Question for those who don't wash their equipment

I've noticed when a question comes up about how to clean a certain part of the machine, a number of people will say that they don't bother to clean it at all. I'm a pretty lazy person, or I'd rather say efficient, ha ha! I don't want to waste time cleaning something that doesn't really need it. I tend to think that the manufacturers instruct us to clean everything on a frequent basis mostly due to liability, not due to research showing germ growth or whatever. I've found over the years of my husband and I using cpap that a lot of the cleaning they call for is unnecessary. My personal routine is to make sure our hoses are dry each morning, I shake out our water trays and let them air dry, and I rinse out the nasal pillows. And I rinse out the filters every week.

On a recent question, some folks said that if you use distilled water (and I do), it's really not necessary to wash out the water trays or worry about drying out the hoses. I got to thinking, what is the difference between the distilled water sitting in the jug or in the water tray? The difference would be that air blows over the water tray. Is that enough to bring in mold? I would love to simplify my routine even more if I can get away with it.

So my question is, those of you who don't clean or dry your trays or hoses, have you ever had anything bad come of it? Ever found any mold growing in there? Do you leave your water tray in the machine with water in it and just top it off from time to time?

Any and all responses are welcome! I'm not looking for anyone to guarantee me that it's okay to do things a certain way but just looking for other peoples' experience with not cleaning parts and whether anyone has any horror stories or learned to be more careful the hard way??

Personally, I never wash my hose or dry it out. Why dry it when it will get wet again in a matter of hours. I "rarely" wash my humidifier cup...only top it off every 2 nights. Rarely clean my mask...wipe it with baby wipes each day and boil my cushions every 3-4 months. Distilled water has no minerals and should keep everything clean. Your machine takes your room air that you breath every day, filters it, and sends it over clean distilled water to your nose.

sewsleepy wrote:I've noticed when a question comes up about how to clean a certain part of the machine, a number of people will say that they don't bother to clean it at all. I'm a pretty lazy person, or I'd rather say efficient, ha ha! I don't want to waste time cleaning something that doesn't really need it. I tend to think that the manufacturers instruct us to clean everything on a frequent basis mostly due to liability, not due to research showing germ growth or whatever. I've found over the years of my husband and I using cpap that a lot of the cleaning they call for is unnecessary. My personal routine is to make sure our hoses are dry each morning, I shake out our water trays and let them air dry, and I rinse out the nasal pillows. And I rinse out the filters every week.

On a recent question, some folks said that if you use distilled water (and I do), it's really not necessary to wash out the water trays or worry about drying out the hoses. I got to thinking, what is the difference between the distilled water sitting in the jug or in the water tray? The difference would be that (FILTERED) air blows over the water tray. Is that enough to bring in mold? I wouldn't think so. I would love to simplify my routine even more if I can get away with it.

So my question is, Ever found any mold growing in there? No. Do you leave your water tray in the machine with water in it and just top it off from time to time? Yes

Any and all responses are welcome! I'm not looking for anyone to guarantee me that it's okay to do things a certain way but just looking for other peoples' experience with not cleaning parts and whether anyone has any horror stories or learned to be more careful the hard way??

The threads/discussions in this link pretty much sum up our experiences.

viewtopic.php?p=567264#p567264

Each person has to decide for themselves what their "cleaning" (or not) regimen needs to be.

The spectrum seems to be........OCD to "whenever".
I think most folks DO clean some of their equipment, but at a frequency that works for them.


Den

.

Thanks, guys. I guess what I'm looking for is, has anyone let it go and had something bad happen, like noticed black fuzzy stuff growing?

sewsleepy wrote:Thanks, guys. I guess what I'm looking for is, has anyone let it go and had something bad happen, like noticed black fuzzy stuff growing?

Here's a link to a search I just did on "mold". If you have the time to read it, have at it.

viewtopic/t115614/search.php?keywords=mold

Personally, I'm not worried, but do what you feel comfortable with.


Den

.

I use distilled water and even with brand new equipment, I still got pink slime during warm weather time. If you never open your Windows, I suppose you won't get it.

It depends on the environment you live in how much cleaning you personally need to maintain your equipment. I stopped cleaning my long hose months ago. It still looks like new inside.
Unless you have some serious health issues, try cutting back on the cleaning routine and see what happens.

I know of someone that used CPAP for almost 10 years and rarely cleaned anything...she died. (of course she was 91 yrs old).
In fact, her son gave me her CPAP to sell for him...It's an S9 Elite with 5150 hours. Here is my CL ad if anyone is interested. It's probably priced a little high for this elite group, but it will most likely sell on CL.....https://milwaukee.craigslist.org/hab/6007888393.html

I have never had any mold show up so I can't say that the presence of mold didn't cause a problem.
I am using a hose that has been through 3 machines...so well over 10,000 hours of use on it and it has never been washed.
I look at it periodically to see if I can spot something but it actually looks as good as the brand new spare that I have on hand just in case something happens.
And if anything happens it most likely would be related to the kitty discovering a new "snake" to play with.

Now I did one time have some dark looking stuff show up on my P10 vent holes. To be fair I had put a Padacheek barrel cozy on the nasal pillow and I just never really looked at the nasal pillow. Probably had that cozy on for 4 or 5 months. While the vent holes weren't ever blocked...I think the extra moisture in the nasal pillow that didn't ever really dry out well because of the barrel cozy...did allow that black stuff to happen. Was it mold? Well...I have to suspect that it was since the conditions were ripe for mold. I don't know how long I used it like that but several weeks I am sure.
Didn't make me sick...and I am still around.
I haven't had the problem happen since then but I stopped using the barrel cozy...and if I should start using the cozy again I will make sure to be more diligent in allowing the pillow and frame to dry out a little better.

So yes....I have seen what I think was mold but under some really unusual conditions...and it didn't kill me.

sewsleepy wrote: So my question is, those of you who don't clean or dry your trays or hoses, have you ever had anything bad come of it? Ever found any mold growing in there? Do you leave your water tray in the machine with water in it and just top it off from time to time?

Any and all responses are welcome! I'm not looking for anyone to guarantee me that it's okay to do things a certain way but just looking for other peoples' experience with not cleaning parts and whether anyone has any horror stories or learned to be more careful the hard way??

I got pink mold once and that was using distilled water and washing everything in hot soapy water once a week.
I now add a cup of vinegar to the soapy water and have not had a recurrence of pink mold.

I am asthmatic, and mold is one of my major triggers. I am always on the look out for any sign of mold in our house, and especially in my breathing equipment. That said, I still do not wash things very often. My mask gets washed every week or so, the water reservoir about once a month when I think about it, and the hose doesn't get washed. So far, I have not had any problems with mold.

I wash my hose every single day .... the one on my CPAP not so much.

DreamStalker wrote:I wash my hose every single day .... the one on my CPAP not so much.

Good hygiene

LSAT wrote:

DreamStalker wrote:I wash my hose every single day .... the one on my CPAP not so much.

Good hygiene

It's either that or go Live at the Montreux

sewsleepy wrote:Thanks, guys. I guess what I'm looking for is, has anyone let it go and had something bad happen, like noticed black fuzzy stuff growing?

I've seen pink slime in a humidifier chamber that only had distilled water...

the bacteria that causes that is something that's commonly found in homes, usually in the bathroom.