A question on SoClean 2 CPAP Cleaner and Sanitizer

SO CLEAN! KILLS GERMS, LEAVES THE DIRT!

As I mentioned, I clean my nasal mask with scent free baby wipes each night.

For any interested readers, I'm the only one in this thread who actually owns a So-Clean.

I find the combination of a So-clean and baby wipes to be quite effective. YMMV.

Of course, go to their web site and read what the machine does and does not do, and how, then make your decision.

Mine has lasted more than two years so far, so it's not a piece of junk.

There are two positions stated by the anti-so clean crowd: on the one hand, you don't need to clean your tube, mask and reservoir because there's nothing that builds up and the germs are your own; on the other hand, So-clean doesn't clean the build up that exists but only sanitizes, and so is worthless. Well, which is it? Oh, but you still need to put your mask and tube in the dishwasher at a high temperature to kill the non existent germs and clean the non existent grime.

I suggest people think through how their cpap machine works and come to their own conclusions. It seems to me that the outside of your mask may accumulate oils and spittle from your nose and mouth. You need to clean this with baby wipes or wash it somehow. The tubing doesn't come into contact with anything and so remains grime free; if it collects 'rain' it may be a breeding ground for germs or even mold over a long time; ditto the reservoir which holds warm water. Many here will disagree with this. My doctor suggests otherwise.

The S0-clean disinfects the tubing, mask and reservoir. Baby wipes clean the mask. done.

I wonder...Do you SoClean your toothbrush every night? I assume you change your furnace filters weekly and clean your heating ducts every year too. After all, you are breathing that air all day long.

Fine. Only use the soclean once a week. Nobody says you have to do it daily. I do.

If you clean your equipment more than once a year--some here don't--or if you clean it weekly---if you clean it at all---then the so-clean is one option. maybe lsat never cleans anything. sounds like he never cleans his mask and tubing; he finds that ridiculous. fine. I do clean my equipment. This is the easiest way for me to do it. simple as that.

I only got into this discussion--again, you think that I'd learn--because everyone was talking about how they cleaned their equipment and the troubles that they had. Now we're back to, well, you're stupid to clean your equipment. To each their own.

hegel wrote:SO CLEAN! KILLS GERMS, LEAVES THE DIRT!

As I mentioned, I clean my nasal mask with scent free baby wipes each night.

For any interested readers, I'm the only one in this thread who actually owns a So-Clean.

I find the combination of a So-clean and baby wipes to be quite effective. YMMV.

Of course, go to their web site and read what the machine does and does not do, and how, then make your decision.

Mine has lasted more than two years so far, so it's not a piece of junk.

There are two positions stated by the anti-so clean crowd: on the one hand, you don't need to clean your tube, mask and reservoir because there's nothing that builds up and the germs are your own; on the other hand, So-clean doesn't clean the build up that exists but only sanitizes, and so is worthless. Well, which is it? Oh, but you still need to put your mask and tube in the dishwasher at a high temperature to kill the non existent germs and clean the non existent grime.

I suggest people think through how their cpap machine works and come to their own conclusions. It seems to me that the outside of your mask may accumulate oils and spittle from your nose and mouth. You need to clean this with baby wipes or wash it somehow. The tubing doesn't come into contact with anything and so remains grime free; if it collects 'rain' it may be a breeding ground for germs or even mold over a long time; ditto the reservoir which holds warm water. Many here will disagree with this. My doctor suggests otherwise.

The S0-clean disinfects the tubing, mask and reservoir. Baby wipes clean the mask. done.

I did own a SoClean, returned it within the 30 days, mostly because the smell was terrible. I don't really know if the machine sanitizes or not but 300.00 is not a huge issue to me and I felt if it helped it was worth it. After I purchased I started looking into some of the claims made by the company.
1. Saying hospitals use Ozone to sterilize, there is a large insinuation here that most hospitals use this, nothing could be further from the truth. There might be 20 in the US, and we are talking about 100K machines, you can hardly compare a 299.00 machine to a 100K machine, nothing here to compare, and the hospital unit uses VHP along with the ozone.
2. States so clearly it cleans when we know it does not.

These are just a couple issues that I think are outright lies and if they lie about this, who knows what else they are lying about.

archangle wrote:Are you saying they have embedded plastic, or that someone has reported melting them?

they're a mix of hard plastic and silicone, bonded somehow, as you can see in the pics from cpap.com:

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... -mask.html

why can't you ever google anything yourself? just wonderin.

palerider wrote:

archangle wrote:Are you saying they have embedded plastic, or that someone has reported melting them?

they're a mix of hard plastic and silicone, bonded somehow, as you can see in the pics from cpap.com:

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... -mask.html

why can't you ever google anything yourself? just wonderin.

Why can't you read before you reply? I asked if "someone has reported melting them?"

i.e. Do you know if anyone has had them actually melt, or do you just know that they have hard plastic parts?

I've washed or even boiled lots of plastic CPAP parts with hard plastic parts, including embedded in silicone without damage. So far, only the newer ResMed S9 standard tanks have partially melted. Some Respironics hoses sort of got "crinkly" but still worked.

[As I mentioned, I clean my nasal mask with scent free baby wipes each night....For any interested readers, I'm the only one in this thread who actually owns a So-Clean. I find the combination of a So-clean and baby wipes to be quite effective...The S0-clean disinfects the tubing, mask and reservoir. Baby wipes clean the mask. done.]

Very interesting observations from Hegel.

pxm0675 wrote:[As I mentioned, I clean my nasal mask with scent free baby wipes each night....For any interested readers, I'm the only one in this thread who actually owns a So-Clean. I find the combination of a So-clean and baby wipes to be quite effective...The S0-clean disinfects the tubing, mask and reservoir. Baby wipes clean the mask. done.]

Very interesting observations from Hegel.

I'm curious what's infecting hegel's tubing... the reservoir is easy enough to clean when refilling.

I can wash a reservoir a LOT of times for what the suckerclean costs.

Or buy a whole CASE of new tanks!
Or a hurricane cpap dryer for half that, and still have enough for a load of
Control II disinfectant, tube brushes, new hoses, and a bottle of Xanax!

hegel wrote: As I mentioned, I clean my nasal mask with scent free baby wipes each night.

For any interested readers, I'm the only one in this thread who actually owns a So-Clean.

hegel,

Do the wipes remove oils? I use my Soclean2 every night when I'm home. My Eson mask leaks if it is not clean. I usually use water and sent-free detergent but baby wipes sounds easier. Any specific brand?

Thanks
Bill

bill-e wrote:Do the wipes remove oils? I use my Soclean2 every night when I'm home. My Eson mask leaks if it is not clean. I usually use water and sent-free detergent but baby wipes sounds easier. Any specific brand?

when I was still using the quattro ffm, I'd just wipe it with a bit of purell and a kleenix every morning, or night, whenever I'd think about it, took the oils right off and didn't appear to bother the cushion at all, (I did this for a couple years on the same cushion, those things were indestructible. I'd soap wash the mask and cushion every week or so.

Bill-e: yes, I find that they do. I buy whatever scentless brand is around. Hope that you like your So-clean; I've got the old model. Still works.

hegel wrote:Bill-e: yes, I find that they do. I buy whatever scentless brand is around. Hope that you like your So-clean; I've got the old model. Still works.

Hegel,

Now we know also Bill has a SoClean 2 like you. By the way, you indicate as having an old model. The new model now costs $299.00. Probably, over the long run, you saves back all that expenses spent on buying alternative substitutes. Correct? After discussion on this thread, I did order scent free mask wipe and last night, did use them. They are effective in removing old on cushions. For the hose and water tank, I continue to use regular dishwasher soap with hot water once a week. A hose brush is used for the hose.

Darn, I knew there was something I wanted to get at Walmart today

I have a SoClean 2. I have posted my experience on here a few times but will say briefly that it turned my masks orange (FX for her) and stunk so bad no matter how many helpful tips I used. That coupled with the thread of reviews on Amazon of other users discussing machine internal CPAP breakdowns has caused me enough concern to put it in the closet. It's been there about 9 months. I have terrible sinus allergies and I noticed no difference in my allergies using or not using the machine. I wash my equipment in the wash that supposedly comes with the SoClean (7th Generation). I rotate my equipment so I can be lazy about washing and have never experienced anything gross or dirty with my handwashing in the 4 years on CPAP. The only reason I bought the SoClean is because it was new and shiny, an impulse purchase. I read the thread on Amazon under the machine offering I purchased by John House. The thread is over 50 posts long and very informative. I would not recommend purchasing but at least be a fully informed consumer.