Hand-built in the USA since 2009
Three professional hydroxyl generators, compared on the specifications that actually govern job performance. Slower than ozone. Works in rooms you can’t empty. That trade is the whole reason to own one.
Airflow sets job speed. Chambers set treatment density.
All three run on a standard 110V outlet and are designed for use in occupied spaces. Treatment is measured in days, not hours — and results are not guaranteed.
Indoor cultivation facilities and close-ups of the hardware. Click any tile to open it.
Footage shows Bio3Blaster equipment on customer sites. Current models have been improved and may differ from units shown in older videos. This equipment is sold for odor and VOC treatment; we make no claims regarding plant pathogens, pests, crop yield or cannabinoid and terpene chemistry. Results vary with humidity, temperature, air exchange and remaining source material.
A hydroxyl generator uses ultraviolet light and a catalyst to produce hydroxyl radicals (•OH) in the airstream passing through the machine. The same species forms naturally when sunlight strikes water vapor in the atmosphere, where it breaks down trace gases continuously.
The radical exists for well under a second. It can’t be stored or accumulated the way ozone can — it reacts essentially where it forms. That single fact governs everything about how these machines are specified and deployed, and it’s why airflow (CFM) is the specification worth comparing, not any headline output figure. Air that never passes through the unit never gets treated.
Hydroxyl treatment is measured in days, not hours, and results aren’t guaranteed. Odor bound deep in drywall, framing, HVAC or subfloor may never release into the air, in which case no amount of runtime fixes it — the source has to come out.
What you get in exchange is the reason the category exists: the equipment runs while the structure stays occupied and your crew keeps working. No evacuation, no sealing off, no waiting for the space to clear before re-entry. On a hotel floor, an occupied apartment building, a medical office or a business that can’t close, that’s the difference between a job you can take and one you turn down.
If the space can be emptied and sealed, ozone is usually faster and cheaper per job. We make both, and we’ll say so. Here’s the full comparison.
Side by side
Same fields, same order, no missing rows. Manufacturer coverage ratings assume light to moderate odor — divide by three to four for severe fire work, and stage multiple units.
| Specification | Hydroxyl Extreme | Hydroxymaxx | Hydroxymaxx 2x |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $1,173 | $1,573 | $1,973 |
| Blower airflow | 1,850 CFM | 5,500 CFM | 5,500 CFM |
| Rated coverage | 3,000–4,000 sq ft | 3,000–4,000 sq ft | 6,000–7,500 sq ft |
| Hydroxyl chambers | Single | Single | Dual, independent |
| Discharge | Industrial blower | Vertical tornado | Vertical tornado |
| Technology | UV-A PCO + bipolar ion | UV-A PCO + bipolar ion | UV-A PCO + bipolar ion |
| Catalyst | Nano anatase TiO₂ | Nano anatase TiO₂ | Nano anatase TiO₂ |
| Ozone output | None | None | None |
| Power | 110V | 110V | 110V |
| Dimensions / weight | — | 35×22×25 in, 50 lb | 35×22×25 in, 50 lb |
| Duty rating | Continuous 24/7 | Continuous 24/7 | Continuous 24/7 |
| Warranty | 3-year | — year | — year |
| Best for | Restoration, mid-size commercial, healthcare | Tall spaces at the same coverage — vertical discharge | Warehouses, multi-unit, open commercial floors, cultivation |
| Details | Details | Details |
How to read a coverage rating. Published figures across this industry assume light to moderate odor at normal ceiling height. A competitor’s own training manual drops from 3,500 sq ft at one to two days for light odor to 800 sq ft at three to four days or more for severe — a factor of four. Note also that coverage is quoted in square feet while the machine treats cubic feet: a 3,500 sq ft warehouse bay with 20 ft ceilings holds twice the air of the same footprint in an office. Size to the job in front of you, not the number on the box — the sizing calculator does the arithmetic.
The lineup
Pro restoration
$1,173 $1,273
Single chamber on the 1,850 CFM industrial blower body. The value pick when you’re buying multiple units to stage across rooms.
Vertical discharge
$1,573
Same coverage band as the Extreme, on the 5,500 CFM vertical tornado blower. Buy it for ceiling height — vertical discharge reaches volume a horizontal machine leaves untouched.
Large scale
$1,973
Same blower and chassis as the Hydroxymaxx with a second hydroxyl chamber — double the radical production per pass, double the rated coverage.
Three principles, stated up front so you can judge the rest of the site against them.
Because the hydroxyl radical has a sub-second lifetime, it can’t build up in a room. The machine treats the air moving through it, so CFM sets the ceiling on how fast a job can move. Any vendor leading with a radical-count figure instead of a fan rating is selling the wrong number.
A single square-footage number is close to meaningless. Coverage collapses by a factor of three or four between light and severe odor. Where we publish a manufacturer rating, we say what severity it assumes.
We don’t make kill claims, disinfection claims or health claims for this equipment. These are odor-removal and VOC-oxidation machines. The published research is clear that hydroxyl radicals are less effective disinfectants than ozone, and we’re not going to pretend otherwise to close a sale.
Hydroxyl generators are not a substitute for mold remediation. Large surface infestations or growth behind walls require established remediation protocols — removal, containment, and the rest. Equipment supports that work. It doesn’t replace it.
Radical. The hydroxyl radical (•OH) is a neutral molecule with one unpaired electron — that’s what these machines produce. The hydroxide ion (OH⁻) is a different, negatively charged species; it’s what’s in lye. “Hydroxyl ion” is a mash-up of the two and appears constantly in this industry’s marketing. If a spec sheet uses it, treat the rest of the sheet with the same skepticism.
No. Two mechanisms are sold under one category name. Most units use photocatalytic oxidation — UVA lamps illuminating a titanium dioxide catalyst surface, where photogenerated charges split adsorbed water and oxygen into reactive species. Others rely on broader-spectrum UV photolysis. Catalyst crystal phase matters too: research using radical probe compounds found that free, mobile hydroxyl radicals form on anatase TiO₂ via a reductive oxygen pathway, while rutile produced mainly surface-bound radicals.
None of these three produce ozone. All use UV-A photocatalytic oxidation — the 315–400 nm band, which does not generate ozone the way shorter wavelengths do. That’s what makes continuous occupied-space operation possible. If you need ozone shock treatment as well, that’s a separate combination unit rather than one of these.
Worth understanding before you buy anything in this category. Peer-reviewed work on photocatalytic oxidation has documented partial-oxidation byproducts including formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. Field sampling after a controlled test fire by Wonder Makers Environmental found byproduct quantities well below OSHA limits, in the low parts-per-billion range. The documented mitigation is downstream carbon adsorption — one study reported no detectable degradation products when activated charcoal filtration was combined with a PCO unit.
Less than most vendors imply. It identifies the facility that produced the device. EPA states in writing that displaying the number does not imply EPA endorsement and does not suggest the agency has found the product safe or effective. EPA does not certify air cleaning devices at all.
Check certification first. California requires portable indoor air cleaning devices sold or shipped into the state to be CARB certified, and CARB’s list explicitly includes hydroxyl generators in its electronic device category. Contact us before ordering to California.