Hi, I’m O.Z. Ozone.
For years now people have asked, “How does Ozone work in the laundry wash cycle?”

Well, let me count the ways!
IndustrOzone only hires dissolved ozone gas in microscopic bubble size. Un-dissolved or gas phase ozone has unpredictable reaction rates, creates safety risks, can potentially damage linen or equipment and can’t be sent to a job site in measurable fashion. In short, IndustrOzone considers gas phase ozone to be uncontrollable thugs capable of doing more harm than good in a laundry. IndustrOzone shows gas phase ozone no mercy. If you aren’t dissolved in the water in micro-bubble form, you are stripped from the water and sent mercilessly to an ozone destroyer.


Pre-Clean the Water
At IndustrOzone, my work starts before the wash even begins. Many laundry and ozone experts consulted by IndustrOzone over the years feel that IndustrOzone gets enhanced linen quality because IndustrOzone is washing with cleaner water. Even municipal water supplies can be full of contaminants and various things that can fight against or hinder the laundry chemistry. At IndustrOzone, it’s not good enough for me to wait for the wash cycle to begin; they make me go clean the water before it even gets in the washer. Job #1 pre-clean the water. I always have to report first to the ORP monitor so the customer knows how many of us ozone workers are on the job at any given time.

Soil Removal Department
Job #2 In the Soil Removal Department, I start by helping to break the bonds that hold the soils and stains to the linen. This bond is typically organic, specifically body and other oils that hold the soils and stains on the linen.

This is one of my favorite jobs. I just love breaking down organics like body oils. So, after I help pre-clean the water, IndustrOzone dissolves me and millions of my microscopic ozone bubble buddies into the cold water washer supply and keeps us there under pressure until we go spraying into the wash wheel and get absorbed right into the linen fibers. This puts us right in the center of the action, right where the hard work has to be done. As soon as the first ozonated gallon of water enters the wash wheel, me and millions of my microscopic ozone bubble buddies start attacking those organic oil bonds. We break the bonds or cut them into smaller pieces that are easier for our laundry chemistry allies to saponify.

Good thing IndustrOzone pre-dissolves us in the water and then injects us into the washer, because within a few seconds of starting the soil removal cycle, the break/alkali/built detergent is added raising the ph to 10 or more. We know we only have a short time to attack those organic bonds, but since we are absorbed at the start right into the linen, we get right to the heart of the matter and get the job done.

As the ph rises, we go crazy. High ph converts me and millions of my microscopic ozone bubble buddies into maniacal radicals. We have an immediate hunger attack for carbon chain molecules. In a wild feeding frenzy, Job #3 is to go after every carbon chain we can find. Its fast and furious, and then we welcome our friends from the detergent and mechanical action divisions to take over for a while as the soil removal process continues. (And I don’t want to hear anything about “Why don’t you keep adding ozone during the whole step.” You don’t keep adding other chemicals like detergents or alkalis or bleaches or sours during their whole step, do you? You put in enough to get the job done, you add them once, and you let the reaction take place. There’s no reason for ozone to be treated any differently.)
My microscopic ozone bubble buddies that don’t make it to an organic bond don’t get the day off. As they go from the pre-ozonated pressurized cold water pipe to an
unpressurized washing machine it’s like popping the top of a shaken soda can. So, Job #4 is for us all to come rushing out of solution and work as what we call Club Soda Scrubbers, just like grandma’s favorite stain remover, club soda.

Bleaching Division.
Bleaching is oxidizing, one of my other specialties. The pre-ozonated water fills to start the bleach step and I start Job #5 oxidizing stains not removed during the soil removal/suds step. Although I am one of the world’s great oxidizers, I have to admit I still need help. No matter how I get into the washer, the only way to bleach with ozone alone would be to add so much ozone to the process that it would create massive amounts of ozone off gas. This could be unsafe and potentially lead to equipment and/or linen damage. My bosses at IndustrOzone won’t take that chance.

  • Ozone is typically applied in the laundry bleach step at 0.5 to 1.5 parts per million (ppm).
  • Chlorine bleach is typically applied at 50 ppm to 100 ppm.
  • While under certain conditi0ons, ozone can be “3,000 times more reactive” than chlorine bleach, ozone is not 3,000 times more powerful than chlorine bleach, i.e., 1 part of me, O.Z. Ozone, cannot do the work of 100 parts of chlorine. We have to get some bleaching help.

Normally, heat is required to activate chlorine bleach in a short period (i.e. a 6-10 minute bleach cycle). The only way IndustrOzone has found to activate the bleach in this short period of time in cold water is have .5 to 1.5 ppm of dissolved ozone. Field test titrations have proven it. This level can only be reached by pre-dissolving ozone in cold water before we go in the washer. Job #6 is to be pre dissolved under pressure in the cold water supply outside the washer and stay in solution long enough to release inside the wash wheel and activate the chlorine bleach. This is heavy lifting and takes me and an army of millions of my microscopic ozone bubble buddies all working at the same time. Continuing to send in smaller amounts over time won’t get it done.

Polishing and Finishing

The soil has been removed and the stains have been bleached. Now it’s important to rinse out the high ph, chlorine and any residual chemistry from the linen.

Job #7 First assignment on Polishing and Finishing is to attack any remaining organic bonds still holding soils or stains in the linen. Job #8 is me and millions of my microscopic ozone bubble buddies have ongoing Club Soda Scrubbing assignments. Job #9 is to deodorize and make sure even the stinkiest linens (e.g. bed pads from nursing homes) come out smelling fresh, like they’ve been laundered and clothesline dried. Job #10 our final assignment is, without any softener, to make the linen soft and fluffy. We do get occasional complaints from customers in this department because sometimes we make the towels so fluffy they run out of places to stack them (true story!).