Anyone have experience with the SoClean Machine?

The Soclean uses ozone to clean. Suspiciously they don’t tell you that. They call it ACTIVATED OXYGEN which sounds harmless . Ozone is dangerous to breath. When inhaled it can damage your lungs, cause chest pain, coughing , shortness of breath and lung irritation. If you don’t remove all the ozone before using your CPAP you are breathing ozone. My friend bought a soclean and went on to have lung issues and pneumonia. We can’t say the soclean is the reason but the timing is suspicious.

according to the respiratory therapist I spoke with, you can’t use the soclean with the trilogy 100 as the Ozone will damage the trilogy machine and that is not covered in the waranty so you could be out $11,000 for a new Trilogy 100

There have been quite a few articles regarding the
safety of the soclean. There was a very thorough article on the safety of the soclean but I can’t locate it. Here is one not so thorough.

Jake

I spoke with Phillips Resperonics makers of the most used CPAP and BiPAP machines and the Trilogy 100. They are doing extensive testing on the soclean with all machines and are not yet satisfied that the soclean will not damage their machines and as yet will not honor their warranty should the soclean machine be used with their machines. At such time as they do or do not certify the use with their machines, they will so advise their distributors world wide.

Hello John, I just bought my husband a SoClean2 machine for Christmas, but it puts off a strange smell, he said it's the Ozone that the machine uses. Which he says really smells when using his CPAP. I've been told this is not safe, any suggestions? Thanks.

Hi @sdn60, There is a lot debate on the safety and a lot of people have mentioned the smell. I can honestly say it hasn't bothered me but I did notice the smell at first. The SoClean runs the Ozone generator for 2 minutes and then you have to leave it closed for 2 hours. I've found that it reduces the smell if I am able to open it up soon after the cleaning or sanitizing because it really doesn't clean - it just kills the bacteria, etc.. I used to leave it closed until I went to bed and then open it up and put on the mask. That's when I smelled it the most. I've had mine for a little over a year and would not go back to hand washing all the parts, the hose being the worse for me.

On a different note, I've always thought that they are way overpriced and it was all about the fear of getting sick if you don't use one. I recently ran across an Ozone cleaner that is a lot cheaper and small enough to travel with me if needed. I went ahead and ordered the deluxe model which includes the basic cleaner plus a tote that you can use at home to easily sanitize the humidifier tank as well as the CPAP machine if you want.

From the other point of view which I think is just as valid... my whole argument boils down to time is my most valuable asset and the cleaner saves me time that I can use for other things. This point explains that it's really not necessary if you do the normal maintenance - change filters as scheduled, and wash the mask, hose, humidifier tank regularly.

Using the CPAP Cleaners Soclean or Lumin
-- https://www.verywellhealth.com/do-you-need-a-cpap-cleaner-like-soclean-or-lumin-4171650

I've been using the SoClean machine along with mask surface wipes for a few years. I have found that I seldom have any cold-like symptoms , primarily, nasal congestion, any longer. For some years, before SoClean, I was plagued with frequent cold-like symptoms which I eventually attributed to presence of microbes in the CPAP tubing and water reservoir. I bought the SoClean, comtinued sanitation practices of mask, and the cold-like symptoms did not reappear.
The sterilant is ozone which dissipates quickly. I found the ozone odor gone within about 30 seconds.
Although what I experienced could not be called a clinical trial, I find that the results from using the SoClean machine to be very satisfying.

@girlgotta I've used a SoClean 2 machine for over a year with no issues. I make sure that the cycle is complete and always open the machine a long time before bedtime to make sure any of the smell is gone before I put on my CPAP mask. I'm sure each person is different in sensitivity. Opening the machine a few hours before you go to bed will make sure any left over ozone has dissipated. Here are some sites that may provide more information on COPD and CHF.

COPD - Symptoms & Causes -- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/copd/symptoms-causes/syc-20353679

NIH - COPD -- https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/copd

Severe COPD, Heart Failure a Bad Combo - Symptoms of undertreated HF are too often confused with COPD
-- https://www.medpagetoday.com/cardiology/chf/76926

<p>My family member got a SoClean machine. Then he developed a cough and sore throat. I told him to stop using it. He did for awhile but he liked the easyness of use , so he went back to using it. He then preceded to develop COPD and CHF. I believe it is tied to him breathing the activated oxygen. Upon doing a little research I found out AO is really OZONE. When ozone is inhaled it can damage your lungs and heart. Has anyone else had medical issues.</p>

Hi, @girlgotta - I moved your post here where others such as @donlahrrn @muffy @rickatl @henjan53 @rfmielke55 @prognosis were talking about the SoClean CPAP equipment cleaner machine. Hoping they can chime in about whether they've had any medical issues that could possibly be linked to the machine.

Wondering how your family member is doing with his SoClean machine? Is he still having symptoms?