Skip to content
Table of Contents
Reasons You Need to Clean Your CPAP Machine
If you are like many sleep apnea sufferers, you probably have been prescribed sleep therapy with a PAP (positive air pressure) device. Like the rest of us that have this diagnosis, you know, getting used to your machine can be difficult. You also understand that having the added maintenance can be a chore. However, having a CPAP as part of your routine has probably made you feel better, more rested, and have more peace of mind when you sleep.
All that being said, it is times like we face today, with a national health crisis revolving around viruses and hygiene, that can make us look at our CPAP use and what we can do to help protect ourselves from being infected or unintentionally making ourselves sick. Continue reading to learn how cleaning your CPAP machine could be just as important as washing your hands during this health threat. Also, see why having disinfected CPAP equipment is essential all the time and what the best and most effective methods of cleaning your machine are.
1. Mold and Fungus
As mentioned above, getting used to your CPAP device can be uncomfortable and inconvenient, to say the least. Due to some of this discomfort, technology has come a long way to help ease the sleep therapy transition. One of the most significant comfort additions to most CPAP therapies has been a heated humidifier and heated hosing. This helps most patients sleep more soundly without suffering the effects of dry mouth.
Unfortunately, this added luxury can be dangerous. The warm and moist environment created for your comfort also has all the prime conditions for mold, mildew, and fungi to grow. If your CPAP face mask, hosing, and water tank are not all cleaned regularly, different contaminants can breed in your gear, causing you to breathe in those particles and get sick.
2. Smell and Build-up
Another unpleasant and unfortunate issue is that your CPAP comes in direct contact with your face, nose, and sometimes mouth. Due to the mask being pressed so firmly to your face, it often gets facial oils, dead skin, and hair build upon it. Though this debris can typically be wiped away with a damp cloth, the bacteria that are left behind from your nose or mouth are not as easily removed. The same bacteria that can cause tooth decay, bad breath, and other oral and sinus issues can get into your face mask and cause a biofilm to form in your hose. This film and these bacteria can cause foul odors and even make you sick.
3. Sickness and Disease
Along with mold and foul odor, it is critical during this national health crisis that every CPAP user be aware of the threat to their health when using a CPAP device. When looking at the hazard of any virus, one of the best things we can do to prevent the spread of illness is to wash our hands. Additionally, the CDC (Center for Disease Control) recommends avoiding contact with our eyes, nose, mouth, or other parts of our face or head, such as our ears.
Some of these same principles apply to safety hygiene to prevent viral infection when using your CPAP. You still want to ensure you are washing your hands thoroughly, but unfortunately, you have to touch all of the areas you were just warned not to touch by the CDC because you have to put on your CPAP mask.
However, there is little reason to be concerned if you are cleaning your CPAP appropriately. Just like washing your hands frequently helps reduce your risk of exposure, ensuring your CPAP gear is completely sanitized daily can definitely improve your chances of not getting sick.
Ways to Clean CPAP Equipment
There are multiple ways to clean your CPAP gear. Here is a shortlist of a few of the most common methods:
- Washing by hand with soap and water
- Disinfection with ozone (also known as activated oxygen)
- Sanitization with UV (ultraviolet) light
Unfortunately, all cleaning methods are not created equally. While washing your equipment by hand can help to eliminate any facial oil or mask build-up, it cannot guarantee a high percentage of germ elimination. There are just too many places that are too hard to reach to be sure that you have gotten your equipment clean enough to remove all chances of you breathing in mold, bacteria, or having contact with unwanted pathogens such as the flu, cold, or other viruses.
Get a CPAP Disinfection Device with Best CPAP Cleaner
The only way to ensure that over 99% of all germs, viruses, and other particles are eradicated from your CPAP equipment is to use a CPAP disinfecting machine. These standardly come in two varieties. There are units like the SoCLEAN and VirtuCLEAN that use ozone’s germicidal properties to sanitize your gear. There are also other devices such as the Lumin and the Lumin Bullet, which utilize the disinfecting features found in UV light to clean your CPAP equipment as well as other household objects.
Help keep your sleep therapy more effective and stay safe from illness by getting a CPAP cleaner today. Browse the different models available at https://www.bestcpapcleaner.com/
Shop
