How do I fix rainout problems?

Babette · Post by **Babette** » Tue May 01, 2007 10:39 am

Hi! Sorry to ask a stupid question. My DME is not returning my calls.

BTW - avoid them: http://www.bluemountaincpap.com

Anyway, I've got my humidifier at 2. I've experienced rainout. I sewed a fleece tube cover for my 6 foot hose, and another one for my short hose on the forehead of the CL2 mask. Still getting rainout.

Can I turn the heat off entirely on my humidifier, will that help? I do sleep in a cold house -I turn the heat off entirely at night. I prefer a cold air environment to sleep in. It's about 50 degrees in my place at night.

I'm not liking the warm air blowing in my nose, anyway. What happens if I turn my humidifier to 0? I've experimented with turning it up, but for some reason have been unwilling to turn it down. I don't know what's sticking in my Random Access Memory, but being sleep deprived, I can't seem to access whatever it is that's keeping me from turning it to zero.

Many thanks!
Barbara

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Tue May 01, 2007 10:47 am

If a hose cover hasn't taken care of the problem and you want to continue sleeping in a cold environment and want to continue using heated humidification at the level you like:

LINKS to discussions about the Aussie heated hose - to prevent rainout
viewtopic.php?t=5305

Babette · Post by **Babette** » Tue May 01, 2007 10:52 am

Thanks much! I'll look into this!

But... I don't actually WANT heated air in my face. At least I don't think so. I think I was threatened with BAD THINGS HAPPENING if I didn't heat the humidifier.

What happens if you don't heat the humidifier?

Cheers,
Barbara

Sleepy Dog Lover · Post by **Sleepy Dog Lover** » Tue May 01, 2007 11:22 am

If you don't heat the humidifier, you won't get as much moisture. The air coming out of the hose is warmed up a bit with the Aussie, but it is not hot. I just got one because my Twilight NP (Aura) is prone to rainout. With the Aussie, I was able to bump the humidity up and still not get rainout.

oldgearhead · Post by **oldgearhead** » Tue May 01, 2007 12:21 pm

There is nothing wrong with using your humidifier in "pass-over"
(no heat) mode. Heavens 10 years ago we didn't even have heat for our humidifiers.

I never turn my humidifier heat on when using my full-face mask. However,
I do turn on the "Aussie Heated Hose", from time to time. Furthermore, I
use both humidifier and hose heat with my CL2.

bdp522 · Post by **bdp522** » Tue May 01, 2007 1:55 pm

By all means, shut off the heat on the humidifier! If you suffer from nasal dryness as a result I think there are nasal sprays that will replace some of that moisture. In passover mode you will get some moisture just not as much.

Brenda

Babette · Post by **Babette** » Tue May 01, 2007 2:11 pm

Okay, more dumb questions. Went home and re-read the Humidifier manual, and it says if I set it on Zero, it turns the humidifier off. Is that the "passover" mode you're talking about?

I turned it down to 1 for tonight, to see what happens. Maybe tomorrow I'll try zero.

I'm in favor of humidity, just not real crazy about heat.

I'm so tired after using it, I can only go a few days, then I have to take a few days off to catch up on sleep. But the last few nights have been better than the week before. Maybe doing it a little at a time will get me used to it so I can use it full time.

Many thanks!
B.

bdp522 · Post by **bdp522** » Tue May 01, 2007 5:27 pm

Yes, Zero would be passover mode.

Every time you go to bed with out the mask it makes it harder for your body to adjust. You may be 'taking a few nights off to catch up on sleep' but in the long run your making it harder on yourself. Think of the damage the apnea is doing to your body when you sleep without xpap. If you can make it through a few nights, try taking a nap WITH the machine to get caught up.

Brenda

Sleepy Dog Lover · Post by **Sleepy Dog Lover** » Tue May 01, 2007 5:29 pm

Yes, turning off the humidifier but still leaving it attached is what is considered passover mode. It will still pick up some moisture as the air passes over the water, just not as much as it would if the water were slightly warmed. What the Aussie hose does is keep the water from condensing in the hose and mask. I notice that the air is slightly warmer, but it is not hot by any means.

Babette · Post by **Babette** » Wed May 02, 2007 12:07 pm

Thank you all for helping a newbie!

Okay, so I slept on "1" last night. Got water. This morning, I got up and examined everything. No water in the hoses at all. 6 foot is dry, little hose over the forehead dry. NASAL PILLOWS are wet.

Well, I can't figure out how to cover them without having fleece in my face, which I'm sure my claustrophobia will not tolerate.

So... I'm contemplating just LIVING with the little bit of water, and doing what I did last night - about 3 am I took off the pillows and shook them out. I didn't even realize what I was doing until this morning. I think I also grabbed the whole headgear off at one point earlier and shook it out. Might have been the night before. Life is kinda blurry right now...

Tonight I will try no heat on the humidifier. I think the very cold room and my warm breath in the pillows is just going to cause the condensation - not the humidifier. And I hate sleeping in a too warm room. Maybe I'll just live with this until Summer.

Many thanks for listening and sharing!!!!!!
Barbara in the COPS capitol of the world (Lakewood, WA)

DreamStalker · Post by **DreamStalker** » Wed May 02, 2007 12:27 pm

Babette wrote:Thank you all for helping a newbie!

Okay, so I slept on "1" last night. Got water. This morning, I got up and examined everything. No water in the hoses at all. 6 foot is dry, little hose over the forehead dry. NASAL PILLOWS are wet.

Well, I can't figure out how to cover them without having fleece in my face, which I'm sure my claustrophobia will not tolerate.

So... I'm contemplating just LIVING with the little bit of water, and doing what I did last night - about 3 am I took off the pillows and shook them out. I didn't even realize what I was doing until this morning. I think I also grabbed the whole headgear off at one point earlier and shook it out. Might have been the night before. Life is kinda blurry right now...

Tonight I will try no heat on the humidifier. I think the very cold room and my warm breath in the pillows is just going to cause the condensation - not the humidifier. And I hate sleeping in a too warm room. Maybe I'll just live with this until Summer.

Many thanks for listening and sharing!!!!!!
Barbara in the COPS capitol of the world (Lakewood, WA)

Yep ... your breath alone + very cold room = condensation (rainout)

I recall camping out once (long before going on xPAP) with temps in the low teens ... when I woke in the morning, there were icicles hanging from the ridge of my tent with the longest one only inches from my face ... it was little scary trying to get up and out of the tent.

GeneS · Post by **GeneS** » Fri May 04, 2007 7:39 pm

Put the humidifier on the floor and set the hose so it goes uphill without high points all the way to your mask. Condensation will drain to the humidifier not to your mask.
GeneS

littlemo · Post by **littlemo** » Mon May 07, 2007 4:34 pm

the humidifier should always be placed lower than your head in order to avoid water in the hose!

Babette · Post by **Babette** » Mon May 07, 2007 5:13 pm

The humidifier is over my head. (Well, most things are these days...)

Getting it below my head means excavating the other side of the bed. It can be done. It will just take time and effort.

Many thanks! I'm not having so much water problems the last few nights when it's been warmer here, but it's good to know that generally speaking the humidifier should be lower.

Cheers,
B.

littlemo · Post by **littlemo** » Mon May 07, 2007 5:43 pm

Hi babette, where you have the humidifier is the exact root of your problem!!!! not everyone needs a humidifier although it is def reccomended for first time user's to help them adapt. It also reduces oral leakage. So if it's not too much trouble to switch, you may find it's worth the effort!!
Mo