Fog machines. The new antiviral "thing".

[Bryson]

The name of the company (Zoono) is a bit unfortunate, given that SARS-CoV-2 is most likely a Zoonotic virus.

[Ynot]

The name of the company (Zoono) is a bit unfortunate, given that SARS-CoV-2 is most likely a Zoonotic virus.

Maybe intentional???

 

 

 

 

[andrewg112]

I used to work in a fairly large holiday resort. We used to 'fog' accommodation when someone had been unwell during their stay, usually with symptoms of Norovirus or similar. As mentioned before, they are fairly well used on cruise ships and have been for quite some time.

 

I never knew too much about them, other than we stuck a cap over the smoke detector and they filled the room. We let it settle for 24 hours and came back to find a fine layer over every surface, which could then be cleaned off and surfaces buffed and polished back to normal. It was a lot of work for just a few rooms, and had quite a distinctive clinical smell.

 

I have no idea how effective this would be in such a large indoor area, I guess it would take some doing to guarantee every surface was covered, and I can't imagine very cheap either....

[Jivemaster]

Ozone generating machines exist for use in the hotel industry for removing the smell of smoke, Ozone is well known to kill bio from surfaces and volumes, but sadly no-one has done tests that would satisfy trading standards that it kills all bio (inc corona viruses) to such an extent as to offer guarantee 100% virus removal without destroying soft furnishings etc.

[Ynot]

Slightly off topic, but I recall some years ago we popped up to Blackpool for a couple of nights stay (daughter #1 was at uni there) and had booked a non-smoking room. What we found when we opened the door was most definitely NOT that - it absolutely reeked of stale fags and with us both being non-smokers that was just unacceptable. Back down to reception to complain and insist on a new room but none available. BUT they said they have this facility where they send a guy in with a fogger that 'neutralised the smoke and smell' so if we waited a short while they'd get him to do that...

 

Unconvinced, we gave them the benefit, and after a lengthier wait than was palatable, up comes this chap with what did look like a theatre battery op'd fog machine (tho didn't recognise it as one I'd seen/used) and proceeded to waft it round the room (which was internal, with no windows...) for about 5 minutes. He left saying give it ten minutes then all will be fine - which of course it wasn't. :(

 

So back down to reception with a few stern words to the senior guy on there and finished with 'thanks but no thanks' and started a drive down the front looking for options, ringing them from the car. 3 attempts later we found one, £25 cheaper than the original and a better location to boot.

 

 

 

[bigclive]

The hotels use ozone machines to de-stink rooms that have been smoked in. With the current pandemic there are lots of units on eBay, many of which do put out significant levels of ozone, but are made to terrible safety standards and will often emit hideous RF noise due to simplistic high voltage circuitry that has a strong nod towards retro violet ray power supplies.

 

I just got a complete Fog-It valeting kit so I could determine if they were sending out the cheapest disco fogger they could find after slapping a sticker on it. It is indeed the cheapest fogger with a sticker on it. The internal thermostat is the stock 240C one with a 130C thermal fuse on the block case.

This unit is kinda double insulated if you overlook the screws on the base which on mine are literally a whisker away from being live due to the vicinity of the heater connections to the block housing. It also has the classic mains referenced 3-pin XLR and the absolute smallest solenoid pump I've even seen in a smoke machine, with a matching tiny capillary fluid tube that will probably not last that long before it blocks. Particularly with the aromas and colours in the valeting fog liquids.

[Stuart91]

the absolute smallest solenoid pump I've even seen in a smoke machine, with a matching tiny capillary fluid tube that will probably not last that long before it blocks.

 

To be fair, though - if you can charge ~£200 a time for waving a machine around a venue, you can treat them as consumables...

[themadhippy]

you can treat them as consumables

your missing a marketing trick,"The machine used to clean your premise will not be used elseware to avoid cross contamination"

[Jivemaster]

I'm guessing that the PPE to protect the operator from the rather excessive exposure to the sanitising fluid fog, which might not be approved as a nebulised drug, costs more than the machine and the fluid.

[bigclive]

I'm guessing that the PPE to protect the operator from the rather excessive exposure to the sanitising fluid fog, which might not be approved as a nebulised drug, costs more than the machine and the fluid.

 

 

The trick there is to make a special anti-viral auto-plug for the cheap machine. Basically a plastic 3-pin XLR with a link in it to make the machine run continuously so it can be put at the end of an extension lead and left to empty its tank into a room while nobody is in it.

[richardash1981]

It does seems that some fairly serious research is going into whether ozone can be used to manage risk in "real time":

https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2020/08/ozone-gas-found-to-neutralise-coronavirus-in-hospitals/

 

[Brian]

...whether ozone can be used to manage risk in "real time":

 

I'd hardly call 10 hours 'real time'...

 

To demonstrate its effectiveness, an ozone generator was used in a sealed chamber that was doused with a sample of coronavirus. The results suggested that the virus’s potency declined by more than 90 per cent after being subjected to the ozone for 10 hours.

 

Scaling that up to something that would deal with your typical 10,000 seater arena is going to be an interesting challenge.

[Jivemaster]

Purifiedair.com (Romford Essex) already have UV and ozone sanitising machines as add ons to existing air con. BUT no-one is going to test approve and trust a new system til the pandemic is well over because liability makes people infinitely risk averse. The real problem is getting theatre started now! Every dark theatre is simply a site for a tower block.

[Jivemaster]

With copper (containing) alloys being already proven to reduce surface bio, has anyone considered changing stainless or aluminium push plates for pieces of PCB (copper side out!) or painting door handles with copper loaded paint (like International Paint's copper loaded antifouling paint for small boats)?

 

Just another nod towards obvious and visible attempts to reduce bio on surfaces.

[bigclive]

Ozone exists at low levels in nature of around 0.04 parts per million. You can't really exceed about 0.05PPM At that point it's a potential breathing irritant.

 

There's a lot to be said for plain simple forced air ventilation from outdoors, which could potentially be bringing that natural ozone in where it gets depleted by doing its job of attaching to bacteria, viruses and spores.

I've been testing a couple of ozone meters from eBay which claimed a range from 0-10PPM, but their sensitivity in the safe range is useless. The sensors are also prone to degrading over time.

 

Perhaps it's time to revisit Chizhevsky chandeliers. A Russian chandelier for public areas that didn't light up, but was covered in fine needle points energised by a high voltage DC power supply so it ionised the air. It would have precipitated dust out fast and produced low level ozone in the process.