Mold growth in homes and buildings causes serious health issues and extensive property damage when left unchecked. The key to controlling mold is killing off the entire organism before it has a chance to spread by releasing spores. Ozone is gaining popularity as a mold treatment method due to its ability to neutralize mold spores and prevent them from recolonizing.
What are mold spores?
Mold spores function like seeds, allowing mold colonies to reproduce and populate new areas. They are microscopic, airborne particles released from mature mold fungal structures. Spores get ejected into the air continuously while mold is alive and active. A single square inch of mold growth releases millions of spores per day. When spores land on a damp, organic surface, they germinate and start feeding off the material to grow new mold colonies. This recurring cycle is what causes a small mold problem to proliferate into a large-scale infestation throughout a building. Controlling airborne spores is key to preventing mold regrowth after eliminating an existing infestation.
Ozone’s effects on mold spores
Ozone is a gas made up of three oxygen atoms instead of the normal two we breathe. It is produced electrically from regular oxygen. The extra oxygen atom makes ozone highly unstable and reactive. When ozone encounters organic material like mold spores, the third oxygen splits off and damages the spore, preventing it from germinating. Ozone essentially disables airborne mold spores before they have a chance to settle and colonize new areas. It stops the mold growth cycle in its tracks. Used along with eliminating established mold, ozone helps provide more complete and long-lasting mold remediation.
Kills airborne spores
As an airborne gas, ozone directly contacts and neutralizes mold spores suspended in the air. It prevents viable spores circulating through the environment from taking hold when they land. Ozone essentially scrubs the air of contaminating spores as it circulates during treatment.
Penetrates spore clusters
Mold spores don’t just travel solo. They often get ejected in clusters of multiple spores stuck together in a particle. Liquid sporicides sit on surfaces and can’t always penetrate these spore masses effectively. Gaseous ozone diffuses through spore clusters to damage interior spores shielded from surface contact.
Treats surfaces and air simultaneously
Some mold-killing methods like spraying biocides only treat defined visible surfaces. Ozone treats all the surrounding air at the same time, getting airborne spores both near and far from visible mold growth. This dual surface and air action provides more complete remediation Damage Control in Orlando navigate to this website.
Oxidizes all mold types equally
The physical oxidation process of ozone works the same against all types of mold. Some chemical sporicides are more effective on certain mold species and less so on highly resistant ones like the toxic black mold Stachybotrys chartarum.
Short treatment time
Ozone exposure for just 20-30 minutes is often long enough to achieve high spore deactivation throughout an area. Other spore control methods take hours or repeated applications over multiple days. It makes ozone convenient as well as fast.
Easy whole-area application
Ozone generators treat an entire contained area from one central point. There’s no need to meticulously apply liquids to every individual surface where spores may be resting. Ozone distributes itself throughout spaces to find and destroy spores on all surfaces. Repeated use of some chemical anti-mold agents indirectly leads to adaptation with resistant strains developing over time. Unlike chemicals, ozone works by physically damaging spores. Mold spores have no defense against oxidation and can’t develop tolerance.
