How often do I really need to clean tube and water chamber?

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
CRMW
Posts: 106
Joined: Sun Mar 19, 2006 7:17 pm
Location: Calgary, Alberta

Re: How often do I really need to clean tube and water chamber?

Post by CRMW » Tue Nov 14, 2017 9:20 pm

bwexler and I have the same cleaning routine with the exception of the dishwasher. I would never subject my water chamber to the dirty water and germs in my dishwasher.

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Muse-Inc
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Joined: Fri Jun 12, 2009 8:44 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA

Re: How often do I really need to clean tube and water chamber?

Post by Muse-Inc » Wed Nov 15, 2017 9:39 am

I wash my mask nightly with Dawn, rinse, toss in a 50:50 mix of water & vinegar for 3-5 mins, rinse well, let air dry. I wash my face at the same time. If there is any oil, my mask won't seal well. I try to wash my headgear's microfleese wraps (covers the cheek straps & top of head strap) every other month or so, probably need to do this more often.

I only use distilled water in humidifier & top up nightly. Weekly (every other week in cold weather), I empty the chamber, take it apart, spray with straight vinegar, let sit for several mins, rinse, let air dry. If there is any residue left, I wash with Dawn, rinse, quick spray with vinegar to remove soap residue, rinse, let air dry.

I change the filter every month.

After a cold with coughing (rare), the hose get washed with Dawn, rinse well. Next, I spray vinegar inside, add some water (likely 30:70 mix), connect ends with a spiral connector, and just curl it up on the bottom of a cleaned sink moving it around every few mins so all surfaces get soaked, rinse well. I connect to my old Escape (dataless CPAP) with pressure set to 19 and let it blow for 15 min/until dry. Then, cover one end with Press and Seal and thread it thru my microfleece cover.

Every 6-9 mos, I buy extra distilled water, clean my Corningware clear pot, fill half way with the distilled water and 1-2 measuring teaspoons of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda), bring to a boil, toss in my silicone pillows and mouth cushions and let them softly boil for 3-5 mins. This cleans off the haze and seems to restore the original stickiness. Doing this means I only need to replace the 2 silicone parts maybe once a year.

I just got 'CleanSmart Daily Surface Cleaner, Home Use and CPAPs. Kills 99.9% of Bacteria, Viruses, Germs, Mold, Fungus. Leaves No Chemical Residue!!! Great CPAP cleaner, CPAP sanitizer. 23oz, 2PK'. Love it in the kitchen! Thinking about seeing how well it gets rid of oils, if it does a good job, I might switch to spraying this, letting it sit a min (all it takes to kill pathogens), then rinsing well. It does have a scent of a swimming pool when wet, seems to disappear when dry.

UPDATE: the CleanSmart left scent on the silicone that took several washings with Dawn to remove. Still like it as cleanser just not on silicone!

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Mask: Hybrid Full Face CPAP Mask with Nasal Pillows and Headgear
Humidifier: HumidAire H4i™ Heated Humidifier
Additional Comments: Started Aug '07 CPAP Escape at 11 then 9, S9 APAP range 9.8-16, now 10-17
Last edited by Muse-Inc on Sat Nov 18, 2017 4:03 pm, edited 2 times in total.
ResMed S9 range 9.8-17, RespCare Hybrid FFM
Never, never, never, never say never.

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palerider
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Location: Dallas(ish).

Re: How often do I really need to clean tube and water chamber?

Post by palerider » Wed Nov 15, 2017 12:30 pm

CRMW wrote:bwexler and I have the same cleaning routine with the exception of the dishwasher. I would never subject my water chamber to the dirty water and germs in my dishwasher.
Hopefully, you don't put your dishes in there with that filth either... after all, you *EAT OFF DISHES* like, as in, you put something in your mouth that's been in direct contact....

Unlike being six (or more) feet away by hose from the humidifier chamber.

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chunkyfrog
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Re: How often do I really need to clean tube and water chamber?

Post by chunkyfrog » Wed Nov 15, 2017 10:09 pm

My headgear gets washed when it gets too loose (leak rate jumps)
My frame gets blasted with the water pik when I can see gunk in the mesh.
I replace my pillows every 3 weeks--no washing, ever.
The tank gets washed with hot water and Dawn when I detect slime by touch.
If I SEE any ickiness, it also gets a splash of vodka (one for the tank, one for me.)
The hose gets replaced at about 18 months to a couple of years--also never washed.

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weroberts75
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Location: Oklahoma

Re: How often do I really need to clean tube and water chamber?

Post by weroberts75 » Wed Nov 22, 2017 9:33 am

AMK wrote:I got some unscented cpap wipes from Amazon and I am finding that my pillows seem to stay put better if I wipe them off every day. I empty my humidifier chamber almost every day and let it dry out. I never clean the big hose.
I also noticed that wiping the pillows daily with unscented wipes helps them to last much longer than if I wash them daily with baby shampoo.
The beauty of nasal pillows is that you have no drool to deal with and a very small area to wipe.
I tried the citrus wipes, but they left a residue, so I went back to the unscented wipes that come in the 62 count canister.

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