Removing Odors

9/1/2020 (Permalink)

We use Ozone generators after many fire damages to neutralize odors in homes, businesses and in our warehouse on personal property. It is an extremely effective process and works on most odors and materials, even on nicotine. Our SERVPRO technicians are trained to determine which deodorization method is best for each project. One of the many benefits to Ozone is that because it causes a chemical reaction, the odor will not return as long as everything has been thoroughly cleaned.

Ozone is one of the chemicals that SERVPRO of Carroll County uses to neutralize odors. It is made of three oxygen atoms, which is not a very stable configuration. This makes it reactive, because it wants to convert into oxygen molecules, which are made out of two Oxygen atoms and are much more stable. Ozone works to neutralize odor molecules by reacting with them to create oxygen atoms and other less foul-smelling molecules.

One of the drawbacks is that care must be taken not to expose elastic and certain rubbers to ozone because it can react with them and break them down, so no vehicles. The Ozone generator creates Ozone by removing Oxygen from the environment, which makes it impossible to breathe while it is running. We only use Ozone when structures are unoccupied to avoid problems with this. Once the generator is turned off, the environment will refill with Oxygen as the Ozone reacts with odor molecules making the space safe to inhabit again. Our technicians weigh the pros and cons of each deodorization method to determine which method or combination of methods is most appropriate for each project.