What Happens If I Don’t Clean My CPAP Supplies Regularly? (Part 2)

As we discussed last week, failing to properly clean your CPAP machine and CPAP equipment can lead to unwanted consequences. While it can be easy to forget to clean your CPAP equipment when things get busy, doing so is essential in order to ensure your optimal health. Inhaling the dirt, allergens, bacteria, and even mold that can reside in dirty CPAP equipment can lead to a variety of illnesses and even chronic lung problems. 

If you use a CPAP machine, keep reading to learn more about the complications that can pop up if you don’t properly clean and disinfect your CPAP equipment on a regular basis.  

RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS

While skin irritation can be annoying, a more dangerous side effect of not cleaning your CPAP equipment frequently enough is that doing so could cause a variety of respiratory issues. Breathing in bacteria and other contaminants that may grow in your tubing or water chamber if you don’t clean your equipment frequently can result in respiratory infections such as pharyngitis, laryngitis, and otitis media. 

Breathing in pathogens from a dirty CPAP machine can also cause you to develop a chronic cough that can exacerbate poor sleep and even disrupt your daily life. The fact is that a chronic cough, lung problems, or frequent respiratory infections are not normal if you have no underlying health conditions, and you may want to reconsider your current CPAP hygiene routine if you constantly feel under the weather.

FREQUENT ILLNESS

While using an unclean CPAP machine can put you at greater risk of developing respiratory illnesses and infections, it will also put you at a greater risk of getting sick in general. The fact is that you should not feel ill all of the time, and if you seem to be getting sick more frequently than those around you, then a dirty CPAP mask or machine may be the culprit. Breathing in pathogens that can grow in your CPAP can also leave you more susceptible to the common cold/influenza. 

This is why it is so, so, SO critical that you not only clean, but also disinfect, your CPAP mask, tubing, and water chamber on a regular basis in order to reduce your chances of falling ill. If staying on top of CPAP maintenance is something you frequently forget to do, consider adding reminders to your phone, and make it a habit to incorporate CPAP cleaning into your schedule of regular household chores. 

To keep things as easy as possible, we highly recommend a CPAP sanitizer like the SoClean 2 Sanitizing Machine, which will take the guesswork (and hassle!) out of manually cleaning your CPAP supplies. (And it certainly doesn’t hurt that they’re on sale this month!) 

PNEUMONIA

A particularly dangerous consequence of failing to properly disinfect your CPAP equipment is the risk of developing pneumonia. Pneumonia is a viral or bacterial infection that leads to inflammation of the air sacs in either one or both lungs. These air sacs may fill with fluid or pus, which can cause cough, fever, chills, and difficulty breathing. While pneumonia is often treatable with rest and antibiotics, extreme cases can require hospitalization. 

Pneumonia can be particularly dangerous for those who are immunocompromised and/or over the age of 65. These folks should take special care to ensure that they maintain their CPAP supplies in order to reduce their risk of developing pneumonia.  

For those who suffer from sleep apnea, CPAP machines can be instrumental in ensuring a good night’s sleep. However, if you do not properly clean and maintain your CPAP equipment, this can lead to a variety of potentially unpleasant health problems. 

As always, feel free to contact us to learn more about the importance of CPAP maintenance and to learn about how you can best keep your CPAP equipment clean. 

And in the spirit of Spring Cleaning, now through the end of the month, take 10% off* any CPAP cleaning supply (yes, even the sanitizing machines) AND get a free pack of SoClean Unscented Wipes when you spend $50 or more.† Both discounts are automatically applied at checkout, just be sure to add those wipes to your cart!

*Offer good on a single cleaning product per cart. Discounted automatically applied to the highest-priced item. One use per customer. Only good on cleaning supplies. Offer ends 3/31/2021.

†Discount good for one (1) pack of SoClean Unscented Wipes per customer. Customer must add product to cart. Cart total must be more than $50.00. Offer ends 3/31/2021.