Can you make your own cpap air filter?

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crappyman
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Can you make your own cpap air filter?

Post by crappyman » Mon Jul 18, 2016 10:03 am

I am using dreamstation. I just wonder if one day I cannot assess those OEM filters, I need to make my own.

How you could make your own filter?

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ChicagoGranny
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Re: Can you make your own cpap air filter?

Post by ChicagoGranny » Mon Jul 18, 2016 10:09 am

You can do a lot of things. But, does it make any sense?

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Julie
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Re: Can you make your own cpap air filter?

Post by Julie » Mon Jul 18, 2016 10:10 am

Your question is so odd - why do you anticipate not being able to access - of all things - the filters?
Last edited by Julie on Mon Jul 18, 2016 10:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

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LSAT
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Re: Can you make your own cpap air filter?

Post by LSAT » Mon Jul 18, 2016 10:22 am

crappyman wrote:I am using dreamstation. I just wonder if one day I cannot assess those OEM filters, I need to make my own.

How you could make your own filter?
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Re: Can you make your own cpap air filter?

Post by chunkyfrog » Mon Jul 18, 2016 11:01 am

Some have purchased third party filters online, for much less than OEM prices. Acceptable, usually.
Somebody posted long ago about cutting their own from filters made for another purpose. Bad idea.
Have you any idea how much ENGINEERING goes into a Cpap filter?
There is a REASON filters are so expensive--and it is not always greed, though that feeling is common.
Using a DIY or off-brand filter is equivalent to putting a penny in place of a fuse,
then being surprised when your house burns down.
The filter is DESIGNED to protect you and your machine from damage.
Cheapskates deserve the disasters they create.

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Re: Can you make your own cpap air filter?

Post by Goofproof » Mon Jul 18, 2016 11:34 am

chunkyfrog wrote:Some have purchased third party filters online, for much less than OEM prices. Acceptable, usually.
Somebody posted long ago about cutting their own from filters made for another purpose. Bad idea.
Have you any idea how much ENGINEERING goes into a Cpap filter?
There is a REASON filters are so expensive--and it is not always greed, though that feeling is common.
Using a DIY or off-brand filter is equivalent to putting a penny in place of a fuse,
then being surprised when your house burns down.
The filter is DESIGNED to protect you and your machine from damage.
Cheapskates deserve the disasters they create.
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4kidsmom
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Re: Can you make your own cpap air filter?

Post by 4kidsmom » Mon Jul 18, 2016 11:49 am

Can you? Probably. SHOULD you? Absolutely not! Not if you want to remain healthy, which is the whole point of using a cpap.

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Sir NoddinOff
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Re: Can you make your own cpap air filter?

Post by Sir NoddinOff » Mon Jul 18, 2016 12:29 pm

Probably not a good idea but type homemade filters into the search box under the CPAPtalk logo for a couple of comprehensive threads.

Addendum: A pack of cheap cut-rate brand-x filters I bought online long ago were terrible looking right out of the plastic bag. I didn't even dare to try them in my machine. Loose frayed edges with fiber strands dangling off them, plus the color wasn't pure white but just sort of off-white... not something you'd want to risk your lungs by using. I definitely looked like someone simply cut them out of some available material with a pair of scissors.

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WSHenry
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Re: Can you make your own cpap air filter?

Post by WSHenry » Tue Jul 19, 2016 10:23 am

Can you make your own filters, yes. Should you make your own filters. no.

You could make your own coffee filters as well. Will they work properly? For me, it was a resounding "no".

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chunkyfrog
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Re: Can you make your own cpap air filter?

Post by chunkyfrog » Tue Jul 19, 2016 10:37 am

I have used the hypoallergenic filters made by cpap.com. These are the only third party filters I would trust
They are very inexpensive compared to DME filters, which do not always come in Resmed packaging,
{{{Who makes THEM?}}}.
I can imagine a monkey in the DME back room, cutting up sheet filter media---"untouched by human hands".

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ChicagoGranny
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Re: Can you make your own cpap air filter?

Post by ChicagoGranny » Tue Jul 19, 2016 11:06 am

crappyman wrote:

Can you make your own cpap air filter?
You can make your own cpaptalk filters - https://www.cpaptalk.com/ucp.php?i=zebra&mode=foes

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Re: Can you make your own cpap air filter?

Post by Lucyhere » Tue Jul 19, 2016 12:47 pm

ChicagoGranny wrote:
crappyman wrote:

Can you make your own cpap air filter?
You can make your own cpaptalk filters - https://www.cpaptalk.com/ucp.php?i=zebra&mode=foes
... took a minute.
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Re: Can you make your own cpap air filter?

Post by DreamStalker » Tue Jul 19, 2016 1:09 pm

crappyman wrote:I am using dreamstation. I just wonder if one day I cannot assess those OEM filters, I need to make my own.

How you could make your own filter?
It's quite possible that at some point in the future, those OEM filters could become unavailable ... worse things have happened.

The filters are two stage, a course foam filter and a fine HEPA filter. You can go to a hardware store to see what kinds of filters could be substituted by cutting out correct size ---
the HVAC and vacuum cleaner departments are good targets.
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Re: Can you make your own cpap air filter?

Post by palerider » Tue Jul 19, 2016 2:31 pm

well, something that people talking about making their own filters for the dreamstation should keep in mind...

philips has decided that the old filters were crap (apparently) and, really, they were... so they have a new style for the DS.

they've got plastic frames on them, and they snap in sideways. so while a dedicated crafty person may be able to replace the filter material satisfactorily, it won't be a simple matter of cutting out a rectangle of something.

that said, the regular filter is still designed to be washed and reused.

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jtravel
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Re: Can you make your own cpap air filter?

Post by jtravel » Wed Jul 20, 2016 6:24 pm

You can find many places online selling the official filters in bulk at really low attractive prices.
Amazon has served me well in that area.

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