Hey wanted to share a little machine that I came across recently. We do not allow smoking in any of our properties, but we recently purchased a beach condo and did a renovation on it, the prior owner occupied the condo and apparently chain smoked in there, even the outdoor balcony reeked of smoke. it came furnished, we painted almost every surface, cleaned, sanitized, scrubbed grout and had ducts cleaned, and we would think we got it all and then we would open the door after it was closed up for a few days and the smell was back!!! grrrrr. we always have some test guests before we open up a property to paying guests, so we had a friend of my husband and his wife for 3 nights, and they said that the place was AMAZING, but they picked up a faint smoke smell whenever they entered the property from after being gone for a few hours. hmmm, we then changed curtain rods, and any other little thing that didn’t get changed, and we had dumped the furniture and bought new right after we purchased it so we were at a loss, my brother and sister in law came into town and stayed a couple days and they too could pick up a hint of smoke smell, i was talking with a fried that manages a local hotel and she told me to get an Ozone Machine, so I looked into it and picked one up for around $200. there is some things you have to know when using these thing, you have to take everything living out of the property, even plants, as the machine depletes the oxygen from the property. low and behold we have all but gotten rid of the pesky smoke smell, one more cycle and i think we will be good to go! i will ALWAYS have one of these machines in my possession going forward, for that pesky guest that ignores the no smoking rules. we charge $250 if the property smells like smoke, but with this thing I should be able to mitigate it, provided it isn’t a same day check in, as it is a few hours process.
Yes, these machines are great. I got one when I got an amazing deal on a car but the previous owner was a smoker. You would never know that someone smoked in my car, but as the poster said, they are very dangerous.
You need a timer and you need to wait after the machine shuts off to enter. Any pets even on another floor or unit could be killed.
Ready instructions carefully and proceed with caution but they really do work.
Next time you paint, use KILZ Mold & Mildew brand primer. It blocks stains, mold, mildew and smoke. Living in the South I’ve used it for years and the primere for every paint job.
We looked into getting an ozone machine a couple of years ago. However, we have hand-painted murals on several walls, and the machines we read about said they could damage them. That’s something to be aware of, in addition to the issues of pets and house plants.
you do have to use care, we use a timer and set it for the lowest time for the job, we would rather repeat the process than overdo it. We make sure that we set the fan on our unit to recirculate, additionally we have individual ducting in our units, separate heat and air units for each individual property. our unit came with a door card warning people to stay our as there is a Ozone unit in operation. we don’t have any pets in the unit, and it is a whole property rental so we do not live there, additionally we dont keep plants in the property, because sometimes people will be in the property for a week or 2 and we cant properly care for plants with guests staying.
KenH we did use the KILZ primer for odors and it helped, but it was I think imbedded in some of the wood that we did not paint, and even scrubbing it with every imaginable cleaner we just couldnt get it out. we purchased a fully furnished condo, but we basically had to take out EVERYTHING, including expensive blinds. i really think it was in the wood on doors and cabinets, which we primed and painted the ones that we could, but even the insides stunk, if we wouldnt have discovered this we would have likely had to pull out the entire kitchen, of which we had just painted, updated knobs and had granite installed, would have been an expensive redo for sure. Living in a hot muggy area, i have even taken this to my accessory office building “the She Shed” and it worked like a charm, I am in South Alabama, and things get stinky with the humid climate.
The smell can last forever—I think. A dear friend was a chain smoker & she smoked in her home. She quit smoking in 2006. Her home still smells of stale cigarette smoke. We took a trip and my SUV smelled of cigarettes for two weeks because she brought an older fabric suitcase. Funny thing—I don’t have an allergic reaction to stale tobacco but when she’s perfumed her house with floral Glade Airfreshner my eyes water and I sneeze.
Anyone who is wanting more information about smells / use of an ozone generator can see other discussions on the same topic using this link:
100% can vouch for the efficacy of ozone machines!
We bought an 1800 sf house from a family of chain smokers who also owned elderly incontinent cats. I could barely stand to be in it when we first viewed it because of the stench. After tearing out the carpet, we purchased three ozone machines and ran them for several multi-hour stints over the course of a couple weeks (while we were out of the house), and even before any scrubbing or painting they killed a huge chunk of the odor.
We eventually washed all the walls down with TSP, primed with Zinsser shellac, and painted, and the smell is totally gone.
Bonus: great for killing bugs if you’ve got a house in the woods. 
Absolutely. It will even get rid of smoke smell after a fire. It’s also non-toxic, food safe and eco-friendly. And made out of cute little bugs. I have painted and repaired extensively and shellac is the best. For everything. There’s even a spray can that’s handy. I’ve also used Kilz extensively but abandoned it after I discovered the power of shellac. It’s truly amazing. As far as Zinsser, I took a couple of classes from him in NY and he was a grumpy bastard, but I highly recommend the book, lol.
We use the ozone generator to “shock treat” after each guest as part of our cleaning/sanitization routine. This will kill any bacteria, viruses, etc. on any exposed surfaces, even the soft materials. It is the last thing we do for cleaning, and then only enter with masks & gloves to air out afterward. There is a slight lingering bleachy smell afterward that clears if you get fresh air circulating. We work with Forever Ozone, and they are incredibly helpful and knowledgeable to guide you to the right size for shock treatment or smoke removal. - Our place is about 400 sq ft and we run a 10000 mgh unit for 30 minutes, and then can re-enter after a 40 minute delay for the ozone to convert back to oxygen. We tried a unit from Amazon, and it did not work effectively and probably would not last long.
Hello, first post here, I came across this forum/thread, I’ve been trying to do some research on the ozone generator, I’m aware of the dangers to people, pets, plants(the 3 P’s). My issue is more complex since I had a rodent infestation in my guest room, I’m looking for ways to sanitize the room before I go ahead with cleaning, my question is, I assume your property was furnished, did you notice any damage to electronics(tv, speakers, etc) anything electrical appliances, electrical cables, and window shades?
Was this a condo/apt or a house, I wonder if any of the ozone might seep into neighboring apts?
How long did you have the generator on? I understand that the time is different for odors than for sanitizing as well as the size of the room and the ozone generator.
Any guidance is much appreciated
The amount of time the generator runs depends on several variables including humidity, size of room, strength/setting of generator and purpose.
Ozone generators can damage electronics. rubber, artwork, upholstery and more depending on how long it runs and its strength. See Ozone Generators that are Sold as Air Cleaners | US EPA
If you’re going the ozone route you’d want to consider removing everything from the room, making sure ducts are not open to other areas affecting people, pets and plants, and be sure to ventilate it well afterwards.
I think if I had had a rodent infestation I would physically sanitize everything by washing it down or cleaning it in other ways, like steam cleaning upholstered furniture. I’ve never used an ozone machine, but I wouldn’t depend on it to sanitize cupboards where mice or rats had been running around and peeing and pooping.
As an aside, my cat came meowing into my bedroom last night, which she never does. I ignored her, but when I got up this morning and walked out on the balcony, I saw what she had been trying to tell me. There was a small dead possum she had killed. Not that small actually- it was the size of the cat. I’m just really glad she didn’t bring it inside and stash it under my bed or in the presently empty guest room.
The ozone and uvc are my first stage of cleaning, once the room is treated, the idea is to wipe everything with disinfectant, combo of bleach solution, enzyme disinfectant and Lysol wipes. As per CDC you don’t want to vacuum the droppings, you need to make them wet first with a disinfectant and then pick them up with a paper towel, Always using mask and gloves.
I just want to make sure I kill any bacteria and viruses before I started cleaning the surfaces.
I feel bad for the opposum, they are not harmful and actually control the tick population, they are harmless and unlike popular myths and are actually beneficial.
Ah, I understand now why you’d want to use an air purifier first.
The possums where I live are not harmless. Because many homes are open air, or at least have the doors and windows open most of the time, possums can get into the house and wreak havoc. I had one that used to find its way into the house I used to rent at night and would demolish an entire papaya, or a bunch of bananas, leaving a mess all over, and it chewed up a bunch of my clothes.
A couple years ago a huge one found its way into my current house and died in a rarely used cupboard that had a curtain across it rather than a door. I kept smelling something dead but thought the smell was coming from outside. I finally discovered it when it was turning to soup. It’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever had to deal with.
One got into my neighbor’s storeroom when she was away one summer and was nesting in there. She had to take half her stored belongings to the dump as there were huge mounds of possum poop all over everything.
So they can be beneficial and exist without me disliking them as long as they don’t hang out around my house. If they take up residence in my yard, I’m quite happy for the cat to do them in.
Now there’s some little civet skunks that hang out here that don’t bother me at all. They are super cute and come up on the porch at night to steal the cat kibble and I love watching them. The cat won’t go near them- I’m sure she got sprayed at some point.
And I don’t kill the ubiquitous geckos or harmless spiders, both of whom eat their weight in other insects. I don’t spray poisons at all and only kill cockroaches and scorpions.
I recently started researching UVC and this might be a joint alternative to the ozone generator. I still will like to know if any one that has used an ozone generator has had any experience,good or bad or didn’t notice, with window blinds(I think they are made of vinyl), electric cords and other electronics.
Dealing with lingering odors can be so frustrating, but it sounds like you’ve found a great solution with the ozone machine. It’s awesome how you tried various methods and tweaks to get rid of the smell before stumbling upon this fix. And thanks for the heads-up about the precautions, like removing living things before using it.