How Often Do I REALLY Need To Change Water In Reservoir?

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
User avatar
flightco
Posts: 540
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2015 6:58 pm
Location: Tinley Park, IL

Re: How Often Do I REALLY Need To Change Water In Reservoir?

Post by flightco » Thu Feb 04, 2016 8:47 pm

jcp1957@yahoo.com wrote:Is MrGrumpy serious or is he being sarcastic.? If he is serious than he definitely is the biggest moron on this forum. If he is sarcastic than he is slightlyless of a moron.
Please don't get on Mr. Grumpys case; he has been trying to wean himself off his meds and it appears he is going too quickly.

_________________
Machine: ResMed AirSense™ 10 AutoSet™ CPAP Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier
Mask: Wisp Nasal CPAP Mask with Headgear - Fit Pack
Additional Comments: Also Sleepyhead, P10, F10 and Amara View

User avatar
palerider
Posts: 32300
Joined: Wed Dec 16, 2009 5:43 pm
Location: Dallas(ish).

Re: How Often Do I REALLY Need To Change Water In Reservoir?

Post by palerider » Thu Feb 04, 2016 8:54 pm

flightco wrote:
jcp1957@yahoo.com wrote:Is MrGrumpy serious or is he being sarcastic.? If he is serious than he definitely is the biggest moron on this forum. If he is sarcastic than he is slightlyless of a moron.
Please don't get on Mr. Grumpys case; he has been trying to wean himself off his meds and it appears he is going too quickly.
mebbe he's self medicating with stuff he found growing in the back yard???

_________________
Mask: Bleep DreamPort CPAP Mask Solution
Additional Comments: S9 VPAP Auto
Get OSCAR

Accounts to put on the foe list: dataq1, clownbell, gearchange, lynninnj, mper!?, DreamDiver, Geer1, almostadoctor, sleepgeek, ajack, stom, mogy, D.H., They often post misleading, timewasting stuff.

User avatar
WearyOne
Posts: 1795
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 3:30 pm
Location: USA

Re: How Often Do I REALLY Need To Change Water In Reservoir?

Post by WearyOne » Thu Feb 04, 2016 8:59 pm

Nine years on cpap; use every night with humidifier.
Always use distilled water.
Never any gunky buildup in the chamber.
Clean about once every two to three weeks.
Never change the water unless I'm cleaning the chamber; just top it off each night.

In those nine years:
Never have had a sinus infection.
Rarely have a cold.

_________________
Machine: DreamStation 2 Auto CPAP Advanced with Humidifier
Mask: Hybrid Full Face CPAP Mask with Nasal Pillows and Headgear
Additional Comments: Oscar Software | APAP: 9-10 [ CMS-50F Pulse/Ox

User avatar
BlackSpinner
Posts: 9745
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2009 5:44 pm
Location: Edmonton Alberta
Contact:

Re: How Often Do I REALLY Need To Change Water In Reservoir?

Post by BlackSpinner » Thu Feb 04, 2016 9:34 pm

During the winter there is never any water left. It is a bitch because If I want to sleep in I end up smelling the overheated metal - 8 hours and no more - blech!

I am still waiting to hear how those bacteria can fly up stream against the wind down 6 feet of heated hose!

_________________
Machine: PR System One REMStar 60 Series Auto CPAP Machine
Mask: Hybrid Full Face CPAP Mask with Nasal Pillows and Headgear
Additional Comments: Quatro mask for colds & flus S8 elite for back up
71. The lame can ride on horseback, the one-handed drive cattle. The deaf, fight and be useful. To be blind is better than to be burnt on the pyre. No one gets good from a corpse. The Havamal

User avatar
OkyDoky
Posts: 2870
Joined: Mon Aug 25, 2014 5:18 pm

Re: How Often Do I REALLY Need To Change Water In Reservoir?

Post by OkyDoky » Thu Feb 04, 2016 9:39 pm

BlackSpinner wrote:During the winter there is never any water left. It is a bitch because If I want to sleep in I end up smelling the overheated metal - 8 hours and no more - blech!
the overheated metal That smell is what wakes me up many mornings.
ResMed Aircurve 10 VAUTO EPAP 11 IPAP 15 / P10 pillows mask / Sleepyhead Software / Back up & travel machine Respironics 760

User avatar
BlackSpinner
Posts: 9745
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2009 5:44 pm
Location: Edmonton Alberta
Contact:

Re: How Often Do I REALLY Need To Change Water In Reservoir?

Post by BlackSpinner » Thu Feb 04, 2016 9:51 pm

OkyDoky wrote:
BlackSpinner wrote:During the winter there is never any water left. It is a bitch because If I want to sleep in I end up smelling the overheated metal - 8 hours and no more - blech!
the overheated metal That smell is what wakes me up many mornings.
When my asthma is bothering me I put on the steamer in my bed room (for a few hours before) and I can get another hour out of the tank.

_________________
Machine: PR System One REMStar 60 Series Auto CPAP Machine
Mask: Hybrid Full Face CPAP Mask with Nasal Pillows and Headgear
Additional Comments: Quatro mask for colds & flus S8 elite for back up
71. The lame can ride on horseback, the one-handed drive cattle. The deaf, fight and be useful. To be blind is better than to be burnt on the pyre. No one gets good from a corpse. The Havamal

User avatar
chunkyfrog
Posts: 34378
Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2010 5:10 pm
Location: Nebraska--I am sworn to keep the secret of this paradise.

Re: How Often Do I REALLY Need To Change Water In Reservoir?

Post by chunkyfrog » Thu Feb 04, 2016 11:01 pm

I was toying with the notion of adding an external filler hole to one of my tanks.
Realizing that I should not sleep longer than 8 hours, and my tank holds enough for that time,
I concluded that the dry smell works nicely as motivation to get my green butt out of bed.

_________________
Mask: AirFit™ P10 For Her Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: Airsense 10 Autoset for Her

User avatar
OkyDoky
Posts: 2870
Joined: Mon Aug 25, 2014 5:18 pm

Re: How Often Do I REALLY Need To Change Water In Reservoir?

Post by OkyDoky » Thu Feb 04, 2016 11:05 pm

chunkyfrog wrote:I was toying with the notion of adding an external filler hole to one of my tanks.
Realizing that I should not sleep longer than 8 hours, and my tank holds enough for that time,
I concluded that the dry smell works nicely as motivation to get my green butt out of bed.
+1 It's my alarm smell!
ResMed Aircurve 10 VAUTO EPAP 11 IPAP 15 / P10 pillows mask / Sleepyhead Software / Back up & travel machine Respironics 760

User avatar
archangle
Posts: 9294
Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2011 11:55 am

Re: How Often Do I REALLY Need To Change Water In Reservoir?

Post by archangle » Sat Feb 06, 2016 3:26 pm

chunkyfrog wrote:Exhaled air does NOT go down the tube;
it is VENTED out through the mask.
Unfortunately not quite true. When the mask is under pressure, a fixed flow rate comes out of the vent. During part of the exhale cycle, you may exhale more air than that. The excess air flow goes back up the tube. On cold nights, with my ComfortGel mask I used to use, I could see condensation in the elbow.

However, your exhaled air is "swimming upstream" against the air current, and probably doesn't make it far up the hose.

------------------------

As to dangerous germs in the humidifier water


Cleanliness is a good thing.

Stop and think about this for a while. If you're exhaling germs, you're already infected. If you're exhaling bacteria strain B23, you've already got it in your body. Every time you inhale, you're sucking B23 back into your lungs, even without CPAP. Even if you do get B23 into your water tank, it's not like you're not already breathing it.

Ebola or any other germ isn't going to appear in your CPAP equipment unless you already have it, or it's in the air in your house, or someone with Ebola handles your equipment.

Now, if you're sharing a CPAP machine, hose, mask, or water tank with someone else, that IS a problem. Duhhh..... You really should thoroughly clean and disinfect a used CPAP mask, hose, and water tank if someone else has used them.

It could be a problem if the germs multiplied greatly in the water tank and you're suddenly getting large doses of the bacteria you've already got. However, as long as you're using distilled water, germs can't grow very well in the water. Germs need some sort of food, and if it's just water and air in the tank, there's nothing to feed on to allow the germs to make more germs. The plastic used shouldn't be something that germs can feed on.

Even if germs are in your CPAP water, in theory, the germs will mostly stay behind in the water. Unless the humidifier creates droplets, it's only gasses that leave the tank. As the water evaporates, germs will be left behind.

Your mask itself is a little different because it's got sweat, oil, mucous, and other human goo on it. Still probably not really that good a place for germs to grow.

_________________
Mask: Swift™ FX Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Humidifier: S9™ Series H5i™ Heated Humidifier with Climate Control
Additional Comments: Also SleepyHead, PRS1 Auto, Respironics Auto M series, Legacy Auto, and Legacy Plus
Please enter your equipment in your profile so we can help you.
Click here for information on the most common alternative to CPAP.
If it's midnight and a DME tells you it's dark outside, go and check for yourself.

Useful Links.

User avatar
jonny515
Posts: 221
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2015 2:41 pm
Location: New Mexico

Re: How Often Do I REALLY Need To Change Water In Reservoir?

Post by jonny515 » Sat Feb 06, 2016 11:46 pm

LankyLefty (youtube) thinks bacteria could get in the water because it's warm, dark and exposed to air (via the tube) ala Pasteur's experiment. Seems logical. That said, just dumped it out yesterday. Wasn't the slightest bit gunky or whatever you'd think bacteria in water would be.

User avatar
chunkyfrog
Posts: 34378
Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2010 5:10 pm
Location: Nebraska--I am sworn to keep the secret of this paradise.

Re: How Often Do I REALLY Need To Change Water In Reservoir?

Post by chunkyfrog » Sun Feb 07, 2016 6:32 pm

Got to agree with LL.
Eventually, the microbes will find a way.
Upstream is slow, and somewhat iffy.
El cheapo DW is a lot quicker!
Letting your dog lick out the tank would probably do it even faster.

_________________
Mask: AirFit™ P10 For Her Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: Airsense 10 Autoset for Her

WindCpap
Posts: 394
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 6:57 pm

Re: How Often Do I REALLY Need To Change Water In Reservoir?

Post by WindCpap » Mon Feb 08, 2016 11:59 am

archangle wrote: Unfortunately not quite true. When the mask is under pressure, a fixed flow rate comes out of the vent.
If you compare the flow rate for your mask vent at the pressure you use to your respiratory flow rate, you will see that it is highly unlikely you are pushing air up the hose all the way to the CPAP unless your vent is blocked.

That being said, I dump my water daily, and let the tank dry. I have an Airsense 10, so this is really easy for me. I might feel differently if this particular maintenance task was more of inconvenience. I would think that regular cleaning of the tank combined with using only distilled water would keep the tank free enough of any food for the bacteria that bacterial growth shouldn't be a concern.

I clean my nasal pillows daily (haven't had problems with damaging them yet), and everything weekly (the machine itself only gets a wipe down). I don't use a brush for the inside of the hose as I would be concerned about scratching otherwise anti-microbial surfaces. I just soak it.

I change the filter once a month.

_________________
MachineMask