WATER PLEASE...

It's the end of June...6 full months into the new year and THIS is my first post of 2026! Where have I been? Did I give up the website? Did I get sick or did something serious happen? Did I literally fall off the flat earth? Well, the answer is NOPE to all those questions. I've just been over here settling into the new year, enjoying the grand babies-two of which turned 1 this year, and working on taking our internal health a little more serious than we had been. (meaning, changing the diet hard core to a strict diet because there is more to eating healthy than changing oils and eating organic!)

However, I haven't forgotten you all or my website. Matter of fact, every time something happens and I learn something new, I instinctively think of my website and how I want to jump on and share! But if you know me, you know I just can't jump on and TALK about something without doing some research, asking some questions, and/or putting my hands and feet into it (sometimes quite literally) before writing and sharing about it. With that being said, I have a LIST of topics I want to write about and share so bear with me throughout the rest of the year as I get the information in order and share it with you!

Today, with temps hitting the 90s and only getting worse the rest of the week, I felt it appropriate to talk about WATER! Not drinking water though...I mean OZONATED water. Have you heard of it? Okay, maybe you've heard of it, but do you know what it is? Well, without making this post the size of a published medical research paper, I am going to explain it to you in my best 'smarter than a 5th grader' way!

Simply put, the air we breath is oxygen (O₂), two atoms of oxygen. Ozone gas is O₃ making it have one extra oxygen atom. The important part of this is to know that this extra oxygen atom is unstable; it will not hold it's form for long. This is important to know because it explains how ozone water is a powerful tool and something product marketers are hoping you don't learn about!

So how is this ozone gas made? Well, it is electrically charged, duh! No, I seriously didn't know either. You probably have experienced ozone gas, but didn't know it. Have you ever been outside during a lightening storm (hopefully not just standing in one!), and the air smelled different? I'm not talking about the smell of fresh rain. This is a different smell. It's strong, clean, and for some, almost irritating. Well, lightening storms create ozone gas. Here comes the 5th grade science part! The electrical energy from lightening will split the oxygen molecule and what was two oxygen atoms is now single oxygen atoms flying all over the place looking for a new mom and dad to live with! So it hooks up with an O₂ molecule that didn't get split and now becomes an O₃ (the gas dissolves into the rain drops) . And this is where it becomes unstable. That little atom doesn't care for his new mom and dad's rules so within minutes, he has decided he wants out. And this is where the good stuff happens.

Ozonated water is known throughout many industries (think hospitals and other industries where sanitation is of the utmost importance). So what does ozonated water do? Are you ready?

Well, first it is very powerful. It kills pathogens instantly: 99% of bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites (including Giardia!) It blasts their cell walls apart killing them immediately and leaving NO RESIDUE. (Instantaneous oxidation) It then dissolves back into pure oxygen (O₂). This is better than chlorine or bleach because there, again, is no residue, so that means no smell, no bad taste, no chemical crap left behind. And what do you use ozonated water for?

• cleaning fruits/vegetables/meats/seafood-it removes PESTICIDES left on the outside and helps food remain fresher LONGER

• clean countertops/surface areas

• use it on cuts/wounds/flush out- STRONGER AND FASTER THAN ALCOHOL, oxygen is delivered to surrounding tissue and helps reduce swelling/inflammation

• USE IT IN THE GARDEN or thank the lightening for charging your rain as it hits the garden! It's a natural pesticide by eliminating blight, fungal spores, harmful microbes, etc. Roots LOVE it because it allows them to take in more nutrients efficiently

• and obviously it purifies your drinking water (bad tastes, odors)

To be clear, it does not remove heavy metals, but it does alter their physical state-you need to have a filter in order to remove the heavy metals. According to what I've read and understood, heavy metals are so small (invisible!) that they normally past through standard filters. When the ozone gas enters, the oxygen atoms are transfer to the metals rapidly and the metals, once dissolved into the liquid, now becomes a solid; most notably in the shape of flakes. The flakes will then need to be removed via filter.

The multitude of uses is unreal. Seriously, you can wash your toothbrush with it, or take your makeup off with it. Even clean your baby's bottom! It is safe on skin! The common problem with ozone gas is breathing it. Remember, this is a gas. It is advised to use a ozone generator in a very well ventilated area. And also advised to actually not be in a room if you are using it to clean your air. Yes, some generators, (like air purifiers) are made for household use to clean air.

Remember how I said that ozone is highly unstable? What that means is that third atom is looking to flee home and get away from his parents. And he does it rather quickly. This gas breaks down into standard pure oxygen within 20-30 minutes! And what you are left with is EXCEPTIONALLY clean very oxygenated water free of bacteria, viruses, and residue. So, does this mean my water is going to be better for me to drink? Well, in a nutshell, yes, mainly because it's CLEAN water...free of what I just mentioned. However, keep in mind the little bit I mentioned about heavy metals. Good idea to have your water tested! (More about what we do below) Now, because I mentioned it takes 20-30 minutes for the gas to dissolve, it is recommended for you to wait those 20-30 minutes before drinking it. Just to clarify, when you stick your bubbler (more on that in a minute) in the water, it is immediately infusing the water, turning it into ozonated water. Depending on how long you set your bubbler, once you turn it off, WAIT 20-30 minutes before drinking it.

Now that we know what ozonated water is and does, I want to share with you what Bill and I have incorporated into our home and lifestyle. First, we purchased an ozone generator which connects to our washing machine. We did this a few months ago. I am going to be honest with my review here and I encourage you, like always, to do your own research with this and everything else! What turned me on to this machine was an advertisement I saw. Of course that was what led me to do all the research (including other reviews). The advertisement mainly used the propaganda of never having to use detergent again with ozonated water. After reading and researching, I can see why companies producing cleaning products, laundry detergent, bleach, etc. would NOT like for you to learn about ozonated water. They are just products that we were taught are necessary in life. It's a consistent never ending market, easy money for them. Again, after all this reading and deep diving, you KNOW I had to give it a try!

And I can say, I am very glad I gave it a try. It's not a cheap try, but in the end, I am very happy with this purchase. The machine was a five minute hookup for my plumber husband and he said it was very self explanatory and not difficult for the non-plumbers to hook up. The only caution is to be sure to only hook it up to the cold water line as it states. The machine is not to be used with the hot water line. Once it's hooked up properly, you can still use the hot water setting, the machine will by default, not turn on as your washing machine is pulling hot water from a separate line, not the ozone generator cold water line. Whenever your washing machine calls for cold water, the generator will automatically kick on. AND YES, there is a button to turn OFF the generator, but still allow cold water to pass, not generating ozonated water.

When using the machine, I always leave my laundry room door open. The water, to me, has a very distinct smell. It does not smell foul or anything like that; it does smell "fresher" or "gasier" for lack of a better word. And this is what I have found both in research and experience when it comes to cleaning. I read that some clothes/materials may take one if not several washes to remove settled odors and residue left from detergents and body oils. This is a very true statement. It's weird because I started doing the laundry with no detergent, do a few loads with detergent, and have basically built my own way that works...and would encourage everyone else to do the same. When I wash Bill's work clothes, I don't have to use detergent. There is no odor, but because he works with so many plumbing pastes/glues, etc and sometimes has grease or dirt on them, it has ALWAYS been hard to remove these and it's often difficult to know what's a new stain and what isn't. But I emphasize, they do not stink after being laundered. Actually, they have no smell and if you've followed me this long, then you know one of my favorite responses to laundry is CLEAN HAS NO SMELL! As I continued to wash our normal everyday clothes, this is what I have found. Ozonated water is not the secret to removing stains. It is however, wonderful at helping to break it down some...and material makes a difference. For instance, I wear about 1/2 my dinner plate after a meal. Don't ask me why, I have a big mouth, but I am always leaving evidence of my last meal right between my boobs. I have yet to have a stain be removed with the ozone generator and NO detergent. However, it's only 50/50 with detergent. I've learned that it is best (FOR ME) to pre-treat stains beforehand. With that being said, that is literally all I've had to do. I haven't had to use detergent in my loads. Side note: grease and oils (synthetic) need to have detergent. The ozonated water does break up oils (organic) changing its chemical structure, especially body oils, but does need a good surfactant from a detergent to help "scoop" and flush away. Warm/hot water also helps break up the grease and since the machine is not using that, you may want to add detergent or use hot water and detergent instead of running the generator.

The pros to the machine are: hardly use any detergent, no hot water usage, killing pathogens/bacteria/viruses that detergent can't do, actually keeps machine clean (!!), should help material last longer (I can't say because I haven't had it for years!) Cons: upfront cost, have to pre-treat stains, should have a ventilated area (not sure if that's a con or not)

In addition to the washing machine generator, we also purchased an ozone generator for our kitchen counter. We are constantly buying fresh fruits and vegetables, organic when possible of course, but when I learned of the killing of pathogens, etc. this was a MUST HAVE for us. The machine we purchased is a little portable generator that generates 600mg ozone per hour. It is recommended for households using a maching for this purpose to get one between 400-1000mg. This one seemed like a good size for our needs. It comes with a two year warranty and I bought an addition amazon warranty just because lol. It also comes with two bubble stones and two silicone (must have silicone) tubing rolls. It has a timer you can set in 5 minute increments up to 30 minutes. It is super easy to use and all I do is run water over all my fruits and vegetables to remove obvious dirt, chop/cut how I want to store my fruit/veggies, fill my sink with water-enough to cover everything, put our fruits/vegetables in (yes all at one time is fine), drop in a bubbler, set the time and go. When they're finished, you don't even have to rinse them! They're clean, pesticide, and bacteria free! Store as you normally would. This machine is what you would use if you want to use it for drinking water, make ozonated water to clean, etc.

Now these generators can also be used to help clean the air. People use them to clean a musty basement, small rooms with old furniture, or even a box of old vinyl records. However, I personally am not using ours for that purpose. The rooms need to be vacated and have some sort of air vent. In addition, we have two german shepherds and I don't want it messing with their lungs.

There is some things to keep in mind IF YOU HAVE WELL WATER...Before using any type of ozone equipment, you MUST get your well water tested by a lab for Bromide. If bromide is present, you cannot use ozone as it will trigger a chemical reaction that creates a known carcinogen, Bromate. If there is no Bromide, then you are clear to use it. However, if using a generator like the one we use, you can only treat water in small batches (like up to 5 gallon bucket size). It's phenomenal for removing the sulfur smell and kill bacteria, but if your well water has heavy iron or manganese, the ozone will turn the water cloudy or rusty right inside your container-you will then have to manually pour the water through a sediment filter to remove the solid rust flakes.

One last note I want to touch base on real quick is filtered water. Bill and I have had several conversations regarding drinking water, filtered water, reverse osmosis, water softener, etc. and by several, I mean, conversations for the past few years! I can't recommend enough for each of you to look into your water source, test it, smell it, and research the different ways to treat or clean your own water. I can only speak for us and our needs, and tell you what we've done over the last couple of years that has worked wonderfully for us, our lifestyle, and our budget. Fortunately I am married to a plumber (and a pretty hot one at that) so the labor cost is next to zilch...I say next to...

We have city water, and our main objective was to de-chlorinate, remove metals, junk, you get the picture. Being that our budget is limited, a whole house unit of any sort, was pretty much out of the question. So we decided to install an 'under the sink' reverse osmosis machine. This removes all the bad stuff and then adds back good minerals. This only treats water coming out of a NEW LINE (a little faucet next to our kitchen faucet). Instead of putting it under the sink, Bill (cutest plumber ever!) installed it in the basement so that we could have drinking water come out in its own separate faucet in the kitchen AND he hooked it up to the water line to the ice machine and refrigerator water. Works out beautifully and the water tastes fresh and definitely doesn't have the chlorine smell. This system is small in comparison to a whole house system, but the filtration is good for at least a year and can be re-ordered online, and easily replaced. However, we were still bathing in the chlorinated water. To solve that, we bought a pretty good shower head with a great filtration. It gets changed out every 6 months and has helped Bill's skin IMMENSELY! (He had started a bout with eczema that he has zero history of!) These changes, albeit with some upfront costs, have made HUGE differences for us. I don't want anyone to think I'm some person who hears about the newest health fad or freaks with the newest health scare. I've just learned over the years the importance of what goes in our mouths and what comes in contact with the largest organ, our skin.

If you are interested in any of the items I've written about, I have them all listed in my Amazon Storefront. Find the tab that says FILTRATION. Yes, I do get some kickback, I couldn't tell you what amount lol, nor do I care. I just have the storefront because it's easier to send or share the link. In my world, it's more important to share what I know. That's why I have this site. Of course feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions! I'd be happy to answer and tell you what I know!