Cleaning Equipment?

I'm also on FB and in a cpap group there, and was stunned when i saw a few, maybe 3 that i remember, weigh in and said they never clean their cpap gear and have never been sick!?!?!?!?

One guy said, he just buys new ones after a while!?!?!?

I clean the mask everyday and everything else once a week as recommended, but I'm starting to feel like maybe it's 'overkill'???

JackieLee wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 06, 2026 11:33 am

I'm starting to feel like maybe it's 'overkill'???

Congratulations on your graduation to reality. 🧑‍

JackieLee wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 06, 2026 11:33 am

I clean the mask everyday and everything else once a week as recommended, but I'm starting to feel like maybe it's 'overkill'???

Back when I first started cpap therapy in May 2009 I was fairly religious about that once a week cleaning.....lasted maybe 6 months and got old real fast. Over the past years my cleaning (if you can call it that) has gotten less and less frequent.
I never clean the hose.....never.
I maybe will rinse out the water chamber when I think about it and that's maybe a couple times a year.
I don't wash the mask either.

Other than normal upper respiratory infections that my husband has given me over the years....I haven't been sick either...for sure not from using my non cleaned cpap stuff.

If you think about it, the only "germs" on your gear ..... you are the one that put them there so you are/were already exposed anyway.

So I vote "overkill" but you are most certainly free to do (or not do) whatever you wish.. no matter what someone else does or doesn't do.

I just thank you for weighing in Pugsy!!

I'm going to take it day to day1

I've been using lanolin for my nostrils when using pillows, and cleaning that off is something I want to do just to keep it clean under those circumstances. but it seems to me that just wiping things down with the wipes would be sufficient.

I do like the idea of soaking the hose inside and out but not sure if 'weekly' is necessary?

JackieLee wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 06, 2026 11:33 am

I'm also on FB and in a cpap group there, and was stunned when i saw a few, maybe 3 that i remember, weigh in and said they never clean their cpap gear and have never been sick!?!?!?!?

One guy said, he just buys new ones after a while!?!?!?

I clean the mask everyday and everything else once a week as recommended, but I'm starting to feel like maybe it's 'overkill'???

IF you are using tap water it has minerals, which will feed bacteria, there is more need to clean.

Even cleaning the hose with tap water can lead to problems with bacteria.

JackieLee wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 06, 2026 11:33 am

I'm also on FB and in a cpap group there, and was stunned when i saw a few, maybe 3 that i remember, weigh in and said they never clean their cpap gear and have never been sick!?!?!?!?

One guy said, he just buys new ones after a while!?!?!?

I clean the mask everyday and everything else once a week as recommended, but I'm starting to feel like maybe it's 'overkill'???

I'm with you on this! I wipe my mask down and I empty my water (distilled water only) reservoir every day. Once a week I soak, what can be soaked in a partial solution of white vinegar and warm water.

Every two months I replace my mask pillows and once a year I replace the water reservoir and the heated hose.

Is this overkill? Maybe, better safe than sorry though and with insurance the cost is minimal.

YMMV

EDIT

I forgot to add that I replace my machine's filter once per month as well.

"I'm with you on this! I wipe my mask down and I empty my water (distilled water only) reservoir every day. Once a week I soak, what can be soaked in a partial solution of white vinegar and warm water.

Every two months I replace my mask pillows and once a year I replace the water reservoir and the heated hose.

Is this overkill? Maybe, better safe than sorry though and with insurance the cost is minimal.

YMMV"

Thanks for weighing in Conrad!

I just started CPAP in August.

I wipe down my mask and elbows with CPAP wipes daily, I also empty and rinse my resevoir daily using distilled water. I soak and deep clean everything else weekly with very warm soap and water, which is recommended by ResMed. I posted this in a group on FB, and had a ton of people weigh in. Based upon what so many veterans said, I think I'm going to change my 'deep clean' to every 'other' Saturday.

Being retired, it's not a big deal for me to do this, as I am always looking for things to keep me busy!!

tried responding but apparently i didn't hit save. (sigh)

so instead, lemme give you a tip from pugsy which she posted in 2021-

"So....I looked around to find an old P10 that was used and looked yucky.
Below are before and after pictures and I think it will be easy to spot.
I used distilled water because I already knew that my well tap water, which is high in mineral content, would give me really added cloudiness.

2 Cups distilled water
2 TBsp baking soda
boiled 10 minutes
Rinsed in distilled water as well. What I did was pour enough distilled water in a bowl to dunk and rinse the pillow.

I did NOT wash the pillow in regular soap and water prior to boiling...in fact no soap used at all.

Fairly impressive results...still a bit of yellowing from age and exposure to air."

i just did this today, which led me to find it. this is the way. it works particularly well in that it gets all the lanolin residue off that has sunk into the crevice of the p10 mask.

now, let's see if'n i can post this!

ETA: yea it posted!

zonker wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 08, 2026 4:53 pm

2 Cups distilled water
2 TBsp baking soda
boiled 10 minutes
Rinsed in distilled water as well.

The machine?

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 10, 2026 6:02 pm

zonker wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 08, 2026 4:53 pm

2 Cups distilled water
2 TBsp baking soda
boiled 10 minutes
Rinsed in distilled water as well.

The machine?

Only when plugged in and turned on.

Someone on FB mentioned a cleaning spray called Clean Smart. I did a deep research on it and it's completely fine and recommended for CPAP gear, including silicone!

CPAP even has their own version of it for sale.

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 10, 2026 6:02 pm

zonker wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 08, 2026 4:53 pm

2 Cups distilled water
2 TBsp baking soda
boiled 10 minutes
Rinsed in distilled water as well.

The machine?