Ozone is an excellent water sanitizer, and when used correctly is safe for 99.999% of the people using it.

This post will cover the basics of setting up ozone to be safely used as a water sanitizer for your cold plunge.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a chemist or scientist. I care about people and I have been personally using ozone to sanitize my cold plunge water since 2018. I have not had any problems with my health or my environment or objects therein. I have been an official reseller for JED 203 since 2019. My mission is to help people and I only use and recommend products that I believe to be safe.

TLDR

1. If you have chemical sensitivities, COPD, or are recovering from toxic mold exposure, you *might* have a strong reaction to ozone.

2. How to run a JED 203 safely to sanitize the water in your chest freezer cold plunge:

a. Make sure your setup is in a well-ventilated area

b. Ensure that the gasket on the lid makes a tight seal

c. Ensure that the ozone tube is securely connected to the ozone generator

d. Run the ozone generator once per day for the shortest amount of time possible (30 minutes up to 2 hours)

e. Run the ozone generator on a timer and have it turn on at least 6-8 hours before people or animals will be in the area.

f. If you open the lid and smell ozone, step away for a couple of minutes to let it dissipate. Turn on a fan if needed.

Ozone has been widely used in the hot tub industry since the 1990’s- countless millions of people now. We have hundreds of people around the world using ozone generators in their cold plunges over the last four years, with no reported issues… until now.

In May of 2022 someone in our community seemed to have a reaction that could have been due to ozone being used inside of an apartment. He had used a different ozone generator previously in a different location to clean the air, and did not have any issues. That said, I want to revisit a few reminders about safely using ozone. Most of this info has been mentioned many times before.

The new piece of information to add is that if you have chemical sensitivities, COPD, or are recovering from toxic mold exposure, we do not recommend using ozone for a water sanitizer.

Let’s start with the basics.

The JED 203 that I recommend, outputs 0.1 grams of ozone per hour and is designed to be used in residential hot tubs, small pools, fountains, cisterns and water tanks.

With hot tubs and pools, the ozone is running through a bunch of tubing / plumbing, and is also impacted by the hot tub chemicals being used, which results in very little ozone coming out of the water.

Fountains, cisterns, and water tanks are typically located outside and people are not typically sitting in the water.

Outdoor use is perfectly fine because it is an open space and well ventilated.

If your chest freezer is located outside (patio, porch, under a pergola, etc.) then there is almost zero risk of having any kind of problem when you follow the safety steps.

Before we go over the safety steps, let’s talk about the risk of breathing ozone.

Being around too high of a concentration of ozone- or even lower concentrations for long periods of time- can cause several problems:

• irritation in the eyes, nose and throat
• shortness of breath
• chest pain
• wheezing
• headaches
• coughing
• dry throat
• fluid in the lungs

Too much ozone exposure can damage lung tissue. Chronic exposure can lead to asthma.

Lungs can usually recover within a few days after exposure to high concentrations of ozone.

The type of exposure that typically causes health issues is found in cities with very poor air quality (ex. smog) and in industrial settings where ozone is used.

So how do you keep it safe when sanitizing the water in your cold plunge?

First, ozone (O3) is highly unstable, and can only last about 30 minutes up to four hours before it converts back to oxygen (O2).

With the relatively small amount of water in a typical cold plunge, the JED 203 only needs to run for 30 to 60 minutes per day. In some cases, it might need to run 90 minutes or up to two hours once per day. If you don’t have clean water at that point, there is something else going on that we need to troubleshoot.

If you run it on a timer as recommended, AND run it at least six to eight hours before people or animals will be in the area, there should be zero issues.

In a cold environment, ozone can stay around a little longer. So what do you do if you open the chest freezer lid or take the cover off of your cold plunge and smell ozone? First, how do you know you are smelling ozone?

It has a very distinctive “clean” smell. People describe it as being similar to chlorine, sweet and pungent, like an electrical spark, or a burning wire.

Getting a tiny whiff of ozone generated from a JED 203 or hot tub ozone generator is not even close to being a large enough amount to cause problems for most people. Just step away and let it air out for 30 to 60 seconds. You can turn on a fan if you want.

Make sure that the lid gasket on your chest freezer is sealed well enough so that ozone does not escape. There are other videos that show how to get the ozone tube and other power cords and wires inside your chest freezer.

I have been running my JED 203 since 2018 and have never once smelled ozone outside of my chest freezer cold plunge.

Next, always be certain that the ozone tube is connected snugly to ozone generator. Use a hair dryer or heat gun if the tube needs to be more flexible to push it fully into place.

Also keep in mind that many materials can react to ozone. While ozone machines are used to commercially eliminate odors (cigarettes, smoke from fires, crime scenes, etc.), some materials when exposed to ozone can create a lingering odor.

Ozone, like air, cannot penetrate dry wall, wood, or other non-porous surfaces or products. Ozone does not leave a residue because it is a gas. What can be left is anything that has reacted to ozone. Certain certain fabrics, leather, rubber, and certain plastics do not do well when exposed to ozone.

While ozone can break down chemicals (including VOC’s) in can react with other chemicals in your environment (like formaldehyde in your new furniture, carpet, or building materials), to create additional toxic pollutants.

If you think there is ozone in your home, it is best to ventilate the area and run an air purifier- preferably one with a carbon filter or using PECO technology. These are strategies used in cities with poor air quality.

Also, be aware that some people are highly sensitive to certain chemicals and fragrances. What used to be called “multiple chemical sensitivity” is now referred to as “Idiopathic environmental intolerance (IEI). People with IEI can detect even one molecule of substance they are similar to even at a distance, and can become incapacitated by the odor. Typical odors include perfumes, fragrances, cleaners, cigarette smoke, air fresheners, pesticides, etc.

If you have any questions about using an ozone generator safely, please let me know.

If you have been using an ozone generator safely in your hot tub, pool, spa, or cold plunge, and have any additional tips please post them below.

Comments, questions, and civil discourse are encouraged. 🙂