SigForum has impacted my CPAP equipment in recent years, so I thought I'd share the journey.

I've been a CPAP user since 1997. A lady friend cajoled me that I was scaring the heck out of her with my stopping breathing during the night. That motivated me! Have had a few sleep studies over the period since which simply reaffirmed the benefits of a CPAP machine for me. Started out with a couple Respironics units and currently have a RedMed AirSense 10. It is smaller and quieter indicative of the equipment evolution of the past two decades.

Originally I tried a good number of mask kits but settled on Respironics ComfortGel which worked well for my beard. I remained rather oblivious to what the market was doing until a thread here a couple years ago. In it the Respironics Dreamwear nasal mask was highly touted. I decided to try it. It was a revelation, thanks to folks here, as it was much lighter and less obtrusive than what I had been strapping to my face.

I have always followed manufacturers recommended cleaning procedures. Used to be a vinegar-water bath for the masks but now they advise that liquid soap like Dawn does the trick. Hoses were always problematic. Running water through a 6 to 10 foot length in the shower and letting them dry was a PITA. Replacing them every 3 months was a simpler solution.

When Jim aka walkinghorse stopped by recently we talked CPAP cleaning among other things. He said he really liked his ozone sanitizer. Keep in mind these ozone cleaners kill germs and don't remove grime from body oils, etc. He noted that in his opinion the $200 and $300 machines (SoClean, etc.) were no better than decently designed inexpensive units.

I still laugh at Jim's declaration that he "loves the smell of ozone in the morning" with an obvious hat tip to Apocalypse Now. You do have to be careful to ensure the ozone dissipates before using the equipment sanitized with it. The smell is reminiscent of the air after an intense thunderstorm with plenty of local strikes.

So for shits and giggles I did some research which confirmed that there were inexpensive options that did the same as the high priced and heavily marketed stuff. For my routine it would possibly be a nice way to refresh the tubing and the machine itself between 3 month parts replacement covered by insurance. Found a unit (Webetop) that got great reviews that functioned much like Jim's. In addition to Amazon on other online sites I found an eBay seller that had new stock at a good price. After adding it to my watched list he contacted me with a significant additional discount to buy so I popped. Been happy with the unit since receipt. Got it for 3 Hamiltons NIB delivered. Can't bitch at that level of investment.

I'm doing the CPAP machine monthly and the mask / tubing / headgear weekly with the ozone unit, augmenting my daily non-alcohol, non-fragrance mask wipe down and weekly Dawn cleaning bath.
(As an aside I have a good supply of witch hazel wipes and will go to baby wipes vice the inflated cost of CPAP wipes which are the same damn thing when my current supply runs out)

Works for me! Thanks Sigforum. (You too walkinghorse!)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bald1,

I never heard of that brand. But I'm happy that you are happy.
Res Med just issued a warning that Ozone cleaners MAY. damage their units and if such should occur, the warranty is VOID.
Personally, we have never had a unit damaged by Ozone cleaners. We believe they are CYA.
The Number 1 reason for damage, is WATER entering the unit and shorting the board. This happens when the unit gets knocked over while the humidifier is connected.

As a CPAP user myself, I appreciate you sharing your experiences. Thank you!

last year started on my CPAP machine, went from literally a "walking dead" zombie, dead on my feet, (my AHI was 72) to now, being woke every morning to feeling very good. the VA gave me my machine, i have to admit, it is a nice machine, I wash the mask about once a week (i use the nasal canular deal mentioned above) and the hoses about once a month..be nice if i could place them in the dish washer. It has changed my life..no doubt

I tried a Soclean unit a couple of years ago. It worked great and I liked the fresh smell that it gave my CPAP machine. However, I began developing respiratory infections. Saw my doctor three times within the first four weeks of using the Soclean unit. Antibiotics were not working. Within a few days of stopping the use of the Soclean unit my respiratory issues went away. I would have thought that ozone was/is pretty safe, but apparently not for me. I understand that correlation is not causation, but I won’t go back to using a Soclean.

quote:

Originally posted by downtownv:
I never heard of that brand. But I'm happy that you are happy.
Res Med just issued a warning that Ozone cleaners MAY. damage their units and if such should occur, the warranty is VOID.
Personally, we have never had a unit damaged by Ozone cleaners. We believe they are CYA.
The Number 1 reason for damage, is WATER entering the unit and shorting the board. This happens when the unit gets knocked over while the humidifier is connected.

I wondered how long it would take CPAP mfgs to nix the daily ozone cleaning - this is the first step until they have data to satisfy the FDA. either that or they'll start selling them.....
CPAPs are all plastic, ozone will kill plastic, eventually.

I have a cheapie from Amazon that was like $80 for my AirSense P10 & the downtownv-provided dreamstation-Go. I use it about once a month on both (or when I get back from travel on the Go). I don't clean them very often otherwise. I'm always deleting voicemails from lincare about my cpap supplies too - I replace at about double the expected rate. I've had 0 problems & lots of benefits from the CPAP.

quote:

Originally posted by bogeyman:
I tried a Soclean unit a couple of years ago. It worked great and I liked the fresh smell that it gave my CPAP machine. However, I began developing respiratory infections. Saw my doctor three times within the first four weeks of using the Soclean unit. Antibiotics were not working. Within a few days of stopping the use of the Soclean unit my respiratory issues went away. I would have thought that ozone was/is pretty safe, but apparently not for me. I understand that correlation is not causation, but I won’t go back to using a Soclean.

when you start your CPAP unit up after being sanitized, did you let it run a few seconds before putting on your face to flush out the ozone? That is what I fo with my SoClean that I bought from downtownv

Glad it's working for you Bald1!
Definitely the price difference you and I paid versus the TV ad prices makes it reasonable to check out.
Regarding the water in the electronics possibility, the directions on my unit advises that the unit should be unplugged, and all water including drops and dampness removed from the humidifier reservoir prior to using the cleaner. Guess H2O keeps O3 from getting to the surface?
Warnings about O3 cleaners voiding warranties seems to be the norm with warranties these days. Sort of like an insurance claim, first they try to find any excuse or reason why it's excluded. But considering todays world, general malaise of the population, class action lawsuit, ignorance of the population, false news, fake news, etc. etc. guess it is inevitable ?

I just up an bought a so clean. Works well. I run it about every 3 days or so. I always let it blow out the smell before the next use. About 10 seconds or so.

CPAP has made me feel much better. I highly recommend it to anyone concerned.

Tatortodd - I would use the Soclean early in the morning but not use the machine until that night. There was at least 12 hours between the end of the cleaning cycle and me using the machine, but I did not run it at night before I put it on. Never thought to try that.

quote:

Originally posted by bogeyman:
Tatortodd - I would use the Soclean early in the morning but not use the machine until that night. There was at least 12 hours between the end of the cleaning cycle and me using the machine, but I did not run it at night before I put it on. Never thought to try that.

There is 12+ hours between running the SoClean and using my CPAP too, but the air still doesn't seem normal the first few seconds. Running it a few seconds might work for you too.

I reccomend listing to whatever DOWNTOWN suggests. The man has a wealth of knowledge on the subject.Has the best prices also.

I'm one and a half years into using mine and appreciate all of the comments from other CPAP users. I tend not to clean much. I'll wash the mask every week or so. The headgear when it gets dirty. The tube every month or two. But the humidifier tank gets cleaned at least once a week.
I've found washing or replacing the air intake filter on the side of the unit regularly also makes a huge difference. Any time you smell any odors - something is dirty.

Cheers~

I recently got a BIPAP machine. the Respiratory Therapist from the medical supply company told me to wash the face-mask in Dawn about once a week and change the circuit hoses monthly. The bacteria filter gets changed more frequently, on an "as needed" basis.

quote:

Originally posted by bogeyman:
Tatortodd - I would use the Soclean early in the morning but not use the machine until that night. There was at least 12 hours between the end of the cleaning cycle and me using the machine, but I did not run it at night before I put it on. Never thought to try that.

I throw the mask in right after I get up. It turns itself on at 10am, and runs for eight minutes. Light goes from red to amber to green when it's ready to be used again.

quote:

Originally posted by walkinghorse:
Glad it's working for you Bald1!
Definitely the price difference you and I paid versus the TV ad prices makes it reasonable to check out.
Regarding the water in the electronics possibility, the directions on my unit advises that the unit should be unplugged, and all water including drops and dampness removed from the humidifier reservoir prior to using the cleaner.

I not only unplug my CPAP but have an optional sideplate (#37303) that replaced the humidifier tub on my ResMed Airsense 10. I found that the unit can run out of distilled water during the night (even with low to moderate settings) with no auto shut off feature for the humidifier function. With no water in the tub the heat from the heating plate then caused the wood laminate on the shelf it was on to blister. Hence my discontinuance of the humidifier. I use Rhinase nasal gel instead when humidity is low in the house. https://rhinase.com/
(Yeah I know I could have put some kind of protective heat-resistant pad underneath the ResMed but the gel works very well and is easier for me.)

I also remove the small replaceable filter in the ResMed as I'd found it seems to retain the ozone smell after a sanitizing cycle.

Being redundant, my main goal was to use the ozone sanitizer to address refreshing the hose connecting the machine to mask between tri-monthly replacements. I still feel my daily wipe down and weekly Dawn bath are very effective measures to keep things clean. They've worked for me now for over 2 decades with no issues.

And yes, for those interested in the more well known units like SoClean, our own downtownv is a great go to source.

For me though, such an investment is one I couldn't justify (to date no insurance covers any of the CPAP cleaning machines). Hence the inexpensive unit I picked up.

More info on what I chose here:
https://www.dragonblogger.com/...ap-cleaning-machine/
https://www.officialtop5review.com/cpap-cleaners/
https://www.bestcpapcleaner.co/
https://homemakerguide.com/best-cpap-cleaner/
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=web...7&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_5