Sanitizing our Journey with Ozone

[Suncircles]

A couple of years ago cockroaches found they way into our Journey while camping in Kentucky and Tennessee. Our dog also brought ticks into our motorhome. Since our stick home is cockroach, chigger, flea and tick free we did not want to transport them into the home (it is too dry here in the desert and, besides, the scorpions keep such crawling critters under control). Having worked with ozone in another life, I ordered a 3000 mg/hr ozone generator and treat the interior of my Journey every time we returned to our stick house. A secondary advantage of ozone sanitization is that it dramatically removes most odors from the MH, making the interior smell clean and fresh!!!
We just returned from a two month trip and, before removing anything from the MH we treated everything in it with ozone. This procedure I developed seems to be very effective and I want to outline it here.
First, it is very important to say that ozone is a hazardous material if not properly managed. Plants and pets must be removed from the MH before treatment and not returned until the MH is aired out. If breathed in higher concentrations it can damage human lung cilia and wall linings.
My procedure is as follows:
· I plug the ozone generator in and place it on the kitchen counter. I open all cabinets, draws and closets.
· I then turn on the A/C fan on high (or place a high capacity fan in the MH to circulate the air and ozone). Ozone must get into every nook and cranny to be effective.
· I turn on the generator on for 30 minutes (mine does not have a timer, so I turn it on and off thru the kitchen window).
· I stay out of the MH for 2-3 hrs after the unit is turned off to allow the ozone to decompose (half-life of ozone is about ½ hour).
· Then I enter the MH, open all windows and turn on exhaust fans.
· We then remove exposed clothing and other items that were directly exposed and then uncover “hidden” areas such as the bed and furniture.
· We run the sanitization cycle again. A second treatment further improves the air “freshness”.
When I treated my MH yesterday, I found a number dead spiders and moths and one bee that we picked up on our travels. I feel certain that bed bugs would also be killed by ozone. To kill hatching eggs a follow up treatment several days to a week later would be appropriate (we have not picked up bed bugs yet).
Should you choose to treat with ozone, show a lot of respect for this potentially toxic gas.
P.S. I purchased my “China made” unit on EBay and it works very well. 3000 mg/hr is more than enough to do the job.
Suncircles
2005 Journey 36G with 2006 CRV Toad

[tomsm]

Suncircles - Thanks for the excellent information. In the past, I had considered using ozone for sanitizing and freshening. When I started researching it, I got scared off by the fact that it's corrosive, can attack silicone and poly plastics, latex, etc., and also fades colors. I assume that, since you worked with ozone in your other life, you have taken all this into account in your treatment strength and timing.

Not trying to poke holes in your use of ozone - just don't want someone to get the idea that, if 30 minutes of treatment is good, 3 hours is better...

I haven't had any critter problems yet, but I really like the idea of freshening up the rig after a few months on the road...or sitting in storage. One thing I might add is a fan blowing into the furnace return duct. The furnace ducts are the only route to the lower compartments and it might help to force the ozone down there. I'm assuming that most bugs that get inside come in around the openings for the power, water, and sewer. Is it safe to run unsealed fan motors in the presence of ozone?

Thanks again for the info...

[Suncircles]

tomsm: My response to your concerns about ozone corrosion issues:

Ozone exposure time should be kept to a minimum in order that only the odor molecules are oxidized to non-odorous molecules. Longer exposures will start deteriorating organic compounds such as plastics and rubber. One does not want to expose any organic materials to long exposures because the ozone will penetrate the material and start oxidizing (decomposing) it from the inside. That is what one sees when, say, tires are exposed to ozone (with the help of UV) for 5 or more years, causing internal molecular break down resulting in cracking in tires. I am afraid that 3+ hour treatments will not only penetrate deeper into the plastic materials, but also begin to break down the dyes in fabrics, thus bleaching them out. One wants to just get to those odorous materials lying in a thin layer on the surface of the plastic, cloth, cabinet finish, and other interior surfaces of the coach. I have done several timed exposures and 30 minutes seems to be sufficient. One could try 15 minutes to start to see if that is sufficient.

Short treatments several times a year will have almost no effect on the materials in the coach.

Running the A/C or heater fan will circulate air through the coach (and compartments) and pick up the ozone being generated and carry it everywhere. Remember that the ozone is decomposing on it own. (The concentration of ozone in a glass jar of air will drop in half in about 1/2 hour and is almost completely decomposed back to oxygen in 3 hours.) I wouldn't worry about unsealed fan motors.

I have found that a couple of 30 minute treatments (from a 3000 mg/hr unit) a day apart is sufficient to freshen up the coach. In humid climates it may take a third treatment, but that is only a guess.

My health concerns for ozone exposure are much more real. Working around ozone generators should be done with much caution. One should never walk into an area where there is an ozone generator operating. I mentioned in the earlier post that lungs can be damaged. Eye exposure to ozone could also result in etching of the cornea. When I once was exposed to ozone my eyes begin to sting and the stinging lasted for almost 30 minutes after exposure.

I hope this has been of help without getting too technical.


Suncircles
2005 Journey 36G with 2006 CRV Toad