Scent Crusher FAQ

The ozone generator is operated by either the 12v car plug or the standard wall plug and is not battery operated.

Our ozone generators perform very well in cold temperatures unless the components freeze up inside of the unit. You will know this has happened if the generator no longer turns on. We suggest that you don’t run it below zero degrees Fahrenheit.

We do not suggest running it in temperatures above 100 degrees or in very high humidity as it will greatly reduce the ozone production of the unit.

The hose is not necessary to use in our closets. You may use it if you choose, but you will get the same results with or without the hose in our closets.

Yes! Depending on how long your gear has been used and the nature of the clothing or equipment, the cleaning process may take longer due to the accumulation of odor. For example, your one-year-old running shoes that have hundreds of miles on them will very likely take several cycles in a Scent Crusher bag or closet to get good results initially.

As a precaution, we do not recommend being in the vehicle when the Ozone Go is operating. While the unit does not generate ozone at extremely high levels, some people experience mild headaches and minor nasal discomfort when exposed to the lower levels of ozone present while the Ozone Go is operating.

The gear bag is coated to prevent excessive seepage of ozone into the surrounding area. While you will likely smell a small amount of ozone, it should not be enough to cause any impact on the occupants of the vehicle. Some people are impacted more by ozone than others. If you do experience a mild headache or nasal discomfort, simply open the windows slightly or discontinue using for a period of time.

The unit works best when the car engine is running; however, it will also operate effectively in many vehicles with only the auxiliary power on. If using without the car running, you should monitor your car battery to make sure you do not drain the battery excessively.

It depends. If you have an occasional cigarette in your car and want to eliminate the smell, the Ozone Go can be quite effective when used normally. If you have months and months of accumulated smoking smells, the Ozone Go alone will not likely cause a significant reduction in the cigarette smell in your car. When combined with other deep cleaning efforts (for example, those offered by car detailing centers), the Ozone Go can help eliminate lingering cigarette smells.

This warning is intended for the contents of the bag or closet, not the generators themselves. We have amended our newer manuals to better explain this caution. The new manuals suggest not running the units for more than two or three cycles over an 8 hour period to help reduce any potential impact on the contents. This warning is out of an abundance of caution as most materials will experience little to no degradation from exposure to ozone. If you are treating multiple loads of clothes or gear and changing the contents between cycles, there is no problem using the generator as many cycles as needed.

You should achieve best results by filling the bag or closet to roughly 50% capacity. This will allow the ozone to circulate freely around the contents. Smaller loads can also be effectively treated, but you may be able to run the generator for a shorter period of time to achieve good results. If you have more clothes or gear to be treated than will easily fit in the bag or closet, we recommend running multiple loads.

The hoses are flexible and long enough that you can place them where you wish. Best results are achieved when the end of the hose is not obstructed and placed on top of the items in the bag or near the top of the closet.

The closet is completely enclosed and the bottom surface is reinforced.

No. The closets are lined to prevent excessive seepage of ozone, but they are not completely air tight.

The bags and closets are water-resistant and will withstand a morning dew very well. We do not recommend leaving them in a heavy rainstorm or submerging them in water as they were not designed to be completely waterproof.

Based on our reading of the Transportation Security Administration’s Prohibited Items list, the ozone generators would not be prohibited as carry-on items. The prohibited items list is available at www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/prohibited-items.

The generator was not designed to be used in that manner. It was designed to deliver an appropriate amount of ozone to kill contaminants on clothing and sports gear within a closed, lined container.

No. Each or our products was designed to accommodate the size of the generator and the release of ozone into the surrounding environment. For example, the gear bag and flexible closet are both coated to prevent seepage of excess ozone outside the unit while the generator is running. While the generators in the units are similar, we do not recommend using them as stand-alone units for other purposes.

We suggest that you only put your bow in our products when absolutely necessary. Bow’s do not hold much scent so you should not need to run your bow in our products, but if you absolutely need to run it in our products, do it for very short cycles (i.e. 10 mins. or less).

We do not sell any of our products without the generator. We package our products as a combined product and do not sell the pieces individually.

If possible, try to plug in the generator with the car adapter that came with it, or vice versa. If one power cord runs the generator and the other does not, you more than likely have a defective power cord. If you have a defective power cord, please reach out to us at [email protected].

If neither cord runs the generator and the problem continues please reach out to us at [email protected]. Please attach a copy of your purchase receipt, a picture of your ozone generator and your contact and shipping information. Providing these items will make the warranty claim process much quicker.

Replacement cords are sold on Scent Crusher’s replacement parts page.

Our products are designed for use traveling to or from the field, not while in the field.

While we aren’t trying to solve any issues with the earth’s ozone layer, we have spent considerable effort to understand the use of ozone as a cleaning agent and in developing products that safely and reliably eliminate odors.

Our engineer has years of experience in water purification and gas management systems, including leading ten separate teams in product development and manufacturing efforts on the International Space Station. Like many historical advances in consumer products, Scent Crusher’s development has roots in the space program. We were able to use our engineer’s expertise to better understand the impact of ozone on items commonly used in sports gear commonly found in active settings. We believe this sets us apart from others in our industry.

Internally we have performed thousands of hours of testing to improve our understanding of the impact of ozone on odors and on the materials hosting the odor. We have invested significantly in 3rd party testing to determine the necessary ozone application techniques to kill odors at over a 99% effective rate. In short, we believe we have the best understanding of applying ozone in products for hunters and sports enthusiasts in the industry and we continue to invest to maintain that position.

In high concentrations, ozone can cause harmful reactions, particularly to the respiratory system. There are federal safety standards limiting the amount of ozone that can be released into the air. Our products are designed to be well within those standards when used properly.

People have differing reactions to ozone exposure. For some, lower levels of ozone may cause dryness of the mouth, eye or nasal irritation, and mild headaches. If this occurs, move the person to fresh air and/or wash eyes gently with water. If conditions persist, seek medical attention as appropriate.

Pretty much everything. Ozone is one of nature’s most powerful oxidizers and has been used as an organic cleaner for years. Nearly all bottled water is treated with ozone and many municipal water systems around the world use ozone to treat drinking water. In addition, ozone is used by hotel management and disaster recovery firms to eliminate odors caused by smoke or water damage.

We have tested our products using common smells like sweat, smoke, food, and animal scents (including skunk). Ozone was shown to be effective at eliminating or killing these smells and organisms.

Ozone has an odor somewhat similar to chlorine, detectable at fairly low levels of concentration. As ozone is exposed to air it quickly reverts to ordinary oxygen, so its smell dissipates quickly.

In the hunting arena, our products are designed to clean and disinfect your gear before and after the hunt, not during. Ozone dissipates rapidly when exposed to fresh air, reducing the potential for detection. Even if residual ozone is present, it is less likely to alarm deer since ozone is a naturally occurring smell, frequently noticeable after a rainstorm with lightning.

The answer is “it depends”. It depends because there are many variables to how long you should run it. It depends on how much odor you have been exposed to and it also depends on how full you have your bag. We recommend only filling your bag 50-75% full so there is enough room for the ozone to circulate properly and work effectively. For example, if you have the bag properly filled and you have not been exposed to any strong odors (skunk, gas, smoke, etc.), you would need no more than a 15-minute cycle. However, we do not recommend long cycles on products that have significant amounts of rubber and elastic. Ozone can have a negative effect on products with significant amounts of rubber and elastic. We suggest only running these types of products when absolutely necessary. If it is unavoidable to run these types of materials due to them being attached to the garment (bib straps), we suggest leaving them outside of the bag or using a grocery bag, Ziploc bag or another type of bag to prevent direct exposure of ozone. This will help prolong the life of your products that contain rubber and elastic.

Over time, we have modified our generators to run for a maximum time of 30 minutes for one application. In most situations, this will clean and disinfect your gear. If smells are more ingrained in the fabrics or materials, you may need to use the generator for more than one cycle. We strongly recommend that you allow the unit to remain undisturbed for an amount of time equal to the run time prior to opening and then allowing fresh air to be exposed to your material, before beginning another cycle. This process will reduce some of the potential impacts on the materials.

The short answer is that we haven’t seen significant impacts on the materials typically used in hunting gear after applying ozone for normal periods of time at typical intervals.

While we would love to say ozone has no effect on clothing or other materials found in hunting or sports gear, our testing has shown that, much like ordinary laundry, ozone does have some impact over time. For example, we designed a test to determine whether clothing subjected to high ozone exposure over a relatively short period of time would deteriorate. While the shirts used didn’t suffer significantly from a structural standpoint, the darker fabrics did see some fading at the end of this unusually prolonged test.

Many of the expensive carbon-lined fabrics used in hunting become less effective over time as they are laundered. Using Scent Crusher products like the Hunter’s Closet and the Gear Bag will allow you to effectively clean your clothes with fewer trips through the laundry cycle, thus extending the effective life of this specialty, expensive clothing.

Except in certain circumstances, Permethrin will lose much of its effectiveness if treated with ozone. The exception would be if the Permethrin was applied to cotton clothing well in advance of the ozone treatment such that the Permethrin was completely absorbed into the fabric. In this case, it could retain more of its effectiveness depending on the length of time it was exposed to ozone. If you have Permethrin well absorbed on cotton fabric and used a shorter ozone cycle (e.g. 10 minutes instead of 30), the Permethrin would be more likely to remain effective.

The same is not true for other fabrics such as wool, nylon, or other polyester-type fabrics. Permethrin is not completely absorbed into those fabrics and would most likely be negatively impacted by the ozone treatment.

We do not recommend using the Scent Crusher products to treat bibs or boots with significant elastic content or rubber content. Ozone can harm certain elastics and rubber products.

We have previously attempted to distinguish between products with differing levels of rubber or elastic that responded differently to our testing. However, we have continued to test the impact of ozone on common hunting garments and are recommending that you not use the Scent Crusher products with products with significant elastic or rubber content. While it is possible that some garments will not be impacted, we prefer to err on the side of caution.

You should not see any problems using our products on optics, but we suggest that you only put your optics in our products when absolutely necessary. Optics don’t hold much scent so they should only need short cycles when necessary. Please pay close attention to the rubber components of your optics due to the impact ozone may have on rubber and elastic.

Most likely, the ozone will not impact your safety harness; however, given the many types of material and designs used for safety harnesses, we cannot be certain and have not tested ozone specifically on them. For that reason and given the safety nature of the product, we do not recommend cleaning your safety harness in the bags, closets, or totes. However, storing your safety harness in the same bag or closet with gear that has been cleaned using ozone should not present a problem.