(03-07-2015, 02:27 AM)PaulaO2 Wrote: Just for giggles, I've been doing some research into this "ozone cleaning" thing.
If used by trained professionals on non-heirloom or valuable textiles, it may help in the removal of smoke smell in a house after a fire. However, it can cause "degrades the material being treated by causing fading, loss of tensile strength and consequently accelerated aging" (in terms of textiles and similar materials). The use of a HEPA filter over the course of several days does a much better job.
(source)
In the treatment of mold, it is illegal for contractors to use ozone cleaners in the state of Wisconsin. "To have an impact on biological contaminants, such as bacteria and mold, those organisms must be exposed to ozone levels five to ten times higher than the various public health standards allow." (source)
I stopped at that last source. I had read enough. While it was referring to mold on a large scale such as in the restoration business, it didn't ease my misgivings any. No way would I want such a device in my home. Nor would I want to put my gear into it. What kind of damage is being done to it each time? What kind of damage is being done to my home each time? No thanks.
I'm skeptical about SoClean, however....
The concern about ozone (O3) cleaners for mold is probably not relevant. In order to kill mold with ozone in your home or office, you'd need to fill the entire room with ozone. If you had enough ozone to kill mold, it would be unhealthy for you, too. DUHHH!!!!
As long as you don't climb into the chamber while it's running or decide to somehow hook your mask up to the SoClean machine while it's running, there probably won't be a problem.
The ozone in the SoClean is a recirculating system. Little, if any, of the ozone gets out into the room. I believe it even has an ozone destroying element to clean up the ozone at the end of the cycle. It generates ozone to be used in a small volume of space, i.e. the unit, the hose, and the humidifier water. It probably doesn't generate ozone fast enough to significantly pollute the house even if it did leak. It's intended to generate ozone for use in a closed system.
Ozone breaks down into oxygen, so it won't hang around in
Even if it was leaking ozone, it shouldn't be generating enough ozone to be of concern mixed with the room air. Ozone has a burning electric smell, so you'd notice it if it was leaking. O3 breaks down rather rapidly indoors, so it won't hang around for long.
In theory, the ozone doesn't circulate into the blower unit, just the humidifier tank, hose, and mask. If it does eat CPAP equipment, hoses, masks, and humidifier tanks are not that expensive and need to be replaced eventually even without O3.
Ozone is not the kind of chemical to "soak into" the plastic and come back out later. Ozone tends to quickly break down into oxygen when it reacts with things. Even if your equipment was left with ozone in them, it would very quickly be blown out by the CPAP airflow.
We are all exposed to a certain amount of ozone under natural conditions, even more from electrical equipment in the home, and in polluted outdoor air. I doubt a SoClean would make a significant difference in the O3 concentration in your home air. It might not even be a big deal if it was defective.
There are an awful lot of people who deliberately run ozone generators in their home to "clean the air." While it probably doesn't work, it probably isn't particularly harmful at the levels of O3 generated.
I don't think there's any significant O3 hazard from the SoClean.
However, remember, it might kill germs, but it doesn't actually remove dirt. To me, "clean" means remove dirt.