CPAP cleaning system

[Itsadryheat]

Soap and water for me, and a good soak with Control III once a week.

[Tommy C]

Because it doesn't really do anything! So, let's say you thoroughly clean a machine and disinfect it. Use it once, or just leave it alone in a bedroom, and it'll pick up a bunch of bacteria. What are you gonna do, clean it continuously? Wake up in the middle of the night and clean it?
Washing with soap and water cleans away the crud and disinfects it. Anything more is overkill.

You make a good point about crud and debris. A full face mask will pick up spit, plaque and food particles. A good wash will flush these out, whereas the oxygen treatment will just kill the bacteria and leave the debris intact, but dead. Yuck!

Sure there will be some bacteria picked up while sitting during the day, but it is a matter of degree... how much is too much and can cause infections? A small amount of environmental pickup will do little harm while colonies of bacteria from the mouth that have grown over a few days can cause infections.

I found that just washing my dental guard with soap and water was not enough. I still caught minor bacterial infections on my gums. Once I washed it AND soaked it in water and alcohol all day, never had a problem since.

Overkill? Because it doesn't do anything? When it comes to cleanliness is this possible? I am trying to get to the bottom of what works and why or why not. From what I read, ozone treatment is the second best method of killing bacteria and viruses on the planet. Maybe a flame thrower is #1, I dunno...

To clean the debris out, certainly a good washing is probably the best, though, from my experience with the mouth guard, a disinfectant might be needed too. Alcohol is not recommended for the softer rubbers, etc, so I figgered that maybe the O2 treatment might be a good substitute.

It's mainly a matter of ease and convenience, using an O2 machine, but now that you mention the debris and crud factor, it makes sense to wash. I mean, who wants dead/disinfected debris still in their mask?

T

[Sleepster]

Overkill? Because it doesn't do anything? When it comes to cleanliness is this possible?

Yes.

[mjbearit]

There is always the product by Phillips called the TRU-D Rapid Room Disinfection if you have that kind of money! I would place this squarely in the arena of overkill for the home user!

[PaulaO2]

Years ago when I had the S7, I narrowed down my allergies to my CPAP. I talked to the DME about it, about how to clean the inside of the machine. They said there's not a way to do it. That when they refurbish a machine, they just put in a new tank and wipe the outside off.

[archangle]

He did provide this link showing a study that is positive about using the ozone cleaning process:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16023258

WTF you talking about? It says " A total of 122 CPAP devices were examined including 50 CPAP devices used by patients, which were examined before and after reprocessing. Seventy-two new CPAP devices that had not been in contact with patients served as controls. The results of this study show that the microbial contamination of new and used CPAP devices is only minimal."

i.e. no special cleaning was needed for CPAP machines. I presume they're talking about the blower unit, not the hoses and mask.

O2 treatment (actually O3) seems SO much easier than tearing down and washing each time.

For $100, I'll sell you a rock. You can wave it over the CPAP equipment every night and say "GERMS BEGONE!!!!" It's so much easier than tearing down and washing or and it's cheaper than an Ozone generator.

[robpur]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a CPAP cleaning machine.

There's a machine called the SleepGo? for $200 that uses ozone. And I see a number of liquid sprays around.

Does this ozone "activated oxygen" method really work well? What is the most complete way to easily clean a CPAP system? I wonder what the pros use...

I don't mind spending up to $350 for a quality unit that will last and do the job right.

T

In theory Ozone sounds like a good way to disinfect, but in practice it may not be. Ozone is a powerful disinfectant. Given the right concentration, temperature, and contact time it can kill most living things. The problem is getting all that stuff right. The questions to ask are "what concentration does the SoClean produce, and what's the stability of the Ozone generator over time and humidity variations". Most Ozone generators degrade over time and can be effected by environmental conditions. Then you must ask if that concentration will kill the things you want to kill in the given amount of time.

Keep in mind that the Ozone must come in contact with the microbes, so you need to clean the crud from your mask first. If you don't, then the Ozone may not be able to reach all the microbes to kill them.

Safety is also an issue. Ozone is a strong lung irritant, and many times when the subject of Ozone cleaning comes up in discussions somebody will pop up and talk about how terrible Ozone is for you. Well, carbon monoxide is toxic too but we still drive cars and generally keep from suffocating ourselves. My understanding is that the SoClean produces such a small amount of Ozone, and it has an Ozone filter, that it's probably not a danger in that way. Just don't sit next to it in a closed room if you smell Ozone.

Another safety concern is what kind of toxic compounds it can produce when it oxidizes substances that it contacts. This is commonly talked about on Ozone sites and it's a big unknown. The bi-products may or may not be a health risk.

Ozone can be damaging to some materials, especially Nylon. I believe that the SoClean site states that Ozone won't harm materials commonly used in CPAP masks and hoses, but if it's a concern then verification of that claim should be made.

Frankly, I would not want to depend on an Ozone disinfecting machine unless I was able to confirm the Ozone concentration over time. I would not want to take it on faith that the machine was doing its job without some form of verification. However, since you need to wash the CPAP parts before disinfecting with Ozone, then you would be fine even if the SoClean failed since you would still be doing the manufacturer recommended cleaning. Personally, I use soap and water to clean, and then disinfect. I've used various disinfectants over the years, but I'm currently using Control III. I like high tech gadgets and considered the SoClean myself, but I have more trust in chemical disinfectants than I do in a low cost Ozone generator.

[Tommy C]

WTF you talking about?

Tough crowd. I skimmed it and assumed they were referring to ozone cleaning since I asked that question of him. So it says most used/recycled machines are not contaminated as-is. OK.

For $100, I'll sell you a rock. You can wave it over the CPAP equipment every night and say "GERMS BEGONE!!!!" It's so much easier than tearing down and washing or and it's cheaper than an Ozone generator.

Brilliant. You take Pay Pal?

So it appears ozone cleaning is regarded in the over-the-top quack category here. Got it.

T

[Tommy C]

Frankly, I would not want to depend on an Ozone disinfecting machine unless I was able to confirm the Ozone concentration over time. I would not want to take it on faith that the machine was doing its job without some form of verification. However, since you need to wash the CPAP parts before disinfecting with Ozone, then you would be fine even if the SoClean failed since you would still be doing the manufacturer recommended cleaning. Personally, I use soap and water to clean, and then disinfect. I've used various disinfectants over the years, but I'm currently using Control III. I like high tech gadgets and considered the SoClean myself, but I have more trust in chemical disinfectants than I do in a low cost Ozone generator.

Very informative summary, Rob, thanks.

Well, glad I didn't order it yet and have decided not to - and use plain old soap and water and Control III as you suggested.

Yes, after reading about ozone it does appear like there is some risk of residual effects to the lungs, etc. No sense playing those games when the job can be done safely.

Later -

T

[Izabela]

I am almost ready to buy this "SoClean" unit for $199:

After reading a lot about the ozone process on the web, it appears to be an outstanding way to clean a CPAP system.

But why is there hesitation to use it by some, including ResMed? Will the O2 process harm the S9 delicate sensors as suggested with chemicals?

O2 treatment (actually O3) seems SO much easier than tearing down and washing each time.

TommY C

Hi TommyC,

My name is Izabela, and I'm an employee of Better Rest Solutions, the company that makes the SoClean CPAP sanitizer. I just wanted to clarify a few things and add to the discussion about safety...

As you've discussed already, activated oxygen is known to be a very effective sanitizer. Yes, it can be corrosive to electronics, and some other materials like latex and nylon. However, ozone is very compatible with silicone, acrylic and polycarbonate (often used in CPAP equipment.) Next, the natural flow of activated oxygen in the SoClean actually runs from the humidifier up through the hose, and out the mask in the secure chamber... minimizing the exposure of CPAP electronics.

As another poster suggested, the SoClean does have a filter which breaks down any ozone back into normal oxygen. It's also important to note that most ozone naturally breaks back down to oxygen within 30 minutes anyway. We recommend you keep the lid of the SoClean shut for two hours after running, to complete the sanitizing and allow the ozone to break down.

As far as ozone concentration goes- the exact amount is 140 ppm (parts per million.)

Currently, the SoClean is compatible with the Resmed S9 and a standard CPAP hose. We are working on a special adapter so that folks can continue to use the ClimateLine heated hose in conjunction with the SoClean. We expect to have that adapter available very soon.

Hope I've added a few valuable points, and I'm open to any further questions.