Article 2-5 Different Forms of Odor Control

First I’d like to commend everyone on the great magazine, very informative, and the best thing about it that its pretty much in laymen’s terms which is a real asset to the beginner. I have a question concerning odor elimination. Currently we have a 10 X 10 room. What would be idea for this application. I think I ran across something in your magazine by the name of an ozone generator combined with the use of some type of ultraviolet light. I appreciate any and all feedback. Thanks, koolkat

KoolKat: As the saying goes, there is more than one way to skin a cat. Some popular methods of odor control that are currently available are: chemical odor eaters/masking agents, ultraviolet ozone generators and corona discharge ozone generators. Your room is likely less than 1000 cubic feet. Chemical agents such as “ONA” or “Odor Killer” may offer temporary odor control, but need to be replenished frequently and are not as efficient as U.V. or C.D. ozone generators for odor control.

Your grow room (due to size) does not require a Corona Discharge generator, as these are best used in larger applications. Ozone can be dangerous, so it is best not to have concentrations that are higher than required. An ultraviolet light, which is similar to a fluorescent bulb in appearance, is likely your best bet. There is more than one way to go about using this for odor control. If you are exhausting to the outdoors, a u.v. light can be installed in your air duct leaving the grow room. The lamp would be on the same circuit as your exhaust fan, so it would come on only when the “undesirable” odors are to leave the building. The lamps require special ballasts, so make sure your local retailer provides you with a complete unit.

The light should be sealed into the ducting, just after the exhaust fan. This light could seriously damage your eyes, skin, lungs, etc., so great care must be taken to ensure that there is no u.v. light leaking from ducting.

If exhausting outdoors is not an option, the grow room exhaust could be vented into an unused room or attic. If this room is tightly sealed, a low wattage u.v. lamp could be placed in the room to eliminate odors. This room would then act as a sort of mixing chamber for odor control. Again, the bulb should be sealed in an enclosure. A small axial fan in the sealed unit is used to carry skunky odors past the lamp in the enclosure, removing unwanted smells, spores, etc. thus “cleaning” the air in the spare room/mixing chamber. These units are commercially available at your local grow store. Do not place such a unit in the grow room, it may damage your plants, reduce flavor and aroma, and injure you while you are tending your plants. Erik B