According to some data there are between 8 – 10 million CPAP users in the United States and many more who are undiagnosed as having sleep apnea. There are approximately 25-30 million individuals diagnosed with sleep apnea (approximately 20%) of the U.S population. It goes without saying that millions of Americans are wanting to utilize the best means possible to make sure that their CPAP supplies, such as mask, tubing and filters stay as sanitized as possible to prevent bacterial infection.
At the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic various agencies and healthcare facilities were grappling with the best way to kill the virus on surfaces. It was proven and determined that the same UV-C light used by hospitals to sterilize and disinfect surgical equipment could also be used to kill airborne COVID-19 particles and disinfect surfaces that particles fell on.
Until a few years ago the only options were to routinely wash your supplies with gentle detergent and water and if you were fortunate enough to have an cleaning device that used ozone. Since then, concerns have arisen over the use of ozone-based apparatus to clean your CPAP supplies. This will be addressed further down this article. The relatively new trend when it comes to sanitizing your CPAP supplies in the home is through the use of UV-C light.
How cleaning CPAP supplies with Ozone can be harmful:
Ozone is a gas that can kill bacteria. However, in order for ozone to kill bacteria it must be present at levels that far exceed was it considered safe for people. It is quite possible for there to be weak points in an ozone unit that could be susceptible to leaks (i.e. around tubing connections, filters or through containers). If leaks do occur, then the ozone gas in the room, especially if it is a small from could rise to unsafe levels if the room is not well ventilated.
Note:
According to the FDA exposure to high-levels of ozone gas may worsen a patients’ existing chronic respiratory diseases or increase the chance or respiratory infection. In contrast there have been no complaints to the FDA about adverse respiratory events surrounding the use of UV cpap sterilizers.
What is UV?
UV radiation is a type of electro-magnetic energy produced by the sun and some artificial sources. It falls somewhere on the electro-magnetic spectrum between x-rays and visible light. It has a shorter wavelength than visible light but it has a frequency that is higher than visible light.
What you need to know:
CPAP sterilizing machines use UV-C (the highest energy portion of the UV spectrum) to clean your CPAP supplies. UV-C is also what hospitals use to help sterilize surgical equipment and other items. You should always avoid having direct contact with the skin or eyes.
Best Safe and Healthy UV Sanitizer Boxes:
Let’s take a look at a couple of UV sanitizing boxes which are also capable of sanitizing an assortment of items in addition to your CPAP supplies.
Lumin UV Light Home Sanitizer
The Lumin UV Light Home Sanitizer is a well-designed container that can easily handle several items at once. You can put a mask in the unit and still have room for a tooth brush, cell phone and a water container if you unit has a humidifier option.
Using the Lumin is very straight forward. One just slides out the tray compartment and simply places the items you wish to sanitize inside. The Lumin comes with a clear plastic rack that allows you to place items on top of it so that the bottom of your devices can also get exposure to the light. The unit does a good job of letting you know when the cleaning / sanitizing cycle is complete with a loud but not obnoxious beep.
This Home Sanitizer is fairly light weight and will not take up too much space on a kitchen counter or within a cubby hole. The unit may be a little too large to go on your nightstand if there are other items such as your lamp, clock and CPAP machine.
Pros:
- 5-minute sanitizing cleaning cycle.
- Extremely easy to operate.
- No ozone emitted.
- Can clean multiple different household items and electronics.
- Kills 99.99% of bacteria and Viruses. Generates over 2,000 mj/cm2 of germicidal UVC, the strongest on the market for home use.
- Inexpensive when compared to other CPAP sanitizing boxes.
Cons:
- There is some debate as to weather UV light can penetrate into the full length of a coiled hose well enough to completely sanitize in the way it does with a mask or water container or other items.
- If the inside of your Lumin’s compartment is not 100% dust free there may be a slight burnt hair smell on your mask that lasts for a few moments.
- Tray compartment could be a little larger.
Click here to purchase the Lumin UV Light Home Sanitizer:
Liviliti Paptizer UV Sanitizer Ozone & Mercury Free
The Liviliti Paptizer UV Sanitizer is relatively new on the market. It boasts 40 high-powered medical grade UV LEDs’ and is claimed be not only ozone free but mercury free as well. It one-ups the Lumin Sanitizer by completing the sanitation cycle in only 3 minutes; a full two minutes quicker than the Lumin.
Occasional burnt hair smell caused by household dust or dead skin cells can also be eliminated by the Paptizer by breaking down and decomposing the odors molecular structure.
As with the Lumin, a variety of items can be sanitized outside of standard cpap related supplies. Everything from face masks, smart phones, keys, and even tooth brushes just to name a few. Basically, anything you can safely fit in the compartment can be sanitized.
Tray dimensions: 9.45 in L x 7.68 in W x 4.72 in H
Pros:
- 3-minute sanitizing cleaning cycle.
- 40 individual UV LEDs that surround all sides of the item(s) contained in compartment.
- Tray dimensions are slightly more than that of the Lumin.
- Has multiple modes such as (Fast Sterilize, Sterilize and De-odor, Sterile storage and Smart dry).
Cons:
- Takes up more space on a night-stand or shelf due to its larger tray foot print.
- As of this writing the Liviliti Paptizer is slightly more expensive than the Lumin UV Home Sanitizer.
- Not able to clean ALL types of tubing.
Click here to purchase the Liviliti Paptizer UV Sanitizer Ozone and Mercury free:
Our Recommendation:
You can’t go wrong with either of these two UV Sanitizer boxes, but if we had to choose and had the space for it, we would choose the Liviliti Paptizer due to a few additional features at only slightly more money.
If space is limited dependent on where you want to place the device, the Lumin is not a bad alternative and will kill bacteria and viruses as well. It is our opinion that you should clean and rinse your CPAP hose with light detergent weekly if possible. All though you can still place the hose in a UVC sanitizer, there is still an outside chance that the UV-C light will not penetrate to ALL areas of the hose dependent upon the hose type.
