Cleaning of CPAP
Introduction
If you have recently purchased a CPAP machine, you will need to know how to keep it clean. After all, the environment that you are breathing in is being circulated throughout the entire house and who wants that? The good news is that your CPAP Cleaner is a lot easier to take care of than most people think. Cleaning and maintaining your machine are simple as long as you know where to start and what you’re looking for.
Let’s get started with some tips on how to keep your CPAP machine clean:
Tip 1- Keep it Clean!
Make sure that you clean the mask, tubing, filters, and humidifier chambers daily before bedtime. This should be done at the same time everyday so that you don’t forget. A quick tip would be to buy a shower organizer bag or any other bag that will conveniently hold all of the cleaning supplies needed for each device. Being organized in this way makes it easy for you to remember which devices need to be cleaned every day and which ones can wait until tomorrow (or longer). If possible, it’s also easier to clean the devices if you bring them into your bathroom and set them up on a counter or open space. You’ll be able to see what needs to be cleaned as well as where you are putting everything. Setting up all of your equipment is an important step because if something falls, some becomes contaminated with dirt or dust, or anything else that could damage the machine.
Tip 2- More is (Usually) Better
Another thing that many people do wrong when cleaning their CPAP machine is that they wash out the water in their humidifiers every day rather than replacing it with fresh water each night. If you keep refilling the humidifier chamber each day, it will eventually become moldy inside and will not be safe to use. This is one of the most common mistakes that people make and it could potentially be detrimental to your health in the long run. In order to avoid this, simply replace the water with fresh water every night before you go to bed. It’s easier than you think and it will save you from a lot of cleanup work down the road.
Tip 3- Be Creative!
Sometimes when we are cleaning our CPAP Cleaner machines, spills may occur or accidents may happen. For smaller messes such as these, sometimes all you need is some soap, water, and paper towels in order to get things under control again. However, if there are any big spills or leaks that cannot be controlled by normal means, don’t be discouraged. You can try using a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda in order to properly clean out your machine, or you can try putting some vinegar into the water tanks instead of just plain old water (just make sure that the machine is unplugged). The bottom line here is to always think outside the box when it comes to cleaning up messes around your CPAP Cleaner devices because, if you aren’t creative enough, it’s going to take forever.
Tip 4- Always Read Your Manual
Last but not least, remember that your manual has all of your instructions for how to clean and maintain your CPAP device. If there are any steps that you aren’t completely sure about in terms of how often they should be done, or how they should be done, then you should go back and take a look at your manual. It is always a good idea to do this because it’s difficult to know what you’re doing wrong if you don’t have any instruction manuals!
There are many different ways that you can clean your CPAP machine and make sure that it lives up to the standards that it needs in order to function properly. The key is knowing how often each device needs to be cleaned as well as thinking creatively when there are any accidents or spills. If you follow these tips, then cleaning your CPAP machine will become second nature and won’t seem like such a pain anymore!
Joe Wiebe (Author) has suffered from sleep how much happier he has been since making this life-changing decision to obtain help for his sleep disorder.
If you need extra help apnea (and snoring) since he was a baby. After experiencing many sleepless nights and feeling tired during the day, Joe sought medical attention at 3 different sleep centers and finally discovered his problem after having spent the night in the sleeping lab hooked up to machines that monitored his sleep cycle. He was diagnosed with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea and began treatment with a full-face mask CPAP machine. Since Joe started using his machine on October 20, 2010, he has been able to get better rest than ever before and is no longer exhausted all of the time!
