When you secure your CPAP mask over your nose and mouth tonight at bedtime, Jaime Williams wants to make sure you’re putting on something sanitary.
“CPAP and Bi-Level therapy is often a lifetime commitment. If the machines are used every night, you can imagine how much usage they get,” says Williams, who is a registered respiratory therapist. “Not everyone is cleaning their device as often as they should.”
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) systems are used by people who suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) or any other type of Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB). The machines apply continuous, mild air pressure to keep a person’s airways open.
These devices are life-savers, but Williams — the regional director of Respiratory Therapy Specialists Inc. (RTS) — says they require regular maintenance and cleaning in order to keep them working well over time.
- CHANGE THE FILTERS:
You need to change the filters weekly or monthly, depending on the recommendations of your registered respiratory therapist.
“If the air quality in the environment isn’t that great, you will need to change the filters more frequently,” says Williams.
Never use a CPAP or Bi-Level system without a filter, as it can ruin the device — and breathing in forced, unfiltered air can potentially be harmful to your health.
- KEEP THE WATER CLEAN:
CPAP devices use a heated humidifier to cut down on the dryness of the forced air. Williams says it’s extremely important to keep the water chamber clean, and only fill it with clean water that’s been distilled or sterilized.
“You want the water — and the chamber — to be as clean as possible to prevent unwanted bacteria and other germs from getting into your lungs and possibly creating an infection,” says Williams.
He recommends removing the chamber from the device once a week, disassembling it, washing it with a compatible cleaning solution, rinsing it and letting it air-dry before re-assembling the chamber and replacing it in your device.
- MAINTAIN YOUR MASK/TUBING:
Williams says the mask is “arguably the most important part of your therapy” because it’s on your face. He says having a clean mask has a huge impact on CPAP compliance and satisfaction with therapy, but it does require a little daily care to keep it clean.
“Wiping down your mask with an appropriate CPAP mask wipe every morning removes all of the facial oils and impurities that attached to the mask the night before,” explains Williams. “If you’re not cleaning it every day, it reduces the life of the mask and can affect how it fits over time.”
Once a week, he recommends disassembling the mask — including the tubing — for a more thorough cleaning, exactly how you would clean the humidifier chamber.
But if you don’t like spending time dissembling your device to clean it, Williams says there’s a new technology that cleans it for you automatically. It’s called the SoClean CPAP cleaner and sanitizer.
“It attaches to your system and does a timed daily cleaning of everything — no dissembling required — and kills 99.9 per cent of CPAP germs and bacteria,” says Williams. “It even runs through the inside of the device to provide an internal cleaning, which is something a client would never be able to do on their own.”
Whether you’re scrubbing your device the old-fashioned way or opting to have a device clean it for you, Williams says the important thing is that you’re cleaning it regularly.
“In the end, all that matters is that you’re cleaning and maintaining your device properly,” says Williams. “If you need advice, you can always reach out to one of our four Newfoundland locations, and we’ll be glad to help.”
