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  • Art3

    Eqinsu Ocha
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 30, 2015
    13,267
    Harford County
    Update: There really is no update :o Golden Rod and a cheap ozone generator (that I'm now afraid of:rolleyes:) arrived the other week...and are still in the boxes. :eek: We've had so much other stuff going on, there just hasn't been time to clear access to the safe to drill a hole in it for power. :sad20: Tripling down on the Eva-Dry's (perhaps combined with the miraculous pause in the rain) seems to have at least haulted progression of the mold. Upgrading the safe and un-molding the guns is going to be a full day's worth of work...that I just can't find.:sad20:
     

    Mark75H

    MD Wear&Carry Instructor
    Industry Partner
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 25, 2011
    17,172
    Outside the Gates
    The trick with ozone generators (like many things) is balance. We use them in our house with remarkable health improvement. Even cured my cat's mold allergy problem (until we started using them, he had a constant runny nose). Ours is on a timer, have not noticed any damage to plastic other than some minor discoloration after many years of operation. They are not anywhere near any firearms. The storage cabinet itself does have a Goldenrod type heater - activated just warm enough to keep the inside of the cabinet appropriately dry.
     

    Bountied

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 6, 2012
    6,884
    Pasadena
    I'd try Clorox wipes to get rid of the mold on the wood. Also if you can get a dehumidifier for the area where the safes are. I have my safes in the basement and keep the humidity at less than 50%. I've never had any issues and I don't put anything in the safe except my guns. I used to use the rechargeable desiccant types of dehumidifiers but they need to be recharged weekly and it is time consuming.
     

    Bob A

    όυ φροντισ
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Nov 11, 2009
    30,687
    White vinegar is more effective against mold than bleach. Don't mix the two, if you're fond of your lungs.
     

    Art3

    Eqinsu Ocha
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 30, 2015
    13,267
    Harford County
    What is the output of the ozone generator you bought?
    If you pay for my gas and give me a beer, I will bring over some fancy, high tech ozone detection devices to put your mind at ease.

    That is a very generous offer (wait...what kind of mileage do you get:P) that I just may take you up on...someday. I haven't even taken it out of the box yet. :sad20: Don't laugh...it's this:
    https://www.amazon.com/A2Z-Ozone-Aq...538703505&sr=8-1&keywords=a2z+ozone+generator

    Yeah...it seems kinda gimmicky:o (ozonizing your drinking water? :confused:). What can I say, :shrug: I got excited, it had Prime shipping (that friggin' Kindle makes it sooo easy to order crap I don't need)...also, I'm pretty sure it was on sale for less than the $70 they want for it now. It was cheaper than most of the others, so I thought I'd see what it was all about...maybe buy a real one later if I liked it. I had visions of sterilizing my gun safes, then the whole garage, the insides of a few of my older vehicles that sit a lot, my nasty work boots...it was going to change my life (not even considering the supercharged water:rolleyes:). Then somebody mentioned that ozone damages plastic.:facepalm:. Sure, it's apparently poison to breathe too, :indiffere but I feel like I could work around that. Dissolving my plastic guns or vehicle interiors...that's something worth being afraid of :eek:.

    The short answer, 600mg/hr.

    Maybe this weekend I'll at least open it up and read the directions :shrug:
     

    Art3

    Eqinsu Ocha
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 30, 2015
    13,267
    Harford County
    I'd try Clorox wipes to get rid of the mold on the wood. Also if you can get a dehumidifier for the area where the safes are. I have my safes in the basement and keep the humidity at less than 50%. I've never had any issues and I don't put anything in the safe except my guns. I used to use the rechargeable desiccant types of dehumidifiers but they need to be recharged weekly and it is time consuming.

    The safe is in the garage, which is very NOT air tight. I had considered a dehumidifier, but I feel like I'd be trying to dehumidify the entire neighborhood. I guess the same argument could be made for desiccants inside the safe, but I'm certain the safe is more airtight, plus it doesn't get opened several times a day. I think the rain pause helped more than anything. The Eva-dry's (which, agreed, are a pain in the butt to keep juggling) are slowing down, and the whole house is finally drying a little. I have hygrometers scattered throughout the house, ironically, because it is a real struggle in the winter to keep moisture IN the air.:rolleyes: We're mostly staying below 80% (74% in the safe), which is an improvement...

    This weekend is already looking booked, but I might find time to at least get power and the Golden Rod into the safe.

    White vinegar is more effective against mold than bleach. Don't mix the two, if you're fond of your lungs.

    Good to know :thumbsup: Should the vinegar be followed up with some sort of treatment, or would it be better to let a little residual vinegar linger as a preventative?
     
    That is a very generous offer (wait...what kind of mileage do you get:P) that I just may take you up on...someday. I haven't even taken it out of the box yet. :sad20: Don't laugh...it's this:
    https://www.amazon.com/A2Z-Ozone-Aq...538703505&sr=8-1&keywords=a2z+ozone+generator

    Yeah...it seems kinda gimmicky:o (ozonizing your drinking water? :confused:). What can I say, :shrug: I got excited, it had Prime shipping (that friggin' Kindle makes it sooo easy to order crap I don't need)...also, I'm pretty sure it was on sale for less than the $70 they want for it now. It was cheaper than most of the others, so I thought I'd see what it was all about...maybe buy a real one later if I liked it. I had visions of sterilizing my gun safes, then the whole garage, the insides of a few of my older vehicles that sit a lot, my nasty work boots...it was going to change my life (not even considering the supercharged water:rolleyes:). Then somebody mentioned that ozone damages plastic.:facepalm:. Sure, it's apparently poison to breathe too, :indiffere but I feel like I could work around that. Dissolving my plastic guns or vehicle interiors...that's something worth being afraid of :eek:.

    The short answer, 600mg/hr.

    Maybe this weekend I'll at least open it up and read the directions :shrug:

    600mg/hr is in the danger zone. Please return the unit purchased, as it is very capable of causing damage to lungs, firearms and other important things.
    Upthread, I linked a battery run generator that produces 20-25mg/hr and shuts off after 8hrs. This level of ozone is quite safe and is not dangerous. (Nerdy info in the next paragraph)

    I am 99.9% positive I know more about ozone than anyone else active on MDS. I work with large ozone generators daily. The largest is 240g/hr. (not mg/hr)
    It is important to understand that ozone is very unstable. It will revert back to oxygen within an hour. If you pump your safe full of ozone- and don't open it- the dangerous ozone will revert back to oxygen very quickly. An ozone generator converts O2 to O3/ozone (based upon available oxygen and humidity). The O3 molecules don't want to be O3 and will quickly revert back to O2. This is why you can't buy O3 and have to convert it yourself. If you buy a unit that produces 20-50mg/hr of ozone for 8hrs and place it in a sealed safe, the ozone will be nasty inside the safe for those 8hrs. After 10hrs, the ozone will be 100% gone and the safe will be safe to open.

    My offer stands- 2007 Honda Civic travelling from Pikesville.

    ETA- The gas and beer offer is due to Katie and your dedication to "the cause". This is not an open offer to anyone else.
     

    Bountied

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 6, 2012
    6,884
    Pasadena
    The safe is in the garage, which is very NOT air tight. I had considered a dehumidifier, but I feel like I'd be trying to dehumidify the entire neighborhood. I guess the same argument could be made for desiccants inside the safe, but I'm certain the safe is more airtight, plus it doesn't get opened several times a day. I think the rain pause helped more than anything. The Eva-dry's (which, agreed, are a pain in the butt to keep juggling) are slowing down, and the whole house is finally drying a little. I have hygrometers scattered throughout the house, ironically, because it is a real struggle in the winter to keep moisture IN the air.:rolleyes: We're mostly staying below 80% (74% in the safe), which is an improvement...

    This weekend is already looking booked, but I might find time to at least get power and the Golden Rod into the safe.



    Good to know :thumbsup: Should the vinegar be followed up with some sort of treatment, or would it be better to let a little residual vinegar linger as a preventative?

    I have a dehumidifier in my garage as well as the basement. The summer after we bought our house I went to get some cushions out of the garage and they had mildew on them as well as all the cardboard boxes and plywood shelves. My garage door doesn't seal well either but the dehumidifier is still holding on after 3 years and the humidity in the garage maintains around 50%. 74% humidity in your safe is way too high, hence the mold.

    If it were "me" I would get a dehumidifier for your garage, you only need it for about 6 months out of the year. I would also weather strip your safe door to prevent moisture from getting in and maybe a new seal for the garage door. Just me though. I hate mold and humidity. This summer has been pretty rough humidity wise.
     

    Bob A

    όυ φροντισ
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Nov 11, 2009
    30,687
    Good to know :thumbsup: Should the vinegar be followed up with some sort of treatment, or would it be better to let a little residual vinegar linger as a preventative?

    I'd wipe on/wipe off. Vinegar is an acid (diluted in water), so metal can be impacted. Evaporation in a closed space would not help your firearms.
     

    mvee

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 13, 2007
    2,487
    Crofton
    Be careful with vinegar around blued metal. It can remove the bluing.
     
    Last edited:

    Mark75H

    MD Wear&Carry Instructor
    Industry Partner
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 25, 2011
    17,172
    Outside the Gates
    ......it seems kinda gimmicky:o (ozonizing your drinking water? :confused:). What can I say, :shrug:

    UV and/or ozone treatment of water for sterlization is very common for commercial process work like drug manufacturing.

    Crocs stores use ozone generators extensively for knocking down the plasticizer odor caused by the concentration of plastic shoes in their stores.
     
    Jul 1, 2012
    5,711
    Be careful with vinegar around blued metal. It can WILL remove the bluing.

    White vinegar is the cheap and easy way to chemically clean a blued part, particularly useful for putting a "dipped" part back "in the white".
    You could use it for a quick wipe pass I suppose, but better make damn sure you then follow up with a thorough cleaning and oiling to get rid of any residual vinegar.
     

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