Keepingyour sleep apnea machine clean is vital for its effectiveness.
Sleepapnea machines consist of a mask, filter, and humidifier that need to beroutinely cleaned. The mask is typically worn every night and can easilycollect bacteria, viruses, germs, pollutants, and even develop mold.
Evenif all looks clean, it is likely to have imperceptible contaminants thatcollect over time. Any pathogen or germs you come in contact with during theday can come into contact with your CPAP mask whenapplying it at night.
Also,since a humidifier is used, moisture sitting in the CPAP tubing and mask candevelop fungi and dangerous molds that dwell in moist places.
It'salso essential to mention that you should air dry your equipment thoroughly ona daily basis to avoid the accumulation of moisture that can result in mold andfungi.
Cleaningyour CPAP equipment daily can be laborious, and most people fail to comply.Thankfully, there are now CPAP cleaners that can make routine cleaning easierand more effective.
How does it work?
ManyCPAP cleaners avoid the use of water to clean your apnea equipment. Some CPAP cleanersuse activated oxygen, and others rely on ultra-violet light.
Activated oxygen
Cleanersthat rely on activated oxygen have a generator responsible for breaking downoxygen (O2) and recreate it by combining another Oxygen atom making O3, or anactivated oxygen molecule. When the third Oxygen atom is added, it turns themolecule into an oxidant. An oxidant causes a substance to lose electrons,which in this case can kill germs and bacteria.
Ultra-violet light
Ultra-violetlight has three different bands known as UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C spectrums. Eachspectrum differs in wavelength.
Atcertain wavelengths, ultra-violet light can break molecular bonds in the DNA ofmicroorganisms.
Most Popular CPAP CleanersSoClean
The SoClean 2 is the fast, easy way to clean CPAP machines. SoClean CPAP cleaners use activatedoxygen, which kills bacteria and germs with no disassembly and no water.
Activated Oxygen Benefits:
- Kills bacteria, germs and other pathogens in your equipment
- Peace-of-mind device sanitizing
- No need to disassemble the equipment on a daily basis
- No harsh chemicals or water required
- Activated oxygen is used in hospitals, produce handling, and water purification
- Activated oxygen kills bacteria and germs in minutes
- A cleaning cycle lasts 2 hours
- Risk-Free 30-day guarantee
- Does require annual replacement accessories that cost around $30
The3B Lumin CPAP cleaner is a CPAP cleaningdevice that uses ultra-violet light to disinfect your machine.
Features of Lumin:
- No chemicals used
- Easy to use, but equipment requires to be disassembled to be cleaned.
- UV light does not "go around corners." Bacteria shaded by the machine will not be exposed to the UV light.
- The duration it takes to clean. This could be anywhere from five minutes to a couple of hours, depending on the equipment, so consider this factor if the duration is important to you.
- Is it portable? If you travel frequently, you'll want to take your portable CPAP equipment and cleaning device with you.
- Is it compatible with your CPAP equipment? Most equipment should be compatible, but some may necessitate an extra adapter to fit.
- How easy it is to use. Do you need to take your CPAP device apart to clean it, or can it stay connected? How does your machine connect to the cleaner? These are questions to consider.
- Cost. If you require financing, some manufacturers offer low monthly payments. Some also offer risk-free trials to let you test the cleaner out and make sure it's the right fit for you.
- Youalso may want to make sure the company offers a warranty.
