Does your CPAP Need a Little Love? A guide to cleaning your equipment

Keeping your equipment in good condition is the key to getting the most out of your CPAP therapy but when life gets busy,  for many people, CPAP cleaning is the first task to go.

While general hygiene is important, there are many reasons why keeping your equipment clean will lead to simply better sleep: 

1. Mask leaks- There is nothing worse than being pulled out of a really good dream because of air blasting out of your mask. Wiping the oils from your face off of your mask each day helps to make sure that the mask won't slide around and cause annoying leaks during the night. We often see people tightening their mask REALLY tight when all they really needed to do was give it a good clean!
2. Skin Irritation- if you are getting swelling, redness, irritation, or breakouts around where your mask sits, this could be from blocked pores from not cleaning your mask. Though we would never begrudge you a trip to the spa, give you mask a good clean and make your skin happy again. 
3. Allergies- That filter in your machine does a great job of catching the dirt and dust that is floating around under your bed but once that gets full, dust will start to into the air you are breathing which can lead to congestion and other allergy symptoms. Replacing your filter regularly protects both you and your machine. 
4. Make sure your equipment doesn't suffer an early death- like with anything, keeping your equipment clean is actually a key element in determining how long it will last. If you don't clean your mask as suggested it can halve the life expectancy of your mask cushion and headgear.  And the filter on your CPAP, is doing an important job of protecting the motor- without regularly replacing the filter, dust can get into your device and start to degrade your motor performance and lessen its life expectancy. Motors are expensive but filters are cheap so control how much so spend by looking after your equipment!

Here is a quick guide on how to look after your equipment: 

Daily Cleaning

• Empty the water from your humidifier chamber and let it dry for the day. 
• Wipe your mask down completely with a CPAP wipe, paying special attention to anything that is silicon (like the cushion). If you don't have CPAP wipes then you can wash the cushion with CPAP mask soap or a mild detergent and leave it to dry for the day. 

Weekly Cleaning

• Wash your whole mask, humidifier chamber and CPAP tube in warm soapy water making sure to get into any crevices were dirt or dust might settle.  For this you can use CPAP mask and tubing soap or a mild detergent and a soft toothbrush or CPAP tube cleaning brush. Make sure you rinse your equipment until the water runs clear and then let it try for the day. Avoid drying in direct sunlight. 

Monthly Cleaning

• It is good practice to check your CPAP device filter.  Remove the filter from the device and give it a flick to remove any loose dust.  ResMed filters are not washable so if the filter isn't white anymore, it is time for a new one. 
• If you are using an AirMini device, you will need to replace your Humid-X, humidifier disc.  These are also not washable and need to be replaced 30 days from opening to avoid mould and bacteria from growing. 

Don't forget to pop in to see the sleep team annually for an equipment clean and check!

Still have questions?  Book a free session with our sleep coaches .