Cleaned my mask now it leaks

[gerrys]

Following the directions, I disassembled my new Mirage Quattro for cleaning.

Now it seems to leak where the elbow swivel attaches to the mask. It was difficult to remove the first time: now it comes off very easily. Nothing broke, it just doesn't fit nearly as tight. When I put some pressure on the hose and wiggle that piece, I can hear a difference in the amount of air escaping.

I am going to take it back and get another one,as it is only a week old. Just thought I would warn anyone about removing that piece for cleaning. You can easily remove the diaphram for cleaning without taking off the elbow swivel.

-Gerry

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): mirage, hose

[Guest]

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER disassemble a mask to clean it.

Den

[rested gal]

I'm with Den on that. I never ever take a mask apart. Causes more wear and tear on the mask, and there's just too much chance that parts won't fit together again as snugly as they did originally. I really think most masks can be cleaned sufficiently well without taking them apart at all.

But each person has to do whatever cleaning regimen they are comfortable with. I'm a clean person who treats this equipment stuff very casually.

[ozij]

Doesn't that rather depend on the type of mask?
And possibly type of environment you live in, and type of breathing?

My experience with nasal masks is very limited.
But as for what I experience with nasal pillows, at low pressure, and in a dry (nor rain for about 6 months a year) and therefore naturally dusty environment:

When I used my Breeze on a daily basis, I eventutally discovered that I had to take out the pillows for thorough cleaning - because eventually some kind of gunk accumulated between the pillows and the shell.

I also find it necssary to clean the inside of the Breeze every now and then, so I have to take the hose and shell part out of headgear in order to soak it.

Same with my Aura: I find it better to disconnect the nasal seal from the rest of the mask, in order to let both parts dry properly from the nightly humidity, (my pressure is low and therefore humidity inside the mask is pretty high) and sometimes I soak them separately.

If I don't do that frequently enough, and this is true of both masks, I can smell the difference.

O.

[BrensTiredMom]

Hmmm...I was going to post the exact problem with my 2 week old Quattro. I noticed the past few days that there's a definite leak either at the elbow or where the elbow meets the mask. Can be very noisy at times! I haven't taken it all apart to clean, just removed the silicone piece that fits to my face. Should I return mine also??

[Sergey45]

I’ve had the same problem with Mirage Swift mask. Just try to assemble it carefully. It will take care of the problem.
Sergey.
http://www.sleepapneasymptom.medgrip.com/cpap_mask.html

[Wulfman...]

Doesn't that rather depend on the type of mask?
And possibly type of environment you live in, and type of breathing?

My experience with nasal masks is very limited.
But as for what I experience with nasal pillows, at low pressure, and in a dry (nor rain for about 6 months a year) and therefore naturally dusty environment:

When I used my Breeze on a daily basis, I eventutally discovered that I had to take out the pillows for thorough cleaning - because eventually some kind of gunk accumulated between the pillows and the shell.

I also find it necssary to clean the inside of the Breeze every now and then, so I have to take the hose and shell part out of headgear in order to soak it.

Same with my Aura: I find it better to disconnect the nasal seal from the rest of the mask, in order to let both parts dry properly from the nightly humidity, (my pressure is low and therefore humidity inside the mask is pretty high) and sometimes I soak them separately.

If I don't do that frequently enough, and this is true of both masks, I can smell the difference.

O.

ABSOLUTELY!......and a person's "skill levels".
I was mainly talking about full face masks and some of the nasal variants that have the elbow coming out the front of it.
Other than taking the seal off of my UMFF a couple of times (once was accidental when the retainer ring popped off), I've never had any of the rest of it apart. I just haven't wanted to chance it that I wouldn't get it back together as well as it was to begin with.

Den

[gerrys]

I also thought that disassembling the whole thing was overkill. But I am a "follow the instructions" kind of guy. Shame on me for following the manufacturer's instructions!

Last night I kind of pushed on it a bit, and it seemed OK. The air escaping noise wasn't as bad. In fact, last night was my best night of treatment so far. Go figure!

-Gerry

[TANSTAF1]

I have to dis-assemble my mask to clean it. The instructions says not to submerge (soak) the inner foam over which the silicon seal sits. Which means I have to remove the silcone seal. Also, the fiber diffuser has to be removed, but the lid that holds it in place is made to pop out. I have never taken the elbow piece for the hose apart.

[Jefe]

I had turned on CFlex about a week ago, and the my quattro began to hiss. I thought it was part of the CFlex. I went out of town over the weekend, and it was louder, as there was no A/C running in the window to drown out the noise, so I turned off the CFlex.

No dice. My elbow is leaking, like all the rest. I"ll Teflon tape it tonight.

As for washing it, all I wash is the cushion. I figure the more I snap hard plastic parts apart & together, the greater the chance of a stress crack/breakage.

[gerrys]

Teflon tape - now there's an idea!

[Guest]

As far as leakage is concerned, a moist or wet fitting no mater where will cause an increase of noise and leakage make sure all is dry espically on a Swift Pillow mask.

[Dopey, Sleepy...]

I have to dis-assemble my mask to clean it. The instructions says not to submerge (soak) the inner foam over which the silicon seal sits. Which means I have to remove the silcone seal. Also, the fiber diffuser has to be removed, but the lid that holds it in place is made to pop out. I have never taken the elbow piece for the hose apart.

I have OCD and am constsntly busy disinfecting stuff, so when I read/heard the cleaning rituals for my nasal mask I was not thrilled...I religiosly took everything apart and soaked it in mild dishwashing soap for not a second more than 10 minutes - EVERY DAY.
WELL,
1) the silicone seal for the foam cushion is extremely delicate, and with all the excess handling involved through taking apart/putting together + washing/soaking - the edges stretch very quickly which renders the mask completely useless because there is air escaping everywhere (took me a night or two with a 'whistling tea kettle' on my face to figure it out). I stupidly purchased a complete new mask for $90 from the company - -before I discovered this site with REPLACEMENT PARTS.

2) I find that if I'm too rigoorous with the cleaning - I get fed up with the entire thing and don't want to use it. I have not taken apart my new mask (a few days now) yet and have never slept better. But, I feel that it's dirty and that I'm being neglectful.

HELP! I NEED TO FIND A NORMAL BALANCE OF NOT TOO MUCH, NOT TOO LITTLE!

[rjjayrt]

If you have the mask replaced, don't pay for it. Resmed is well aware of the problem, there tech support people say its a design flaw.

[timbalionguy]

The leak at the elbow on the Quattro mask is a very common problem, and there is an easy fix. The fix is much easier than taking the mask back to the DME.

Snap the elbow out. Take some plumber's teflon tape and wrap a few turns of it around the place where the elbow fits through the mask. a few turns will do it-- you still want the elbow to swivel easily. Reassemble. For most people this eliminates or all but eliminates the leak, and it will last for the life of the mask.

I used a Quattro for the first few weeks, and it is now my backup mask. For whatever reason, it has never leaked at the elbow, even though I have disassembled it regularly.