The old method of disassembling the mask and hose and cleaning it with soap and water can, in fact, be time consuming and inconvenient. If it’s not performed with extreme attention to detail, it can also be ineffective, since hard-to-reach surfaces in the humidifiers, masks, and hoses may be potential breeding grounds for bacteria. Another consideration that makes this method suboptimal is that the very means of cleaning — tap water — can be a potential source of germs.

Because it doesn’t introduce moisture into the equipment, this method is an improvement over soap and water. But some studies have shown that the light may not reach shadowed parts of the mask and hose, and thus it potentially leaves bacteria and germs intact in those areas where the light may not get to. Also, UV light will not kill bacteria in the hose, the inside of the machine or the water in the reservoir.

Though cleaning CPAP equipment with specially designed wipes may seem, at first glance, more convenient for users, it actually may be more dangerous than beneficial. However, wipes cannot clean inside the hose, and when researchers looked at this method just a few years ago, they found that rather than eliminate pathogens, the wipes — though formulated expressly for the purpose of cleaning CPAP equipment — tended to just transfer bacteria from one surface to another.