W
hen growing in an urban environment, considerations need to be
taken to account for other people and families living in close prox-
imity. One of these considerations is smell. While tomatoes, strawberries,
and chilies have a relatively light smell, herbs like lavender, rosemary,
and basil produce stronger smells you may wish to clean out if living
within a built-up area. Another good reason to remove these odors is to
stop insects and pests from detecting and homing in on your grow. The
last thing you would want is pests infesting your indoor garden. In such
an environment, they can thrive and reproduce at an alarming rate.
“ A odors
nother good reason to remove these
is to stop insects and pests from
detecting and homing in on your grow.”
With modern hydroponic equipment being as good as it is these days,
most odors and bacteria can be scrubbed out by passing contaminated air
through a carbon filter. However, depending on the quality of the carbon,
the filter, the air movement, the humidity of the air being moved, and the
plants you’re growing, there can be some bacteria and odor remaining.
So, how do you get rid of these leftover, unwanted odors? One option is
to use an ozone generator. Ozone generators work by producing ozone (O 3 )
out of oxygen gas (O 2 ). Ozone is very unstable, so it quickly breaks down
back into oxygen. As it does this, it sterilizes the extra oxygen molecule,
removing any bacteria and odors. One of the negative effects is that ozone
generators produce their own odor, which smells kind of like a swim-
ming pool. Some also say that ozone generators can affect your health.
Personally, I find that they give me a sore throat and headache, but I know
lots of people that swear by them and have no problems.
Option two is to mask the remaining odors with sprays, gels, wax blocks,
and other products. They work by somewhat encasing the bad bacteria
and odor that is already airborne. This masking restricts the underlying
smell as it coats the unwanted odor with a new, fresh layer of smell. Think
of it as layering a green coat over a red sweater; the red sweater is still
there, but you can’t really detect it anymore.
Masking odors doesn’t eradicate or replace bad smells, so this method
isn’t foolproof. If you don’t fully cover the odor, people will still be able to
detect it. Even if you do a decent job, animals with better senses of smell,
like dogs, will still be able to detect the odor you are trying to conceal
along with the cover-up odor (this combination of two out-of-the-ordi-
nary smells makes it very easy for them to detect an indoor grow). As for
humans, the strong, distinct scents used to cover up unwanted odor can in
turn act as an indicator of an indoor growing environment. This is fine if
you are tiring to conceal your grow from pests, but if you want to go unde-
tected by the human nose, it basically swaps one problem for another.
So, what is the definitive answer to getting rid of bad odors? Combine
your options. If your air outtake is going directly outside, I would
suggest pulling the dirty air out of your growing environment first
through a carbon filter, then through an ozone generator, and then
over a masking smell block. If your outtake is going back in to a living
environment and you’re sensitive to ozone generators, I would cut out
that step and put another carbon filter at the end of the outtake in the
living area instead. This way the air is pulled out of your growing
environment via a carbon filter, which cleans it, then passes through an
odor masking block or gel, which covers any leftover smell, and then is
pushed back through a separate filter.
There you have it. If you want clean odor- and bacteria-free air from your
growroom, remember these mantras: Clean it, kill it, mask it; or clean it,
mask it, clean it. Simple recipes for sweet-smelling success!
grow cycle
101