Ozone expert Guy Gruett takes a deep dive into what ozone is and how it works. There is a real barrier of understanding of what ozone is “Most people are not bothered by it at all, as long as they know it’s going to do that (disinfect water)”, according to Guy.

Setting expectations

Many ozone owners notice that their faucets or generators cause a difference in the water’s appearance. If you look closely there are lots of microscopic bubbles that almost look like a cloud in the glass. When you wait a few moments the gas come off and the water is clear again. Guy explains, “that happens with any type of aeration, but can be more noticeable with ozone.”

Health benefits

There are some health benefits but they have not been proven is any scientific study, as Guy points out “While the FDA approves the use of ozone as a water disinfectant, it has not yet approved it for any sort of medical or therapeutic purpose”. This also takes a lot of time and money to prove where these resources are often directed at finding drug related cures unfortunately like cancer drugs rather than possible preventative measures that could fit within your everyday life.

Chemical free with ozone

The main benefit of ozone is that it is an ideal substitute for chlorine potassium permanganate that is used to disinfect water by the municipality.

There are also inherent risks “potassium permanganate or blue water could start coming out of a homeowner’s faucet and a young child would think it was Kool-Aid” if there was a mechanical malfunction Gary remarked.

Chlorine is toxic after all and leaves behind byproduct called trihalomethanes (THMs), which are known carcinogens.

“Because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency imposes strict regulations on THM levels in domestic water, ozone is becoming the disinfectant of choice for many municipal water treatment plants as well.”

Ozone Benefits

Ozone doesn’t have any harmful by products and reverts back to oxygen automatically.

“Ozone’s short half-life, which is believed to be less than 30 minutes, makes it even less of a risk to homeowners. Then it fades away after that point, or expends its energy and becomes regular oxygen” explained the expert.

Ozone also makes life simpler because there isn’t a need to buy chemicals to replenish them. Ozone is produced in your own home with a generator and runs on electricity and oxygen, the only two ingredients to disinfect water.

How does ozone work

To understand how ozone works you need a basic chemistry lesson.

Gary outlines “In its normal state, oxygen exists as two atoms bound together (O2). Ozone is unstable. That extra oxygen atom wants to hook up with other material, like unwanted microorganisms in water filtration systems. For the purpose of disinfecting water, ozone comes in contact with contaminants and pathogens that can damage equipment and get in the water supply. The extra oxygen atom oxidizes the contaminant and the O3 becomes O2—just plain old oxygen.”

There are two ways to make ozone. Through a corona discharge which is similar to how ozone is made when lightening occurs or ultraviolet light, which uses the sun ’s rays to creates the ozone that also protects the earth’s atmosphere.

What is ozone

“Most people have heard of ozone thanks to media coverage about pollution and the ozone layer. But for many, that is where their knowledge ends.” according to Gary. Ozone is formed when oxygen is activated and three molecules bond together temporarily and have powerful cleaning abilities.

Ozone is safe

Ozone is increasing in popularity in U.S. residential water treatment as an alternative to chlorine and potassium permanganate disinfection. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ozone for bottled water production in the 1980s, and it is now approved for food processing. The time has come for ozone to become a standard in residential water treatment as well.

As more manufacturers develop residential ozone technologies, new options will be available to customers.