dining room | A food zone — rinsed afterwards |
| Communal areas | Handles, handrails, chairs |
| Ventilation | Affects how smells spread through the building |
A resident's room is the zone where the timing is hardest of all. Someone lives in it; their belongings, their bed and often the textiles that are the main source of the smell are all there. In practice we do it while the resident is in the communal areas or out for a walk, and beforehand we agree with the staff which personal belongings are moved out or covered.
In care homes odour removal is a frequent need, and it directly affects how visitors and families perceive the setting.
Importantly, the smell here is almost always tied to a specific source — textiles, mattresses, sanitary rooms or the ventilation. Air fresheners do not mask it adequately, and they are not a good idea in rooms where people have respiratory problems. The answer is treating the source and, where needed, ozone treatment in an empty room.
In practice the cause can usually be narrowed down without equipment.
Work in a care home is always planned together with the staff, because they know when each zone is free and how residents can be moved without unnecessary upset. In practice that means several shorter visits rather than one long one.
We walk the zones with the staff and establish where the sources of smell are.
We settle which zones on which visit and in what order.
Staff move out personal belongings and food; we cover what stays.
We treat one part while residents are in another.
Where the smell is in the filling, we use a method that acts on the material.
We air the space and state in writing from when the zone can be used.
We prepare a document for the home's records.
On this type of site we always give the return time precisely and in writing. It is the same requirement as in education settings, and for the same reason: the rooms are used by people who cannot choose for themselves when to walk back in.
What most often goes wrong in care homes: the rooms are treated but the laundry and waste room, from which the smell reaches the whole floor, is not; the mattress stays as it was even though it is the source; or the work is planned without the staff, and on the day the zone turns out not to be free. All three are avoidable if the inspection is done with the staff rather than with management alone.
For every job we prepare a record with the date, the scope and the zones treated. In an ongoing arrangement we keep one continuous log of the work carried out — practically important, because in a care home the question of when a given zone was last treated comes up both in internal checks and in conversations with families.
For regular treatment we draw up a schedule that takes account of how the home runs: which zones on which visit, how long each needs, and what the home's staff prepare in advance.
Seasonally the load in care homes is heavier during the heating season, when windows are shut and air exchange is lower. That is exactly when the odour question becomes more noticeable, and exactly when a regular schedule should allow more frequent visits to the sanitary rooms and the laundry area.
We are not a substitute for daily cleaning or the home's internal regime. We do not carry out care work and we take no part in moving residents — the staff do that. We do not launder textiles or dry-clean them. We do not deep-clean the ventilation system throughout the building. We do not issue opinions on whether the home meets requirements. And we make no claims about effects on residents' health — we treat premises, surfaces and textiles, and we say when they can be used again.
Up to 100 m² — €1.20/m², 100–300 m² — €0.90/m², 300–1000 m² — €0.70/m². For regular treatment we prepare a schedule that takes account of how the home runs.
During treatment of a given room, yes — but we work zone by zone to keep the disruption minimal. We agree the schedule with the staff.
We choose the method and the airing time taking account of the fact that residents are a more vulnerable group. We always state the return time precisely.
Yes, but that means treating the sources, not just ozone treatment. After an inspection we can tell you where the sources are.
Describe the situation — we will tell you whether treatment is needed at all, and which one.
Fill in the form — we will call you on the number you provide, ask a few clarifying questions and propose a solution.
Thank you! We will contact you on the phone number you provided shortly.
