RE: Ozone treatment for mould

[Guest guest]

Gil,

There are some very good studies showing that ozone oxidizes

d'limonenes (often a fragrance added to a some product) into other

substances much more an irritant than ozone, such as formaldehyde. I

know there are other people who monitor this list that have the details

and can describe this more precisely. Any of you reading this?

I have found from experience that freshly dry cleaned clothing generates

a very strong odor that lasts for several weeks. Oxidizing thin plastic,

like what contractors use to protect carpet, can produce an extreme

eye and throat irritant to even the non-believers. Exposing fresh

polyurethane to ozone is not recommended. So it's not just the damage

that ozone can do to objects, it is also the byproducts from the

oxidation of those objects that can do damage to us.

Large, complex molecules " breakdown " in a sequence of stages. If

ozonation is stopped before the source is depleted, all intermediate

stages remain in the air. Hope this helps.

Carl

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> Hi Carl,

>

[snip]

> One thing I am curious about however. You mentioned that ozone can make a

> hazard worse. Could you expound on that a little? I do know that ozone can

> destroy fabrics, and perhaps upholstery stuffing and carpet padding.

> Perhaps some of these breakdown products- isocyanates? - can become

> allergens themselves.

[Guest guest]

Can you tell me how you go about removing " 100% " of the mould from ANY

space? During the warmer months there are mold spores EVERYWHERE.

If you burn a home to the ground, then build a brand new one, YOU WILL

STILL HAVE MOLD!! It's in the air, it's on your clothes, in your hair

-- everywhere. If it weren't, you would never see moldy bread or

cheese!

When we treat a home with ozone shock treatment, it will reach an

uncountable level at the end of the treatment, but when the air is

purged it has to be replaced with something -- nature won't let us

create a vacuum in a home. That something is outside air, and guess

what? THERE'S MOLD SPORES IN THE AIR OUTSIDE!!!

By your standards, you will have to put on a Level 3 environmental suit,

because there's not many places on the face of the Earth where you can

go and not find mold spores. Perhaps Mt. Everest, or in the oceans.

No one has ever stated that your should treat a home, but leave behind

whatever problem caused the mold behind. That would be as rediculous as

suggesting someone paint their ceiling with Kilz, but not repair the

roof leak, or inflate their tire, but not remove the nail that made it

flat.

If I inadvertently used the word " kill " on mycotoxins, it was probably

in a compound sentence, so you will have to excuse the minor grammatical

error, but it's easier than writing entirely in simple sentences or

creating an extra-long sentence where you can't find the end.

Jeff R.

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Message: 4

Date: Sun, 26 May 2002 17:58:47 -0700 (PDT)

From: Jim <jvincent537@...>

Subject: Ozone treatment for mould

Anyone considering using ozone as a treatment for

mould in their home should really consult an

expert...and I don't think that includes anyone

selling the services. An expert will know that ozone

can kill mould and other organisms, but that it is

unlikely to be 100% effective in a home, even using

massive " shock " treatment. An expert will know the

difference between " sanitize " , " disinfect " and

" sterilze " . People looking to get rid of mould want

100% kill (ie. sterilize), they might accept reduce

the amount to a safe level (i.e disinfect) but they

are unlikely to accept kill most of it while knowingly

leaving some (ie. sanitize).

Any suggestion that ozone kills mycotoxins is moot;

first because mycotoxins are not " alive " they are

biochemicals (they may be inactivated or maybe not),

and second, if the process " sanitizes " the mould then

it is leaving a percentage of the organisms that will

produce more mycotoxins within a few days after the

" shock " treatment.

A patch of mould the size of a saucer could easily

contain 10 billion mould spores with mycotoxins, and

if this is sanitized to 99.9% that would still leave

10 million mould spores with mycotoxins. Does anyone

seriously believe 10 million, or 1 million or even 10

thousand mould spores with mycotoxins in a house is

" safe " ?

As I have said before, you must find and correct the

source of the problem (water intrusion) if you want a

solution to mould related adverse health reactions.

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