Buy ozone water or produce it yourself?

Buy ozone water or produce it yourself: how to make a future-proof choice

More and more organisations are considering ozone water for daily surface cleaning. One question quickly follows: should you keep buying bottled products or install an ozone water machine and produce on site? This hub compares both options in terms of cost, workflow, logistics and sustainability.

Our ozone water from the ozone water machine is intended only for surface cleaning. Not intended for consumption or medical applications.

Why choose ozone water

Ozone water is regular tap water that is temporarily activated. This gives you a calm, predictable workflow without large stocks of products in a storeroom. With ozone water, the focus shifts towards processes and routes instead of boxes and bottles.

✔️ No more pallets of bottles to move and store

✔️ On-demand cleaning water at any moment of the day

✔️ Cost-saving use of ozone water in daily surface cleaning routines

Why ready-made ozone water does not exist

Ozone in water has a limited half-life of about 15 to 30 minutes. After that, much of the activity is gone and what remains behaves like regular water. This is why true ozone water is not a shelf product that can sit in storage for weeks or months.

In practice that means you always generate fresh, on-demand ozone water with an ozone water machine. Bottled products that claim ozone-like benefits are a different category: they are stabilised liquids, not freshly activated ozone water.

You can first explore the basics in What is ozone water?, browse our guides or contact us for a short introduction.

Option 1: keep buying bottled products

With the first option you continue to use ready-made products delivered in bottles or cans. This can feel comfortable if the organisation has always worked in this way, but the approach comes with structural side effects.

• You must purchase, store and rotate stock in advance.
• Staff need time for ordering, receiving, unpacking and distributing products.
• Plastic packaging has to be stored and later removed as waste.
• Products may expire when usage fluctuates.

We explore this scenario in more detail in Ozone water from bottles or installation.

Option 2: produce ozone water on site

With the second option you install an ozone water machine and generate cleaning water when it is needed. Cleaning staff fill bottles or buckets at fixed draw-off points, so availability is no longer tied to deliveries or stock.

• No more managing pallets and safety stock.
• Every refill delivers fresh, active ozone water.
• No dilution mistakes, no confusion about mixing ratios.
• Transparent cost per litre and per site.

You can review devices and accessories in our webshop (all products).

Half-life: why fresh ozone water is strongest

Ozone naturally breaks down into oxygen in water. This process unfolds within about fifteen to thirty minutes. In that window you use the water for surface cleaning. After that, the activity drops quickly. For organisations that want predictable quality, this is a strong argument for an on-site system that always supplies fresh water.

Costs and affordability

Using ozone water is cost-saving. You produce cleaning water at around €0.0017 per litre from regular tap water.

• No need to buy large volumes of bottled products.
• Less storage space and less internal logistics.
• No product loss from expired stock or damaged packaging.
• Stable, transparent cost per litre.
• After roughly 1,000 hours or 500,000 litres the electrodes need checking; budget around €75 for parts.

Workflow: two-cloth method with ozone water

The most stable way to work is the two-cloth method. Spray on the cloth for controlled application or directly on closed surfaces (such as tables, floors or tiles). Workflow: two-cloth method — 1) Spray a light mist on the surface. 2) Clean in overlapping strokes. 3) Dry immediately with cloth B for a streak-free result. Work from cleaner to less clean areas: touch points → furniture → wet zones.

You can find the step-by-step explanation in the guide Two-cloth method.

Small sites versus large facility teams

Small sites with limited floor area often need only one draw-off point. Staff refill their bottles before starting their route. The investment is modest, yet they benefit from fresh water and lower cost per litre.

Larger organisations such as schools, care facilities, sports venues and offices tend to distribute multiple draw-off points across the building. This reduces walking distance and allows teams to work in parallel without waiting for supplies.

Migration steps towards your own production

• Map current products, litres used and floor area per site.
• Select one or two pilot areas for the first installation.
• Define practical draw-off points near working zones.
• Train teams in the two-cloth method and new routes.
• Monitor usage, time and acceptance, then scale up.

A detailed migration scenario is described in Switching to own ozone water production.

Customer stories & testimonials

• “We have far less stock stress now that water is produced on site.” – Facility manager
• “New staff adopt the two-cloth method quickly because the steps are the same everywhere.” – Cleaning supervisor
• “Our plastic waste has dropped significantly since we switched.” – Procurement

💬 Curious what on-site ozone water production would mean for your facility? Explore the devices in our webshop or schedule a short call.

Mini-silo: hub and 5 subs around buying or producing

• Hub: Buy or produce ozone water
• Sub 1: Ozone water from bottles or installation
• Sub 1.1: Why ready-made ozone water does not exist
• Sub 2: Ozone water cost per litre
• Sub 3: Ozone water for small sites
• Sub 4: Ozone water for large facility teams
• Sub 5: Switching to own ozone water production

Further reading

What is ozone water?

Ozone water machine

All guides

Two-cloth method

All products (shop)

Contact us

Frequently Asked Questions