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If you use a continuous positive airway pressure or CPAP machine to help you breathe during sleep, you know it can be difficult to keep up a regular cleaning schedule. A dirty CPAP machine, air filter, hoses or mask contaminated with germs, like viruses and bacteria, can make you sick. So automated machines advertised on TV that claim to clean or disinfect your CPAP might look like a good option.

The FDA wants you to know that these machines are not necessary to clean your CPAP. Most CPAP accessories like masks, hoses and CPAP machine humidifier tanks can be cleaned with mild soap and water as described in the owner’s manual. Some manufacturers recommend using diluted vinegar. Air filters should be replaced or cleaned as often as the manufacturer recommends.

The FDA has authorized one device to be used as an add-on after regular cleaning, to reduce bacteria on the CPAP mask and ventilation hoses. If you decide to buy an add-on device to reduce bacteria on CPAP hoses, tubes and masks, make sure it is FDA-authorized for this purpose. An add-on device can add to your regular cleaning process but does not replace the manufacturer’s recommended cleaning process.

What is a CPAP machine?

A CPAP is a type of ventilator that helps people who have obstructive sleep apnea, a health condition that causes brief pauses in breathing during sleep. When you have sleep apnea, your airway becomes completely or partly blocked by your tongue, tonsils, or other parts of your mouth or throat during sleep. When your airway is briefly blocked your brain and organs do not get enough oxygen, which can cause health problems. A CPAP machine keeps your airway open by providing a continuous stream of air through a mask. A long, flexible hose connects the CPAP machine to the mask so that you can move around or turn over in bed.

Why does CPAP equipment need cleaning?

Germs from your lungs, throat, or mouth can get into the CPAP mask or hose as you breathe in and out during sleep. Germs on your skin may get transferred to the CPAP mask or hose. Dust, mold, or other allergens may also get into the CPAP mask or hose.

All types of CPAP parts need to be cleaned regularly so that germs and contaminants do not grow inside of your equipment and make you sick. Dust and dirt can also cause problems with the CPAP machine, making it more likely to break or need replacement.

How should I clean my CPAP equipment?

Since each type and brand of CPAP machine is different, you should follow the cleaning schedule and instructions from the company that made your CPAP machine and parts. But generally, unless the cleaning schedule and instructions says something different, you can use the following steps to clean your CPAP machine.

All CPAP parts you can take off the machine can be cleaned with mild soap and water  The face or nose mask, and detachable hoses and connectors, can be soaked in a sink filled with soapy water and then hung up to air dry. Some manufacturers recommend cleaning detachable CPAP parts with a combination of vinegar and water. If there is visible dirt on the mask or hose connectors, you can wipe it off with a soft cloth, or rinse it off with running water before soaking in the sink.

Remember not to put any machine with an electrical cord into water or other liquids. Use a damp towel to clean the outside of the part of the CPAP machine that has an electrical cord. If your CPAP machine has a humidifier, clean the water tank as instructed in the owner’s manual. Don’t forget to rinse reusable filters with water or get new filters on the schedule suggested by the manufacturer.

What types of machines that claim to clean CPAPs are being sold?

There are currently no FDA cleared or approved devices for cleaning, disinfecting, or sanitizing CPAP machines. To date, the FDA has authorized only one device for add-on bacterial reduction of specific CPAP masks and hoses. The FDA has not evaluated the safety or effectiveness of any other device claiming to clean, disinfect, or sterilize CPAP parts or machines.

FDA has observed two types of machines being sold that claim to clean CPAPs. One type uses ozone gas and the second type uses ultraviolet (UV) light. Both UV light and ozone can break down CPAP accessories like hoses and masks.

Why is the FDA concerned about unauthorized devices claiming to clean CPAPs?

The FDA has received reports from people who use CPAPs that they experienced unexpected asthma attacks, headaches, and breathlessness after using devices claiming to use ozone gas to clean CPAP accessories such as hoses and masks. Not only can ozone leak out of the CPAP equipment into your home during cleaning, but ozone levels inside of the CPAP equipment can be above safe limits even several hours after cleaning is completed.

Ozone gas and UV light machines that claim to clean CPAPs and do not have FDA clearance or authorization means that the FDA has not found those cleaners work to kill germs on CPAPs and are safe. The FDA has not received performance data or evidence from manufacturers that says ozone gas and UV light can clean the inside surface of CPAP hoses, or information to confirm that ozone gas and UV light does not damage CPAP machines and equipment. The FDA does not have evidence that machines using UV light protect you from unsafe levels of UV radiation exposure.

Are home CPAP cleaners approved by the FDA?

No, however currently there is one FDA-authorized bacterial reduction device for CPAP accessories. This device is FDA-authorized to reduce bacteria on the CPAP mask and ventilation hoses, adding to the cleaning process recommended by the manufacturer. An add-on device does not replace the manufacturer’s recommended cleaning process.

The FDA does not have adequate evidence or information about other devices for microbial reduction, cleaning, disinfecting, or sanitizing of CPAP devices and accessories, so those other devices have not been demonstrated to FDA to be safe or work as intended.

See this and other FDA CPAP safety research photos on Flickr.

FDA scientists prepare to test the safety and efficacy of a CPAP cleaning device.