Ozone generators for dealing with book odors

I've found that using an ozone generator can really preserve the quality of
certain books. It works great for getting rid of a smoke
odor. It also can kill mildew. I usually put a plastic bag around
the generator with the book standing inside and next to it, leaving a lot of
room for the ozonated air to escape.

Although it seems many modern governments besides the U.S.
has stated that ozone generators have very healthy effects, the
FDA seems to concentrate on the bad effects of getting too much
of it. You don't want to over expose yourself to it, yet it has
a great effect on the air quality of closed areas if used sparingly.

--
ParaMind Brainstorming Software -- We make an easy to use,
totally-customizable brainstorming software with a small learning curve.
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"ParaMind Brainstorming Software" wrote...
I've found that using an ozone generator can really preserve the quality
of
certain books. It works great for getting rid of a smoke
odor. It also can kill mildew. I usually put a plastic bag around
the generator with the book standing inside and next to it, leaving a lot
of
room for the ozonated air to escape.


From "The Care of Fine Books," by Jane Greenfield (Lyons & Burford, 1988),
on the subject of controlling pollution where books are stored:

"Do not use electrostatic precipitators (electro-filters) to cut down on
dust as they produce damaging ozone, and help convert sulphur dioxide into
to damaging sulphuric acid."

And an instructive post, quoting a museum conservation expert, from
Stanford's Conservation OnLine forum,
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byfor...1993/0526.html :

"Ozone has a specific and complete action on unsaturated organic compounds,
that is to say it will break every double bond on a carbon chain with which
it comes into contact. This destroys the material....

The reader will hardly need to be reminded that paintings, textiles,
archival materials, furniture, biological specimens, leather, fur, feathers,
etc., are all made wholly or predominantly of organic material."


Although it seems many modern governments besides the U.S.
has stated that ozone generators have very healthy effects, the
FDA seems to concentrate on the bad effects of getting too much
of it. You don't want to over expose yourself to it, yet it has
a great effect on the air quality of closed areas if used sparingly.


For more about ozone & ozone generators, check out this EPA fact sheet:
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/ozonegen.html

Sample: "High concentrations of ozone in air, when people are not present,
are sometimes used to help decontaminate an unoccupied space from certain
chemical or biological contaminants or odors (e.g., fire restoration).
However, little is known about the chemical by-products left behind by these
processes..."

A similar page from the Canadian government:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/cps...s/ozone_qa.htm



--
Jon Meyers
(To reply, lose
your way)

pamnone (ParaMind Brainstorming Software) wrote in message ...
I've found that using an ozone generator can really preserve the quality of
certain books. It works great for getting rid of a smoke
odor. It also can kill mildew. I usually put a plastic bag around
the generator with the book standing inside and next to it, leaving a lot of
room for the ozonated air to escape.

Although it seems many modern governments besides the U.S.
has stated that ozone generators have very healthy effects, the
FDA seems to concentrate on the bad effects of getting too much
of it. You don't want to over expose yourself to it, yet it has
a great effect on the air quality of closed areas if used sparingly.

I purchased a bottle of Book Deodorizer for $12.50. Works fine and
requires no electricity. I want to hear more about the cost of an
ozone generator and its effectiveness, though. Anyone else use one?

Art Layton
Stamford CT

(Art Layton) wrote in
om:

I purchased a bottle of Book Deodorizer for $12.50. Works fine and
requires no electricity. I want to hear more about the cost of an
ozone generator and its effectiveness, though. Anyone else use one?


Art, I have a very special way of removing book odours. Just send them to
me and I promise you won't ever smell anything from them again.

--
Alfred Armstrong
Unusual books unmasked at http://www.oddbooks.com/
"Our nose does not only serve the purpose of respiration,
but the purpose of smelling also." - Frank Nimrod

Ah, thanks for the post, Jon. I still think this can salvage lesser value yet
still valuable books (those which don't have a heavy historical value right
now) which have offensive smoke odors .

I realized there were a lot of cons involved in this. The breaking down of
organic compounds is what de-odorizes the books and kills the mildew. I don't
see any other effect on the modern books that I've used this with.

Basically, if you like fresh air, like the insides of your place will have more
oxygen, ozone generators are great. There are a lot of positive and negative
things about them. In a book by two doctors, I think it was "The Chemistry of
Success," they praised them. Most alternative health types are fairly
positive.
However, you can get expensive high grade ozone generators which have
industrial use. Those are the kind you don't want to use in your home for more
than a few minutes at a time, preferably when you are not around.

The kind I use are the inexpensive (less than $50) types. Like any device
like that, they seem to have the planned obsolescence factor. Two were shipped
to me by mistake from an eBay auction, and I made a deal and bought
them both. Both broke, one after some heavy initial use which was replaced, and
another has recently broken after somewhat light use (still leaving me with
one). I am in the market now for a better made unit.




--
ParaMind Brainstorming Software -- We make an easy to use,
totally-customizable brainstorming software with a small learning curve.
http://www.paramind.net

Another note about the post, the amount of ozone that I use in the air is so
small that it barely works through the natural organic air quality(from
cooking, etc.). I doubt it has the ability to settle on my oil paintings and
start rotting them.
Once ozone hits organic molecules in the air, it converts some of it to oxygen,
which make it pleasant to be around.

Still, I am not an expert on artifact preservation so I appreciate the post.

When I use it to deodorize a book, I am not in the area and I put the book and
ozone generator in a non-sealed plastic bag and leave it on for an about hour.

I'm not saying that this is a good idea for anyone else's books as this is my
personal decision.

I was at a fine book show recently and I noticed an old book that seemed once
to have complete mildew damage and somehow it was
being presented in good shape with the obvious stains. Could the Book
Deodorizer do something like that?


--
ParaMind Brainstorming Software -- We make an easy to use,
totally-customizable brainstorming software with a small learning curve.
http://www.paramind.net

On 28 Apr 2004 10:08:56 GMT, (ParaMind Brainstorming
Software) wrote:

I've found that using an ozone generator can really preserve the quality of
certain books.

Acid !

Put ozone anywhere proteins (and that means leather bindings or animal
glue in a binding) and you;re going to get serious acidic damage.
_Really_ bad idea.

--
Smert' spamionam

On 28 Apr 2004 18:18:53 GMT, pamnone (ParaMind
Brainstorming Software) wrote:

The kind I use are the inexpensive (less than $50) types.

Are you talking about ozone or negative ion generators ?

--
Smert' spamionam

Alfred Armstrong wrote in message ...
(Art Layton) wrote in
om:

I purchased a bottle of Book Deodorizer for $12.50. Works fine and
requires no electricity. I want to hear more about the cost of an
ozone generator and its effectiveness, though. Anyone else use one?


Art, I have a very special way of removing book odours. Just send them to
me and I promise you won't ever smell anything from them again.

Thank you for your creative suggestion for dealing with odors
(odours). No one in the colonies has suggested that so I assume it
must be an long-cherished custom in the UK.

Art Layton
Colonial

on 29 Apr 2004 in rec.collecting.books, Art Layton chanted thus:

Alfred Armstrong wrote in message
...

Art, I have a very special way of removing book odours. Just send them
to me and I promise you won't ever smell anything from them again.

Thank you for your creative suggestion for dealing with odors
(odours). No one in the colonies has suggested that so I assume it
must be an long-cherished custom in the UK.

Art Layton
Colonial


It's funny you should bring up, sort of, the subject of the War of
Independence. I just acquired a book which attempts to teach American
history in verse. It includes the following stirring lines:

In seventeen sixty-five, is passed,
Lord Grenville's "Stamp Act" measure,
And England's Parliament holds fast
The right to tax at pleasure.
Virginia's Patrick Henry sounds
A signal note of warning;
The cry of Otis quick resounds,
The yoke of tyrants scorning.

Marvellous.
--
Alfred Armstrong
Unusual books unmasked at http://www.oddbooks.com/
"The eye has been described by scientists as a small-sized volcano"
- Webster Edgerly