Help with ozone or ionizer machines please

[Spilchy]

Whats the difference between an ionizer and a mchine that produces ozone?



They seem to do the same thing. No?



I have an 8 year old Honda outside 24x7 that smells of mildew and must only when its damp outside. It`s in the AC vents and in the carpeting on the passanger side (my nose sniffed it out! :p)



I have found this machine for the car because it says it KILLS mold and mildew. Its an ozone machine.



http://cerebrex.com/Merchant2/mercha...roduct_Code=P2



I have found this machine as well for the car but, unlike the other, it doesn`t say it will kill bacteria, only absorb the bad smell. Its an ionizer.



http://www.surroundair.com/xj2000-ionizer.htm



What do you guys think about this? I can run it for a few days in my car so it gets in all the nooks and crannies to kill the germs for good.



Any help with ozone machines and/or ionizers - benefits, draw backs of each would be appreciated. :up

[autoweenie]

This is how I understand it.



Ionizer (like the one heavily advertized by sharper image) ionizes

the particles (pollutants) in the air and move them thru the collector of the unit which has been electrically charged to the opposite polarity. Since the pollutants and the collector are

oppositely charged, the pollutants end up attracted to the

collector.



The ozone generator works differently. It uses high voltage

electricity (akin to lightning) to generate ozone (O3 - that is,

a molecule with 3 oxygen atoms).

Ozone is "reactive" (the third oxygen atom split from the gang).

This free oxygen atom is quite "nasty". It is very reactive and

can be used to neutralize all kinds of baddies in the air (virus,

odor molecules, etc).



Please keep in mind that ozone is a health hazard (and an

"air pollutant" by itself since it is so reactive). So be careful

with it.



I have read that the ionizer is really not very effective.

[Monk_04SER]

what you could try is getting a can of lysol. what you do is cut the heat on full, and open the windows. take the lysol and spray it into the air vents right in front of the windshield. so it gets sucked through the system. you will want to use most if not all of the can.

[Eliot Ness]

Sounds like you have a moisture problem. Make sure the hose from your A/C isn`t clogged up and is draining properly. It`s pretty common for them to clog and cause the symptoms you describe. The moisture that can`t drain fills up in the A/C unit until it overflows onto the carpet.



After you correct the problem you can address the odor, the Lysol trick described by Monk sounds like it`s worth a shot; at least it`s a lot cheaper than the gadgets you`re looking at. Good luck!

[Dave N]

In stead of Lysol, you may want to try a can of auto air conditioner vent cleaner. The Autopia store used to sell the Wurth brand of this, but I just checked and I don`t see it any more. They do have an odor neutralizer, but I don`t think it`s the same thing. I bought a can of Wurth A/C Cleaner a year or so ago from there.



As for the ionizers, if the mold is growing on a surface I don`t think they are going to do much good. They supposedly kill spores in the air, but I just can`t see them doing much good against something growing in the a/c vents. I`m no expert though, just my $.02

[Accumulator]

Originally posted by Dave N

In stead of Lysol, you may want to try a can of auto air conditioner vent cleaner. The Autopia store used to sell the Wurth brand of this...

Yet, find the Wurth stuff. It smells a *LOT* nicer than (a whole can of :shocked ) Lysol!



I`d better leave the Ionizer/Ozone maker discussion to those who really know about it, but I do have a little experience with them. The ionizers do get some particulate stuff out of the air (and often stick it to surfaces around the ionizer) and can leave the "fresh rain" smell. I`d avoid the in-car ones lest you get dirt all over the dash near the unit. I use the much-maligned Sharper Image ones in my house and they *do* collect dirt.



I`ve used a commercial ozone machine to deodorize a car where an idiot stunk it up by frying the clutch. Worked pretty well.

[imported_edschwab1]

Originally posted by Dave N

In stead of Lysol, you may want to try a can of auto air conditioner vent cleaner. The Autopia store used to sell the Wurth brand of this, but I just checked and I don`t see it any more. They do have an odor neutralizer, but I don`t think it`s the same thing. I bought a can of Wurth A/C Cleaner a year or so ago from there.

The Autopia and CMA sell the Wurth AC cleaner.



I will have to try some of the advices from this thread as I also have a musty/mildew odor in my car.



Eric

[Sci-Fi]

Might also want to consider using AtmosKlear or a mini fogger machine in addition to an ozone generator. If you have a musty smell from the vents, I would a suspect a mold and mildew problem on your A/C evaporator. Spraying/using A/C cleaning agents are effective for the most part or even pouring in a baking soda mix into the ducting then rinsing after 15-30 minutes. If the mold/mildew growth is really bad, only removing the evaporator core and physically cleaning or replacing it will solve the musty smell problem. I`ve seen some dealerships, under advisement from the car manufactorer, clearcoat the replacement evaporator core and add a passenger cabin filter (if available for that model car) to prevent any future mold and mildew (pollen, leaves, etc. too) from getting into the air ducts. Also check your radio antenna lead. Moisture can enter there and collect on your carpet if the seal or putty isn`t on right or if there is no loop or slack in the antenna line so the moisture can drip to the ground from the lowest point of the loop instead of following the lead right into the passenger compartment.