No matter how effective this thing is in removing formaldehyde, we do not recommend it!

Can ozone be used to remove formaldehyde?

In our background, many friends asked related questions:

Some friends asked about the formaldehyde removal ability of ozone?

Some friends asked if it is inconvenient to open the windows, can ozone be used to remove formaldehyde?

Some friends also asked whether there are any harms in removing formaldehyde with ozone?

…

Today, we will use actual test results to explain these issues to you all at once!

First, we simulated the actual working scenario of the ozone machine at home and moved a popular online ozone meter into the self-built experimental cabin of "Dad's Laboratory".

Then we started our experiment using 12 bare MDF sheets as formaldehyde release sources.

Experimental conditions

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Time: 12 hours

Location: Inside the self-built experimental chamber of "Dad's Laboratory"

Experimental chamber conditions: area 12 ㎡, volume 30 m³ (about the size of a children's room), temperature 28 ℃, humidity 55% RH

Formaldehyde release source: 12 pieces of 400 mm × 600 mm density boards (about the size of a 1.5 m × 1.9 m double bed)

Initial formaldehyde concentration: 0.244 mg/m³

Other interference sources in the cabin: None

After turning on the ozone meter for 2 hours, we found that ozone does have a good formaldehyde removal effect: the formaldehyde concentration in the test chamber dropped by 69% within 2 hours. When the ozone meter is turned on, the formaldehyde concentration in the test chamber can drop to as low as 0.062 mg/m³.

However, after the ozone meter was turned off, the formaldehyde concentration in the experimental chamber gradually returned to the initial concentration. Therefore, if you want to use an ozone meter to remove formaldehyde in a closed room, you also need to keep the instrument turned on.

Ozone is so good at removing formaldehyde, how does it compare to ventilation?

We also tested the formaldehyde removal effect of ventilation for 2 hours under the same conditions. The results were as we expected:

The formaldehyde removal effect of ventilation is much better than that of ozone meter!

In the same period of time, ventilation reduced the formaldehyde concentration in the test chamber by 96% to a very low 0.009 mg/m³! This is 27% lower than the ozone generator!

Therefore, if you want to remove formaldehyde, instead of spending money to buy an ozone generator and wasting electricity to keep the device running, it is better to just open the windows for ventilation.

Some friends may also want to ask: There are always times in a year when it is inconvenient to open windows for ventilation. Can we use an ozone generator to remove formaldehyde in winter or on rainy days?

We still don’t recommend it for everyone.

Many people may not know that ozone is actually an indoor pollutant.

High concentrations of ozone can easily cause inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, resulting in symptoms such as coughing and headache, and irritation to the skin and eyes.

In order to achieve good formaldehyde removal effects, ozone needs to reach a very high concentration.

We contacted a third-party laboratory and commissioned them to conduct sampling tests in the experimental chamber when the ozone meter was working.

According to laboratory analysis, the ozone concentration in the test chamber reached 1.71 mg/m³ one hour after the ozone meter was turned on, which is 10 times higher than the standard limit (0.16 mg/m³)! It may be dangerous for people to stay in it!

Moreover, according to feedback from our technical guy, since ozone would diffuse outside the experimental chamber during the experiment, he felt slightly uncomfortable after smelling it.

Although the actual indoor ozone concentration of some friends may be lower than the value in our experimental chamber due to the opening time and the use area, it still poses potential harm to the human body. Therefore, when using an ozone meter in a confined space, people must not stay inside!

Ozone is harmful to the human body. So if people are not indoors, can ozone be used to remove formaldehyde?

We still don’t recommend it.

You can first take a look at the rubber gloves on the hand holes of our experimental cabin. They have obviously been torn after several experiments.

This is because ozone has strong oxidizing properties, and the rubber gloves are oxidized, resulting in this condition.

Therefore, if you use an ozone generator at home for a long time, it may cause discoloration of home textiles and aging of leather furniture and silicone rubber products.

There is a friend online who said that the use of an ozone generator caused all the rubber items in his home to age.

Therefore, we really do not recommend that you use ozone to remove formaldehyde, regardless of whether the windows are open or whether there is someone in the house.

A relatively economical and effective way to remove formaldehyde is to open windows for ventilation. If it is not convenient to open windows for ventilation to remove formaldehyde, we recommend that you:

Of course, the prerequisite for removing formaldehyde is to first know the formaldehyde concentration in your home: if it does not exceed the standard, there is no need to rush; if you know it exceeds the standard, you can deal with it as soon as possible to keep your family away from harm in time.

Well, this issue of science popularization is over. Do you have any questions about formaldehyde? You can tell us in the comment section and we will answer them for you~

Source: Dad Review