Anna Bradley-Smith  |  September 10, 2021

Category: Legal News

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soclean cpap
(Photo Credit: Independence_Project/Shutterstock)

SoClean CPAP Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

  • Who: A consumer is suing SoClean, which manufactures CPAP cleaning devices.
  • What: He claims the company hides that it uses a toxic gas harmful to humans.
  • When: He lodged a class action lawsuit against the company on behalf of Mississippi consumers.

SoClean, which manufactures CPAP cleaning devices, fails to tell consumers who are at high risk of contracting breathing related illnesses that its devices emit the toxic gas ozone at levels unsafe to humans, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

The class action was filed in Mississippi on September 7 by lead plaintiff Anthony Sakalarios, who alleges that the company violates federal law by failing to disclose its devices emit ozone and by falsely representing that its devices use “activated oxygen” to clean CPAP machines.

“SoClean markets the devices as ‘safe’ and ‘healthy,’ which is false given that they generate toxic ozone gas at levels that substantially exceed federal regulations,” Sakalarios says in the lawsuit.

SoClean falsely represents that its devices use “no water or chemicals” or “no harsh chemicals” to clean CPAP machines, despite using ozone gas – a harsh chemical that causes respiratory problems in humans, he adds.

According to the claim, SoClean’s representations are designed to mislead consumers into believing that the machine uses a benign form of oxygen to clean CPAP machines rather than a harsh gas that is generally only suitable for commercial sanitization under highly controlled conditions.

SoClean CPAP Cleaner Uses Unsafe Gas

The company makes the SoClean 2 CPAP Sanitizing Machine and the SoClean 2 Go CPAP Sanitizing machine that work by generating ozone to sterilize and deodorize CPAP machines. However, Ozone is an unstable toxic gas with a pungent characteristic odor – sometimes described as “clean” smelling – that can kill bacteria and viruses, the claim explains.

To be effective as a germicide, ozone must be present in a concentration far greater than can be safely tolerated by people or animals, it says.

Sakalarios says in the claim that SoClean represents that its devices use the same sanitizing process found in “hospital sanitizing,” however, hospitals cannot and do not use ozone sanitizers in spaces occupied by patients.

He says that SoClean devices “are so dangerous and destructive” that several of the largest manufacturers of CPAP machines in the United States require purchasers to acknowledge that they have been informed that if the purchaser uses a SoClean device to clean their CPAP machine, the warranty of their CPAP machine will be voided.

“Misrepresentations are made more egregious because the SoClean devices are designed and marketed for use on the consumer’s bedside table and because CPAP users suffer from many symptoms that ozone exposure exacerbates – making the falsehoods especially reprehensible and dangerous,” Sakalarios adds in the claim.

He is looking to represent anyone in Mississippi who purchased or used a SoClean device to clean and sanitize their CPAP, BiPAP or Mechanical Ventilation machine.

Sakalarios is suing for breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty of merchantability, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraud by omission, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and more. He seeks certification of the Class, damages, interest, legal fees and costs, and a jury trial.

CPAP users recently faced an extensive recall of Philips breathing devices that may contain toxic foam. Several have lodged class action lawsuits against Philips alleging that the company has failed to provide replacements and is attempting to force CPAP users to purchase breathing devices from its new line. 

Have you ever used a SoClean device to clean a CPAP? Let us know your experience in the comments section!

Sakalarios is represented by John M. Deakle, Russell L. Johnson and Ronald V. Johnson of Deakle-Johnson Law Firm, PLLC, and Patrick W. Pendley and Andrea Barient of Pendley, Baudin & Coffin.

The SoClean Toxic Gas Class Action Lawsuit is Sakalarios v. SoClean, Inc., Case No. 2:21-cv-00114-HSO-JCG in the U.S. District Court Southern District of Mississippi Eastern Division.


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65 thoughts onSoClean Uses Undeclared Toxic Gas in Its CPAP Cleaning Devices, Class Action Alleges

  1. Berniece Patterson says:

    Add me use the cpap and the the soclean machine

  2. Scott Wilson says:

    I have been using a Soclean sanitizer for about 3 years now and i have had so many sinus issues, pneumonia, breathing problems, etc. I would like to be added to the lawsuit.

  3. Scott Wilson says:

    I have been using a Soclean sanitizer for about 3 years now and i have had so many sinus issues, pneumonia, breathing problems, etc.

  4. David Seymour says:

    I’ve been using so clean for over 2 years I’ve since been having large amount of mucus in my throat from my sinuses every morning and am now dealing with a respiratory infection breathing problems and fluid in my lungs it’s always worse in the morning and get better later in the day

  5. Deloris Draper says:

    I have had breathing problems since using the So Clean machine. I went to numerous doctors that could not tell me what was causing my breathing problems and I just remembered that I had been using that machine for about a year or two and then I started having the breathing problems. I would like to be added to the class action suit. I live in Las Vegas Nevada.

  6. Jon LiDonne says:

    I have used the SoClean device for my CPAP and the smell would make me sick. How do I join in a class action case against SoClean without opening my own case in Wisconsin?

    1. Carol Stobbs says:

      I have 2 SoClean machines for 2 houses. Have used them for years. I would have to look back to when I started. For the past 3 years I have developed serious throat issues which causes my throat to be clogged with sinus drainage. I have have had sinus surgery and spent many Dr. visits to try and clear up the problem. There are some days I can hardly talk, have a constant tickle so I cough a lot, or be able to be heard. It is very frustrating. My pulmonologist this spring told me to stop using the SoClean machine and I had heard that from others. Please add me to a law suit.

  7. B Greever says:

    oh yeah smelled bad tons of lung related problems

  8. Mary Ortiz says:

    please add me

  9. Joseph T. Brancaccio says:

    Can you please add me to lawsuit I was at WTC on 9-11 and I use a c pap and I use soclean and I feel worse

  10. Marcia Lynne Potts says:

    I have been using the So Clean CPAP cleaner for around 4 years ( maybe Longer), I have since been diagnosed with Athsma, I have a reoccuring deep cough. I thought the smell from the So Clean was clean air, so although I let the hose air out after taking the hose out of the machine, it still has the smell of the ozone. I have now stopped using the So Clean, but very unhappy that I spent $300 on a machine that was supposed to help my health, but in fact harms my health. The So Clean company didn’t even contact me, and the unit was purchased from them online. I ran into this by accident. The least they could have done would have been to contact me to prevent further harm!!

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