If you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, you are probably treating it with a CPAP machine. A CPAP machine is the most common way to treat sleep apnea.
A CPAP machine draws in air from the room, pressurizes it, and delivers it to the person using the machine through a mask and tubing. The pressurized air prevents the person’s airway from closing as a result of their sleep apnea condition. By using a CPAP machine, a person can avoid the negative side effects of sleep apnea like gasping for air during sleep, sleep deprivation, and more.
A CPAP machine has to be used every night to be an effective treatment for sleep apnea. Nightly usage means that it can easily get dirty and collect germs and bacteria. A dirty CPAP machine can be dangerous for your health. When using a CPAP machine, it is essential to keep it well-cleaned and maintained. Using a CPAP cleaning device can be an excellent way to keep your CPAP machine clean and working well for you. Learn more about the problems caused by a dirty CPAP machine, and how you can fix them below.
As stated above, a CPAP machine is used to deliver pressurized air. This means that the person using the machine is breathing in the air directly from the CPAP machine. If the CPAP machine is dirty, the person can be breathing in air that contains harmful bacteria, and toxins which can lead to irritation or illness. That is why it is vital to keep your CPAP machine clean.
A dirty CPAP machine can lead to mold and bacteria exposure, airway irritation, a sore throat, skin irritation, and other allergy symptoms. Additionally, a dirty CPAP machine results in equipment wearing out more quickly, which can cost you money to replace the parts that are no longer working. However, you can avoid these issues if you clean your CPAP machine regularly.
How Often Should You Clean Your CPAP Machine?
There is different advice on how frequently you should clean your CPAP machine. Some people say it should clean a machine daily, and others say weekly. The truth is, the various parts of your CPAP machine have different cleaning intervals. For example, your CPAP mask is something you put on your face every night when you go to sleep. It makes sense that you would want to put a clean mask on every single night, so cleaning your CPAP mask daily is probably a good idea. However, if you lack time to clean your entire CPAP machine every day, you can probably get away with cleaning your humidifier/water chamber every couple days or every week instead of every day.
Cleaning your CPAP machine is vital to your health and the maintenance of your machine. It is important to come up with a cleaning schedule that you can remember and stick to so that you don’t experience the dangers of a dirty CPAP machine.
How Should You Clean Your CPAP Machine?
If you have to clean your CPAP machine on a regular basis, let’s talk about how to do it. The instructions that come with your CPAP device will probably tell you to clean your CPAP machine with soap and water. Some directions may even recommend that you clean your machine with diluted vinegar. Both of these methods can be effective ways to clean your CPAP machine. However, they can also be time-consuming. You not only have to clean your machine by hand, but you also have to make sure it dries properly so that the machine doesn’t begin to collect mold. This can be a lot of work if you are doing it daily or even every few days. That is why it may be a great idea to use a CPAP cleaning device.
A CPAP cleaning device is a worthwhile investment because it cleans your CPAP machine, without you having to do the work. We all know that it is easy to procrastinate cleaning anything. However, if you delay cleaning your CPAP machine, it could have a negative impact on your health. A CPAP cleaning device like VirtuCLEAN will do all the work of cleaning your CPAP device for you. All you have to do is attach the CPAP cleaning device and turn it on. The VirtuCLEAN device will get rid of 99.9% of germs and bacteria using ozone.
It is fine to handwash your CPAP machine, but it is easier to use the VirtuCLEAN CPAP cleaning device. Click here if you would like to learn more about using VirtuCLEAN.