Rough night last night from all the SoCal smoke

SleepingBeauty · Post by **SleepingBeauty** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 12:21 pm

I am in SoCal in the middle of all these fires. My home is an older one and I never replaced the windows with the really good double pane ones. I am surprised at the amount of smoke smell entering my home. I have all windows closed, the air conditioner going with double filters, and the smell of the smoke was so strong coming through my CPAP last night. I kept waking thinking the fires were coming closer because the smell was so strong. I ended up getting out a Hepa filter and running it in my bedroom for the rest of the night.

Why is that? It smells stronger through my mask than in the room. I purposly did not use the PurSleep the last few nights because I wanted to be sure I smelled the smoke if it got really bad, but maybe that wasn't a good idea.

Do smells seem stronger to you with your mask on than in the actual room?

DreamStalker · Post by **DreamStalker** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 12:30 pm

Wow! I hope you stay safe.

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 3:07 pm

I was wondering if any of our forum members might be in that area.
You have my sympathies, having experienced smoke from forest fires in past years.

I would imagine that the smoke is concentrated in the air that is being pulled through the machine......and probably because it's also being pressurized. Wash your foam filters often.

Stay safe.

Den

Mile High Sleeper · Post by **Mile High Sleeper** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 4:24 pm

When I was first RVing with CPAP, I smelled the Liquid Propane gas odor especially strong through my machine when the furnace went on. I think that with the extra volume of air going through the machine, it intensifies odors.

Stay safe. Good that you have an extra hepa filter.

Somebody on the forum had this idea: When the smoke clears, if your machine still had an odor, run it outdoors in the fresh air.

sleepycarol · Post by **sleepycarol** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 4:27 pm

Keep watch on the fires and I hope they stay away from you.

RosemaryB · Post by **RosemaryB** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 5:56 pm

Stay safe! I'm glad you can run the hepa filter. I wonder if you could put some kind of insulation over your windows in the bedroom. Like maybe tape some plastic and tape the frames with duct tape or masking tape to keep out the smoke. You could also try and seal the door to the bedroom at night, maybe use a draft dodger snake, for instance. We use them in Michigan to keep drafts from getting under the door.

GumbyCT · Post by **GumbyCT** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 6:09 pm

Do the Air Conditioners pull in air from outside?

We lost everything we had to a house fire in 1984 & had no insurance. That made us thankful no one was hurt & we still had each other.

Our thoughts & prayers are with ALL of those affected.
GumbyCT

j.a.taylor · Post by **j.a.taylor** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 6:10 pm

SleepingBeauty,

Hopefully the fires will stay away from your home. It's awful what's happening there--not many places any of us can live where we're not facing the possibility of being hampered by natural disasters.

Let us know how things are going. It must be horrible having to breath with the smoke hanging in the air.

lilsheba · Post by **lilsheba** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:20 pm

Sleeping Beauty...I wish you luck and hope the fire doesn't get you! And yeah living with that smoke can be awful. I was in the Bay Area during the Oakland/Berkely hills fire in 1990 I think it was? the heat from that is oppressive.

Jeanine

JZ · Post by JZ » Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:43 pm

Sleeping Beauty,

On those mornings when my partner gets up before I do and makes a pot of coffee, I can smell the coffee through my mask as soon as I awaken. But when I take the mask off, I can't smell it anymore. Strange.

Please be careful. My heart goes out to you and all those affected by these awful fires. It has motivated me to prepare an "A" evacuation list of the few most important things I would try to take with me in a quick evacuation and a "B" list of things I would take if I had a little more time. If I ever am faced with such a situation, I probably will not think very clearly and will benefit from having a prepared list.

Janna

Bookbear · Post by **Bookbear** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:44 pm

SleepingBeauty, keep a sharp eye out, the winds are picking up again tonight. (I, too, am surrounded by fires to the north, west, and south. Still miles away, but there is SO much smoke and ash.

Consider replacing your machine's filter in a couple of days.

Good luck and here's hoping the fires spare you!

Treesap · Post by **Treesap** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:53 pm

I've also had a hypersensitive smell or things in my room come through my CPAP. Some good, and some bad.

Yes, please be careful with those fires. It is horrible. I lived in San Diego during the fires in 2003, and I think the current ones are worse because they are affecting a lot more homes.

I remember being depressed seeing smoke in the sky seeing a pink sun through the smoke after the 3rd day. I drove to the beaching thinkign I would see clear skies. But I was wrong. I drove all the way up to Oceanside, and drove back home.

I remember the fires in the Oakland Hills in 1990 too. We were in Berkeley that day.

Fires like that are devastating. It's a helpless feeling. It's in my prayers.

Mask

Additional Comments: Also using: 1. Pad A Cheek head gear covers. 2. Respironics comfort select nasal mask. 3. Pur-Sleep aromatherapy. Pressure 16 straight CPAP.

Machine	Mask

Additional Comments: Avg. AHI .4

Rough night last night from all the SoCal smoke

Rough night last night from all the SoCal smoke

CPAP intensifies odors