Cleaning with Ozone Water: The Basics

Ozone water: what it is and how it is produced

Ozone water is produced by an electrical device that generates ozone from oxygen in the air and dissolves it in ordinary tap water. The ozone concentration in the water is higher than in ordinary water but decreases rapidly as the water stands longer. Freshly produced ozone water has the highest concentration and has therefore the highest oxidative action as a cleaning fluid. Ozone water is colourless and odourless at normal concentrations for household use. It behaves like ordinary water when evaporating and leaves no chemical residues on the treated surface.

Production takes place on-site at the moment of use. That distinguishes it from bottled cleaning products that are produced, packaged, and transported at an external location. More about how it works is on the ozone water information page.

Which surfaces is ozone water suitable for?

Ozone water is suitable for hard, non-porous surfaces. Those are surfaces that do not absorb moisture and are not sensitive to oxidation reactions. Examples are ceramic tiles, glass, lacquered wood, stainless steel, chrome, lacquered plastics, and coated metals. For daily cleaning of windowsills, worktops, washbasins, bathroom tiles, floor tiles, and kitchen countertops, ozone water is a suitable water-based cleaning fluid.

Not suitable are porous surfaces such as untreated natural stone, untreated wood, or uncoated concrete. Those absorb the water too quickly so that the ozone does not have sufficient contact time for effective cleaning. Also surfaces sensitive to oxidation are not suitable. More about the two-cloth method is at the two-cloth method page.

How ozone water fits into a cleaning routine

Ozone water fits best into a cleaning routine as a daily maintenance fluid for hard surfaces. It does not replace all cleaning products but is a suitable replacement for most daily light cleaning where no specific chemical action is required. The working structure is always the same: lightly dampen microfibre cloth with fresh ozone water, wipe surface, wipe dry with dry cloth.

More about integration into the cleaning process is at how ozone water fits into the cleaning process.

Ozone water versus conventional cleaning products

The difference between ozone water and conventional cleaning products lies in the active component. Conventional cleaning products contain surfactants, acids, bases, or other chemically active substances that provide a specific cleaning action. Ozone water has dissolved ozone as its active component that acts on organic soiling through oxidation.

Ozone water is effective for daily cleaning of light to moderate organic soiling on hard surfaces. Conventional products are more effective with heavy soiling, limescale deposits, stubborn grease, and specific mould growth. Those applications require a chemical profile that ozone water does not have. More about ozone water as an alternative to cleaning products is at ozone water as alternative for cleaning products.

That long-term practical applicability is also the reason this hub article is built as a knowledge base rather than a product description. Whoever reads it as a knowledge base has a solid foundation for all decisions that follow. More about concrete use is on the pages of the four in-depth articles in the cluster.

Whoever understands this and knows the limitations of ozone water makes purposeful and realistic choices for their cleaning routine.

Conclusion: ozone water as part of a complete cleaning approach

Ozone water is a water-based cleaning fluid that is effective for daily light to moderate cleaning of hard non-porous surfaces. It replaces conventional cleaning products for those specific applications but not for applications that require a chemically specific cleaning profile such as limescale removal, grease dissolving, or specific mould treatment. Whoever uses ozone water as a supplement to an existing routine has a complete and purposeful cleaning approach for daily use.

That approach is also the starting point of the entire cluster: an honest, technically substantiated positioning of ozone water without exaggeration and without underestimation. Whoever understands that positioning has a good basis for an informed decision about using ozone water in their own cleaning routine.

That decision is also the central question of the four in-depth articles in this cluster. Each article gives a specific answer to a specific sub-question of that central question. Together they give a complete picture of ozone water as a cleaning fluid available through this cluster.

Whoever knows this article and consults the four in-depth articles when relevant has a thorough knowledge base about ozone water as a cleaning fluid available through this cluster. That is the practical value of this opening article for this cluster.

Whoever has that understanding makes better and more targeted choices about using ozone water in the daily cleaning routine.

Ozone water as a process-based cleaning fluid

The most accurate positioning of ozone water is as a process-based cleaning fluid. It is part of a cleaning process that consists of a moist phase and a dry phase. The moist phase with ozone water reacts via oxidation with organic compounds on the surface. The dry phase picks up the loosened residues. That two-step approach, the two-cloth method, is the foundation of effective cleaning with ozone water. Without mechanical action, the wiping movement of the cloth, ozone water is less effective than in combination with that mechanical action.

That mechanical component also makes clear that ozone water is not a spray that you can spray onto a surface and then wait. It works as a fluid that in combination with a cloth and movement loosens and picks up organic residues. More about the optimal working structure is at the two-cloth method page.

Limitations of ozone water in cleaning

Ozone water has clear limitations that are important for correct expectations. First: the ozone concentration decreases rapidly after production. Always use freshly produced ozone water for best performance. Water that has stood for more than an hour has a considerably lower ozone concentration. Second: ozone water is not effective against limescale deposits. Limescale is an inorganic compound and does not react to the oxidative action of ozone. For limescale removal, an acidic cleaning product is more effective. Third: with stubborn grease on cooking surfaces, a grease-dissolving product is more effective than ozone water. The oxidative action of ozone is sufficient for light grease films but insufficient for baked-on grease or dried grease residues.

Those limitations are also the reason ozone water is positioned as a supplement to an existing routine rather than a complete replacement. More about when ozone water is a worthwhile addition is at when ozone water adds value.

The cluster as a whole: from basics to application

This cluster is built as a logical progression from basic knowledge to specific application questions. This hub article provides the basic knowledge: what ozone water is, how it works, which surfaces it is suitable for, and what the limitations are. The four in-depth articles each go into a specific sub-question that builds on that foundation. The four articles are independently readable but also refer to each other and to this hub article for context.

Whoever reads all five articles then has thorough knowledge about ozone water as a cleaning fluid in household applications available through this cluster. More about available ozone water systems is on the ozone water machine page.

Ozone water in the broader context of cleaning without conventional products

Ozone water fits into a broader trend of cleaning with fewer conventional chemical products. That trend has multiple drivers: less storage of bottled products, less dependence on external products, less packaging waste, and a water-based approach for daily maintenance tasks. Ozone water addresses those drivers for the applications it is suitable for: daily light cleaning of hard surfaces in kitchen and bathroom.

That application area is realistic and achievable for any household that has an ozone water generation device. It is not all-encompassing but it is meaningful and measurable in the daily cleaning routine. More about the differences with plain water is at difference ozone water and water in cleaning.

Related articles

The four in-depth articles in this cluster: ozone water as alternative for cleaning products, difference ozone water and water in cleaning, how ozone water fits into cleaning process and when ozone water adds value.

More information and contact

For information about available ozone water systems, the ozone water machine page is the most appropriate starting point. More about how it works is on the ozone water information page. For specific questions, contact is available through the contact page.

Whoever uses this opening article as a basis and consults the four in-depth articles when relevant then has all the knowledge needed for a purposeful and conscious cleaning routine with ozone water.

💬 "I use ozone water daily for the worktop and windowsill. It works well for light daily cleaning and I do not need to store a bottle." — Simone, 42, home user

Previous cluster

The previous cluster covered allergens and contamination in the home. That opening article is at pollen in house how to remove.

Further reading

An overview of all guides is on the guides page.