Best Soap For Cleaning CPAP Equipment

Your Guide to Cleaning Your CPAP Appliances With Soap: What is the Best Soap for Cleaning CPAP Masks?

Sleep apnea is a debilitating condition that can cause some very harmful symptoms if it is not treated. Patients that have this condition are unable to sleep without the help of some tools. Restful sleep is necessary if you want to be able to work well in the day. There are many tools that are available on the market that help you to alleviate the symptoms of sleep apnea, and of all these, the CPAP machine is the most popular one.

CPAP machines are amazing tools that help sleep apnea patients get a good night’s rest. The usefulness of these tools cannot be overstated. The way that these machines work is that they use continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP therapy) to help the CPAP user breathe while they are sleeping.

However, in order to keep these machines in a good condition, you need to clean them. Having a set cleaning schedule is going to help you maintain your machine so that it functions much better.

The traditional method of cleaning your machine is to take a bit of soap and warm water, let the CPAP equipment soak in the warm soapy water for a while, remove the dirt build-up with a damp cloth and then rinse all the soap out. Then you’ll need to let the CPAP equipment dry for as long as you can (possibly somewhere that receives direct sunlight. But if you look at the market, there’s a huge variety of soaps to choose from. So how do you know which to pick? Well, you’re in the right place. In this blog, we’ll give you all the details about CPAP cleaners and soap and well also help you decide which is the best soap to clean CPAP masks.

What is the Best Soap For Cleaning CPAP?

The market is flooded with a lot of different soaps. There are dish soaps, antibacterial/disinfectant soaps, scented soaps, and the list goes on. Picking a single type from all of these soaps is quite a challenge. How do you determine which type is the safest?

Firstly, let’s start with the soaps that you must not use under any circumstances. Soaps that are meant for harsh cleanings, like detergents or bleach, should not be used for CPAP. These soaps are made so that they can break down the toughest stains and they might end up damaging your CPAP equipment.

The soaps that are mild make excellent CPAP cleaning soaps. Remember that this mask is going to be used as a breathing apparatus on a regular basis. Therefore, you want to make sure that no harmful chemicals are present in it. Dawn or Ivory are good examples of mild soap you can use. If you use harsh soap, it might end up staying in the tube in case you don’t clean it well enough. Inhaling this is bad for your lungs and may cause respiratory infections, meaning these soaps aren’t good candidates for your CPAP soap.

Although antibacterial soaps are perfect to disinfect and sanitize surfaces, a lot of these soaps are meant to be used as liquid soaps for cleaning tough stains that are present around the house. As for scented soaps, you’ll need to check if the scent is particularly strong. There are some soaps that have a fragrance that is too powerful and this will stay in your CPAP mask.

There are various soaps that are mild enough to use, like baby soaps. Soaps that are specifically manufactured as CPAP cleaning soaps are the best soaps to use.

Is Vinegar an Effective Cleaning Agent?

If you’ve looked up cleaning solutions on the internet, you’ve probably stumbled upon this ingredient more than a few times. White vinegar is indeed extremely efficient at cleaning dirt. It is an excellent solution that you can use to get rid of the buildup of dirt on your machine.

However, you’ll need to consider a few things before you use this ingredient. Although vinegar is effective, it has quite a pungent smell. When you’re cleaning appliances that are a part of a breathing apparatus (like the CPAP face mask and the tube attachment), you’ll want to take this smell into account. The upside of this solution is that vinegar will wash off without much hassle and it will also get rid of any bad odors.

If you do use vinegar, make sure that you dilute it so that it isn’t very strong. Additionally, after you’ve disinfected the mask with vinegar, make sure that you rinse the mask thoroughly with tap water so that you get all of the vinegar solution off. 

Some of the Best Soaps for Cleaning CPAP:

Although there are other soaps that you can use, CPAP cleaning soaps are your best bet. This is because these soaps are specially designed to clean the silicon surface of the mask cushion and the tube. Some of the best CPAP soaps are:

1.Purdoux CPAP Mask & Hose Soap

The Purdoux soap is a gentle unscented cleansing soap that is designed to get rid of all the grime on your mask. This soap is meant to be used by people that don’t like harsh chemicals. It is available at a reasonable price and you will get a 250ml bottle of cleaning solution for around $13.

2.Purdoux CPAP Mask & Hose Soap Green Tea & Mint

In case you’re looking for a soap that will be able to get the toughest odors out of your CPAP apparatus, the Purdoux Green Tea and Mint soap is for you. This liquid soap has a slight aroma that isn’t overwhelming. It specializes in making your CPAP devices smell as if they were brand new.

3.Care Touch CPAP Soap Cleaner

The Care Touch soap cleaner is a liquid soap that doesn’t contain any scent. This soap costs around $11 for 130ml, which is quite reasonable and will clean all of your tools well.

4.Johnson's Baby Shampoo

It might surprise you but you can use baby shampoo for your machine without any issues. However, do keep in mind that this kind of soap is not meant to clean your CPAP supplies, but it will work in a pinch. You might have to scrub your apparatus down to get all of the grime out. Therefore, although the other alternatives are better, this will work fine.

Other Cleaning Options That you Might Want to Consider:

The downsides of this method are that it gets way too messy and it is also time-consuming. If you’re going on a trip, you won’t be able to use this method. To help you out, we’ve given you a list of alternatives that you might want to look into:

• CPAP mask wipes

Mask wipes are one of the most convenient ways to clean your CPAP mask. All you need to do is to wipe the mask all over with one of these wipes, and you are done. This is the most travel-friendly method on this list, as there are a lot of travel packs that are available for purchase. However, this method is not a replacement for other methods that are able to deep clean the mask. Therefore you’ll need to use these wipes along with the traditional method.

• Cleaning machines for CPAP masks and CPAP hoses

These cleaning machines are compact, and they do all the work for you. All you need to do is put your CPAP tools inside of them and the machine will do the rest. Different machines use different methods of sanitizing, but most of the machines will leave you with a dry and sanitized product that you can use as soon as you want.

• CPAP cleaning brushes

On the other hand, these brushes help make clean up even easier. Even if you’re using the best CPAP cleaning soap on the market, you’ll still need to be very thorough when you’re cleaning the CPAP tubing, and brushes can help with this. Their soft bristles are able to scrub away all the grime without causing any damage to the apparatus.

A Final Summary:

Although this method of cleaning is time-consuming, it will help you deep clean your machine. The soap and water method is also the cheapest way to clean your appliances. If you make use of one of the options that we’ve listed, it will also make your job a bit easier.

If you’re new to this site and you’re eager to learn more about CPAP cleaning devices, this blog will help you out. To learn more about CPAP devices and sleep apnea in general, don’t forget to check out some of our other articles as well. We hope that this information has helped you come to your decision. At the end of the day, you’ll need to use a particular brand of soap to learn how good it is. So give it a try and you’ll surely be able to find the best soap for cleaning CPAP appliances.