Ozone Box for Mask Sanitizing

Our world has changed. There have been stories of people getting sick from their mask. Washing it is important but sanitizing is too. Ozone is has been a sanitizer used for years for cleaning up after flood damage, fire and more. In recent years, it has been used by hunters to get rid of the human scent to assist with hunting. I am going to give you my understanding of ozone and some links. I recommend doing your own research on ozone and whether this is something you want to do based on your research. Pure ozone is an irritant and not a toxin. However, it is not recommended to breath it directly. Keep in mind it that it is does have a different smell to it. So air your mask out after using this.

There are lots of ozone generators out there. I used the Ozone Go by Scent Crusher. It is a small, low power ozone generator that is intended to work in your vehicle. The cycle time on it is 30 minutes. I let it run it for 5 minutes based on how much smaller of area I am using it in.

Ozone is a naturally occurring gas made up of three Oxygen atoms (O3). It "cleans" whatever it touches. It eliminates odor and kills bacteria. You know that fresh smell in the air after a rain storm....??? That is ozone.

Ozone is known for breaking down plastic and rubber quickly. So if your mask has elastic, I would not put it in here. Or at a minimum, leave the elastic part outside the box.

More info here but there is a lot of information out there too...

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/thunder...

Some thing the EPA says about Ozone.
https://www.epa.gov/ozone-pollution-and-your-patie...

I will leave it at that. Ozone has cleaned nature as well has houses, clothing and more for years. Large industrial ozone generators are used after a catastrophe to kill smells and bacteria. Here is how I built my mask cleaning ozone box.

Supplies

One pre-made box from Hobby Lobby (or you can build a box), Hooks, Screws (or Nails), Paint (if you want to make it pretty), Light Duty Ozone Generator (I used Scent Crusher Ozone Go), Pipe clamp, and 120 Volt to 12 Volt convertor, hose clamp

Step 1: Drill and Placement

Decide where you want your ozone generator mounted. I put this one closer to the top of the box but in the middle, front-to-back. Sand the burs off and make the hole smooth. Fit the 12 Volt To 120 Volt adapter. Attach a hose clamp to hold it in place.

Put the Ozone generator in the 12 volt adapter. I didn't want the ozone blowing directly on the masks. I placed a board to "deflect" the ozone around it. The board has 1/2" gap at the top and bottom. However there is more room at top as there is space in the lid. I used a single screw on the front and back to hold the board in place.

Step 2: Hooks

Space the hooks about 2.5" apart. This gives room so the masks can hang and not touch each other.

Step 3: All Done

Hang your masks in place, plug it in, and let it go.

Keep in mind, you can use this for other things that may need sanitized or to get rid of bad odors. Gloves, hats, scarfs, etc.

Once again, do your research on ozone. Ozone is known for breaking down plastic and rubber quickly. So if your mask has elastic, I would not put it in here. Or at a minimum, leave the elastic part outside the box.