How to Proper Take care of your CPAP Equipment

How to Proper Take care of your CPAP Equipment

CPAP therapy is amongst the widely known solutions for treating sleep apnea conditions. It is very essential to regularly clean the CPAP equipment. First of all, cleaning keeps all pathogens and mold at bay. Secondly, it prevents discoloration, clouding, cracking and pitting of the humidifier chambers which stems from mineral and chemical content in tap or spring water rather than distilled water.

However, inorder for this therapy to be successful, every patient must ensure that the CPAP machine is neatly kept and regularly checked to ensure that it operates effectively throughout. The process is so simple and also takes a short time and therefore you should try to make your sleep comfortable by ensuring efficiency in the operations of the CPAP equipment.

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cpap equipment

Below are the recommended cleaning and maintenance practices for CPAP equipment:

  1. Cleaning and replacement of humidifier and parts.

While cleaning, one could use cleaning agents such as warm water and soap or a mixture of white vinegar and water. An easier alternative would be an automated device called the SoClean CPAP Cleaner and Sanitizer.

This device destroys almost 100 percent of pathogenic microorganisms in the humidifier, mask, and tubing at the same time. Not much labor is needed as the device does the cleaning for you. Replacement of the humidifier chambers should be done as prescribed.

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    1. Cleaning and replacement of masks and parts.

These are made of silicone which is a gentle mask material. However, it has a relatively short lifespan. Not cleaning the masks could make them more inefficient and spoil sooner than expected. Use of facial moisturizers and oils also contributes to faster spoilage of the masks.

Cleaning should be done on a daily or weekly basis to prevent building up of bacteria. It is recommendable to use cleaning agents such as warm water and soapy water or CPAP mask specific wipes and detergents. Tubing should be cleaned weekly in warm soapy water, thoroughly rinsed and dried out of direct sunlight. Replacement should be as prescribed by the manufacturer or the insurance allowance. For the mask cushions, once or twice a month and for the masks, twice or four times a year.

    1. Cleaning and replacement of the filters.

Filters are of two types: white disposable and grey non-disposable. Cleaning is done on a weekly basis for the grey non-disposable filters but can be more regular than that depending on the level of activity in the house. Proper rinsing should be done afterward. Grey filter replacement should be either after 6 months or when appearing worn out. White filter replacement should happen monthly or more frequently when appearing dirty.

The following are other tips you need to consider when cleaning the equipment.

  • Keeping away from direct sunlight to avoid damaging the entire equipment and its accessories.
  • Timely cleaning. Since there should be no exposure to sunlight, it is best to clean the CPAP machine with cpap cleaning machine early in the morning to allow sufficient drying time during the day.
  • Avoiding bleaching. Using any form of bleach such as liquid bleach or powdered bleach is bad for the entire equipment.
  • Ensuring sufficient air intake. By placing the machine on level surfaces away from obstacles to the uniform intake of air.
  • Replacement of other machine accessories and parts. These include power cords, data management cards, chin straps, batteries in case of machine failure.

By following these practices, patients should generally find CPAP therapy very safe, effective and non-invasive, for themselves as well as for others. And if want to know more about CPAP and sleep apnea Please turn on Pick My Perfect.

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About the Author: Alex

Alex Jones is a writer and blogger who expresses ideas and thoughts through writings. He loves to get engaged with the readers who are seeking for informative content on various niches over the internet. He is a featured blogger at various high authority blogs and magazines in which He is sharing research-based content with the vast online community.

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