OZONE FOR MOLD CONTROL – A REVIEW

摘要

For many years ozone has been marketed as a mold control method – inrnbeer and wine cellars, in some food processing plants, in homes that arernbuilt in high humidity geographic areas, and in homes and buildingsrnthat have been damaged by flooding. In recent years, new firms arernoffering a cleaning service that involves "ozone shocking" of so-calledrn"sick" rooms or buildings, many times for controlling molds. Therntypes of mold species encountered in these varied applicationsrnsometimes are specific to the materials and environments encountered,rne.g., Penicillium in cheese processing plants vs Stachybotrys in homesrnand offices.rnStudies on ozone's effects on molds have appeared in journals andrntrade magazines dealing with the particular applications for ozone.rnHowever no overall review of the subject has been published (to thernknowledge of this author) from the point of view of the ozone devotee.rnThis paper is an initial attempt to make such an overall review of thernsubject, from the standpoint of the ozone enthusiast rather than fromrnthe standpoint of each application. Included will be a discussion ofrnambient conditions, particularly relative humidity, on the ability ofrnozone to cope with molds. Also, the potential for ozone to causerncollateral damages when targeting molds in food/ag plants and in flooddamagedrnand "sick" homes/building will be discussed.rnTwo recent case examples of ozone treatment of mold-contaminatedrnhomes will be presented.