Humidifier doesn't hold enough water

[brentm77]

This forum is the best. I knew more about my mask options than my home healthcare provider when I picked up a new mask last Friday. I opted for the Resmed Liberty (they didn't have the Hybrid, and the Liberty fit nicely). I am very happy with it, but am thinking of modifying it a bit. I end up with my mouth open and have had minor leak problems with the nose pillows. Because I only breath through my mouth, I am thinking that the Liberty with no nose pillows and a couple of nose plugs would be better. That would eliminate all leaking. On the other hand, I think I will sleep with it a bit longer before possibly destroying a $150 mask. Has anyone else tried this? The only mouth only masks that I see have something that go inside of your mouth. With the retainers that I have to ware at night, I don't want anything else in my mouth.

The real reason for my post is the humidifier. My mouth is as dry as the desert my the middle of the night. I know I can change a setting so that the humidity is higher (I already have it on a five - I am talking about the setting that turns off the adjustment to room temperature, etc), but I don't think that will do any good because my water tank is empty by morning. Is that normal? Why don't they design them to hold more water? Has anyone rigged up a system to increase the tank capacity?

Thanks,
Brent

[LSAT]

I think it's the mouth breathing that is your problem. Even though the mask is designed for mouth breathers, it will dry out your mouth.

[OwlCreekObserver]

Are you sure your tank isn't leaking? One of my machines is a Remstar Pro 2, outwardly similar to yours, and even with the humidity level set to 5, I never use more than about a half tank of water during the night. I'm also a mouth breather, by the way. Sometimes the base of the water tank can get warped if you don't put it on or take it off just right.

[Added]

Sorry, I just re-read your post and saw that you're using the Liberty mask. I tried the Hybrid mask a few years ago and found that I had lots of leaks with it, to the point that I finally gave up and went back to a standard full-face mask. Any time you have excessive leaks you're likely to go through a lot more water in your humidifier. Check your leak stats. If they're okay, then double-check your tank for water leaks.

[Hose_Head]

This forum is the best. I knew more about my mask options than my home healthcare provider when I picked up a new mask last Friday. I opted for the Resmed Liberty (they didn't have the Hybrid, and the Liberty fit nicely). I am very happy with it, but am thinking of modifying it a bit. I end up with my mouth open and have had minor leak problems with the nose pillows. Because I only breath through my mouth, I am thinking that the Liberty with no nose pillows and a couple of nose plugs would be better. That would eliminate all leaking. On the other hand, I think I will sleep with it a bit longer before possibly destroying a $150 mask. Has anyone else tried this? The only mouth only masks that I see have something that go inside of your mouth. With the retainers that I have to ware at night, I don't want anything else in my mouth.

The real reason for my post is the humidifier. My mouth is as dry as the desert my the middle of the night. I know I can change a setting so that the humidity is higher (I already have it on a five - I am talking about the setting that turns off the adjustment to room temperature, etc), but I don't think that will do any good because my water tank is empty by morning. Is that normal? Why don't they design them to hold more water? Has anyone rigged up a system to increase the tank capacity?

Thanks,
Brent

Welcome Brent!

Your humidifier tank is empty because you are breathing through your mouth. Solve the mouth-leak problem first. The humidifier problem will be resolved at the same time.

To solve your mouth-breathing problem, try a full face mask. Others have reported success using various other solutions, including but not limited to chin straps and mouth-taping.

You've come to the right place for help. Stick around and read, read read. Mouth breathing is a common topic hereabouts. There's a lot of information on the board. I'm sure some others will chime in too, hopefully some with first hand experience about this all-too-common problem.

[brentm77]

Thank you for the replies. I can't imagine my tank has a leak, because the water would have to go somewhere and it isn't all over my night stand.

I think everyone is right about the mouth opening problem. I think I might try the papcap with the chin strap.

I am also debating trying another mask. For two nights, the Liberty was pretty good. But last night and the night before it leaked around the nose a lot. I'll try different size nose pillows. But I hope I can get it to work. I love not having a full face mask.

[xenablue]

I used my Liberty for a week recently instead of the Swift FX because I had a severe sinus infection and NOTHING would help with decongesting my nose.

I figured breathing through my mouth would be just dandy with the Liberty... not quite.. every morning my mouth was like a desert - no matter how high I dialed up the humidity.

Was so glad when the sinuses cleared up and I could use the nasal pillows again!

Cheers,
xena