Ozone Gas is Harmful to Your Health

[GearChange]

There has been an explosion of various CPAP sanitizers that work by generating Ozone (O3) which then circulates through a CPAP circuit, from the mask to the machine itself, thus "sanitizing" these parts in the process. Ozone however is quite a dangerous gas for human consumption and it is not clear how these cleaners have even passed the FDA regulatory barriers to be sold in United States, in the first place.
According to US Environmental Protection Agency, EPA;
"When inhaled, ozone can damage the lungs. Relatively low amounts can cause chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath and throat irritation. Ozone may also worsen chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and compromise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections"
https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality- ... nfections.

Also Ozone sanitizers use warm air to "dry" the inside of CPAP circuits sometimes leaving some flaky white residue behind. This flaky stuff can often bee seen blowing out the CPAP mask when the machine is first turned on. This is dried out residue left over from "rain-out" inside of the hose and water tank and tends to elevate in volume when tap water has been used or a lot of saliva has been deposited in the mask. Clearly it is not very pleasant to breath the stuff, so if you use one of these Ozone cleaners make sure that:
1-You stay well away from it while it is working. Placing it outside to do its work may be the safest thing to do.
2-To prevent the white flaky stuff from being deposited into your lungs, it is best to turn your CPAP on for 5 minutes or so, before masking up.

Better yet you may wish to consider using clean warm water and your favorite dish soap to clean your hose, mask and water tank and then rinse them out well and dry fully before using them again.
Your machine itself rarely ever has to be sanitized unless you loaned it to someone with a known communicable disease, a scenario with an infinitely small probability.

All the best and keep away from inhaling Ozone.

[Julie]

Suggestion - use the forum search bar and type in 'SoClean'... I think you'll see we've been way ahead on this for a long time - and you forgot to mention that e.g. Resmed will void warranties if they think you've been using the stuff.

[chunkyfrog]

" . . . how these cleaners have even passed the FDA regulatory barriers . . . "
BRIBERY

[ChicagoGranny]

Criminy, Chunky, you think there is a crook behind every bush.

the FDA has not approved or cleared any machine to clean a CPAP. This means the FDA has not made a judgement (sic) regarding the safety or effectiveness of these machines for this use.

https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer- ... a-approved

[chunkyfrog]

Criminy, Chunky, you think there is a crook behind every bush.

the FDA has not approved or cleared any machine to clean a CPAP. This means the FDA has not made a judgement (sic) regarding the safety or effectiveness of these machines for this use.

https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer- ... a-approved

Part of the JOB of the FDA is to prevent HARMFUL products from reaching the public.
I wonder what is taking so long?

[palerider]

Part of the JOB of the FDA is to prevent HARMFUL products from reaching the public.
I wonder what is taking so long?

Budget cuts.