Cleaning & care maybe some advice for a newbie like me

[Snow986176]

I am new to all of this site and the equipment actually only been on it for 2 weeks. I now know that my pressure is off and needs to be raised. I am waiting for my titration study, haven't been able to fit it in but now I am going to HAVE too, cause this is way to annoying not sleeping!

My problem with all of this besides not sleeping is the cleaning. Does anyone on here know if you really have to clean 2ce a week & change the distilled water everyday. I tried really hard to clean it 2ce the first week but it take sooo long for it to dry and it really is suck a pain to do. Figured maybe their was some professors of all of this that can teach a newbie the real way I know that the representative said to do it one way but Im thinking there has to be some corners that can be cut! Any advice would be appreciated??

[Goofproof]

I'm a Scuzz, I run the HH off as passover, every 4 days or so I dump rinse with tap water drain and refill with distilled water only. I clean the mask quickly every week and rinse the hose with tap water when I do the mask.

I wash the machine filter and dry every two weeks and change the fine filter.
The room is clean and everything stays clean, no problems and it doesn't worry me in the least. Jim

[Snow986176]

Hi Jim and thanks for the hints I see you wrote tap water only on the hoses and mask..my technician told me to use diluted dish soap. But I would love to not use it cause the smell (flowers) remains int he tubes and such.

[Goofproof]

I led you astray, I use baby shampoo, on the mask, and sometimes on the headgear to remove the oils, if it gets bad I use some vinegar in the water no the hose, then I rinse, I don't mind the smell of the vinegar, then I hang the hose over a door. Jim

I don't have pets so things stay clean.

[kurtchan]

You might want to try a dishwashing soap called Seventh Generation. It is, as all the mask manuals suggest, fragrance, moisturizer and anti-bacterial agent free.

I was my equipment every day because I'd rather spend the extra 5 minutes in the morning to ensure that things aren't growing in any of the mask parts, hose or humidifier reservoir. However, I have been know to be over-zealous...

Kurtchan

[snoregirl]

If you search for other threads on this topic there are a couple within the past month or so.

AND the opinions vary widely.

I do very little cleaning, others clean daily. I do occasionally clean my swift pillow as it seems to be true that it seals better if clean.

I don't think I have washed a hose in 2 months. I use 2 and alternate and let dry fully.

I change and clean the filters per the manual since dirty filters can damage the machine.

I rinse out my humidifier once a month or so with tap water only.

You will find others that spend lots of time cleaning and daily. Whatever floats your boat.

[Bookbear]

In part, it will depend on your environment. If you have pets, live in an especailly dusty area, or one with high humidity, more frequent cleaning is probably a good idea. I don't think daily cleaning of everything is needed. I clean the nasal pillows each day, but clean the hose (and the hose part of the headgear on the Breeze) once a week. I replace the filters as per the manual, once a month. That said, I doubt if more frequent cleaning hurts the masks and hoses, and some people find the routine cleaning a zen-like thing...

[birdshell]

Just as someone else said, this topic has been raised before. A search may turn up something else for you.

Here is my cleaning regime:

Daily: wash the nasal pillows portion with a drop or two of Ivory unscented dish soap and rinse in hot water. Rub the silicone portions that touch the nose with the fingers and soapy water. Having rinsed very well under the running hot water, I shake it out so there are very few tiny water droplets and allow to air dry. (Unless I don't wash it until right before bed; then it is just a little more humidification.)

Every 2-3 days or so: Empty the distilled water, use the yellow washing plug to shake hot, soapy water in the humidifier tank--and rinse the tank well in hot water, using the same plug. Then I drain out as much water as possible and allow it to air dry. I then fill it with distilled water.

Note: The ResMed manual tells the user to use a pure soap such as Dove. Well, Dove is mild but has 1/4 moisturizer AND only the Sensitive Skin variety is truly fragrance free. The unscented type contains a masking fragrance--which is still a fragrance.

Weekly: Please note that this weekly routine takes only about 15 minutes of my involvement, in three approximately 5 minute intervals. I fill the container and shake it to be sure the solutions and rinse water get into every nook and cranny.

5-7 Minutes: Take the hose off the machine, detach the humidifier cover and seal, remove the humidifier tank, and the mask/interface tubes. I put all into a large plastic container with a water-tight lid. I put one pump of the unscented Ivory into the hose and fill the container with the hose from the water faucet and soak it all in the soapy water while filling, until the container is filled enough to cover the equipment. Then I put the top on, shake everything well, and rub the nasal pillows/interface. I fill the container again with hot water and cover; then I shake it again to be sure all is rinsed well.

3-5 Minutes: I then soak it all in the covered plastic container for one-half hour using 1 part vinegar to 10 parts of water. This was the information given to me by my RT for cleaning. I make sure that the air is out of the hoses and they are filled with the solution.


5 Minutes:I then rinse everything by filling the container again via the hose with hot water. I shake it all as dry as possible (using my best mercury thermometer shake), hang up the hose over the shower head, and allow everything else to air dry in the container and on its cover.

In the evening: I fill the humidifier with distilled water, reassemble everything, and sleep.

As far as straps/headgear, I have only washed mine every couple of weeks as it seems to need it. I wash with the dish detergent, rinse thoroughly, and blot with towels. Then I hang it up with a fan running on it, and it is dry by night.

The only real time required of me is the filling and shaking. Soaking in the vinegar and water is passive, and using the plastic container with the cover off for air drying ensures that it is as clean as the CPAP equipment.

Since I have the same machine, only a different headgear and interface, this should be pretty close to meeting your needs. Welcome to the Hose Head Help Forum!

[Snow986176]

Thank you all for the great advice Birdshell It never occured to me to buy a plastic container for soak everything in. My RT told me to do it in the showere which is a pain in the neck! So thank you for that. Im off to buy a container for my equipment...

[krousseau]

There are also unscented, alcohol free, premoistened wipes you can use to wipe the mask parts that are in contact with skin oils. I use them most days-I still do the baby shampoo routine on the whole mask once or twice a week. It is dusty where I live and since I can see dust on furniture within hours of dusting-I hang the mask in a cloth bag during the day. Humidifier chamber dump & air dry daily (wash a couple times a week). Try to use distilled water only-in a pinch use bottled drinking water. Hose end fits over the faucet so I can let water run through it daily & hang to dry. Alternate hoses so they can dry out completely. Filters per manual. Headgear as needed.

[birdshell]

Thank you all for the great advice Birdshell It never occured to me to buy a plastic container for soak everything in. My RT told me to do it in the showere which is a pain in the neck! So thank you for that. Im off to buy a container for my equipment...

You are more than welcome, as I have gotten tons of advice here myself! I'm wondering how to do all of this in a shower....

I use a 2 gallon Rubbermaid with a dark blue edge around the lid. I happened to have it already. It takes 3 c. vinegar to fill, though.

But there are some of the disposable kind (Glad or Ziploc) that the humidifier almost fits into, if one allows the lid to bump up a bit. I used them when I was staying at my mother's when she had surgery.

I have not used the wipes that krousseau mentioned, but have used the Citrus II spray. It is handy, but almost the same as using the detergent. The wipes make more sense, as they would be easier. One thing I did not like as well about the spray was the coconut after-odor. I just do not like coconut--hate it at the beach or the pool, too.

[Guest]

Birdshell: Maybe I should find that spray..I love coconut!! Krousseau: The wipes sound good too...is there a particular brand that you like??

Im absoulty going to buy some sort of container for the soaking. The shower is just not working, I actually dread it! Your supposed to do it while taking a shower..which is just simply annoying and you have to hold it up to the shower nossel which I am short, so again annoying!

[Snow986176]

The last post was me...I don't know why it put me as a guest? Must have automatically signed me off or something

[tomjax]

To each iis/her own, but I am not all that obsessed with cleaning and think most of the above is very much overkill.

I rarely clean mine- maybe every 3 months and many here do the same.

How often do you clean your toothbrush?
How often do you boil your nose out?
What about the other 16 hours of the day?

Maybe in a hospital setting with problems, but I think it is obsessive on the part of many.

10 years- no infections
The bugs are always there and I fail to see the risks.
I could be wrong, as I said, just MHO.

[Guest]

I rarely clean mine- maybe every 3 months and many here do the same.

Also in that category.

To borrow Chuck/GoofyUT's saying:

"That which doesn't kill ya simply makes you stronger."