Boiling Stuff Part 2

by **Kenwood** on Sat Apr 13, 2013 11:47 am

allen476 wrote: I used a small sauce pan that was just big enough to hold one FF mask seal and filled with distilled water. I then added 1 teaspoon baking soda and brought to a rapid boil then reducing to just a boil. Now I had to decide how long to boil. I decided that 5 minutes would be a good baseline. So I dropped the first one in with the part that goes against your face so that it was on the bottom. I turned it over after 2 minutes for 1 minute and then turned it over again to finish. I pulled it out and immediately rinsed with hot tap water.

This is a really great idea!!!!

by **archangle** on Sun Apr 07, 2013 11:28 pm

MagsterMile wrote:I tried boiling the cushion once. Used distilled water and a little bit of baking soda. It was clear afterwards. But, I think a little bit of the stickiness went away. When I told the DME about it, she wasn't real happy.

If the DME doesn't like it, that sounds like a good reason to try it. :mrgreen:

Especially if you have a set of pillows you're ready to throw away already. If you ruin them, you were already planning to throw them away, so no loss. Unless they become toxic or somehow do something harmful like reduce the airflow of leak in some way you won't notice, what harm can it do?

by **Muse-Inc** on Sun Apr 07, 2013 11:12 pm

I boil my silicon parts when they get cloudy, but I have discovered a method that reduces how often I need to do that (now down to once a yr in distilled water with a tsp of baking soda 5-10 mins to get rid of all the film). I rotate 5 masks 'cause I hate cleaning masks at night.

My cleaning routine:
Take off silicon parts, wash with Method hand soap and rinse (I like the Sea Minerals scent).
Toss in 1-qt. Pyrex casserole dish, fill with water, a squirt of Method dishwashing liquid (also Sea Mineral scent). Let soak all day.
When I get home from work, re-wash if there's still oily-looking film, rinse.
Toss in clean water if I'm lazy OR spray with 5% white vinegar and let sit 3-6 mins or so.
Rinse well to get rid of the vinegar smell.
Air dry out of sunlight.

The ones sitting in water get re-washed and dried sometime during the wk. When I'm organized *G*, I get everything disinfected (vinegar) and dried during the weekend and start the wk with clean masks.

by **BassFisher** on Sun Apr 07, 2013 2:33 pm

Cool tip, Thanks. I'll have to give that a try.

by **hyperlexis** on Sun Apr 07, 2013 2:23 pm

Apparently this is also a problem that afflicts mothers using clear silicone baby bottle nipples. A plague of cloudiness on silicone!

by **chunkyfrog** on Sun Apr 07, 2013 1:47 pm

I can hear them now: "lalalalalalala"
(better silicone would LAST longer! No way Joe)
They just might be working on single use contact media.
Watch for it!

by **hyperlexis** on Sun Apr 07, 2013 1:37 pm

So you hear this Respironics and ResMed and everyone else!?

We want some crystal clear silicone here! No more of this nasty funky ass cloudy in a week stuff!

The people have spoken! Change your plastic formula, please!

:twisted:

by **SleepWellCPAP** on Sun Apr 07, 2013 1:20 pm

Hello All,

Wow, boiling a cushion? Gosh that makes sense.

Though I recommend using Control III or any pure product, then rinsing very very thoroughly, I think I'm going to do some experimenting. Full face cushions start to wear out very quickly. I wonder if boiling is the answer.

I've got some masks at the shop that need cleaning. Thanks for the idea!

Jim

by **jencat824** on Sun Apr 07, 2013 1:05 pm

allen476 wrote: II have a bunch of Swift LT pillows and I am going to try them as well. I don't hold out much hope as they are the ones that collapse after 1 week of use.

I was going to try boiling, but someone suggested to me that O rings work with the LT cushions to bring them back to life - they were RIGHT! I got a size 9, for my medium pillow, later learned a size 10 is the suggested size. Got the O rings in the plumbing dept at Home Depot. Thought I'd suggest this to you since this worked so well for me. I'm on about week 3 or 4 of use on a previously used up cushion. O ring gives it more comfort I think too.

Jen

by **allen476** on Sun Apr 07, 2013 12:55 pm

Nooblakahn wrote:Be careful if you opt to google boiling silicone. You might get some info unrelated to sleep apnea that you might be good with not having knoweldge of...

Where do you think some of my inspiration came from?

Well that and silicone cooking utensils.

MagsterMile wrote:I tried boiling the cushion once. Used distilled water and a little bit of baking soda. It was clear afterwards. But, I think a little bit of the stickiness went away. When I told the DME about it, she wasn't real happy. Her reason: cushions should be washed using the same soap that you use for washing your face. That is the best thing for them and they won't break down as quickly. I have been following the washing with the face soap routine and the cushions are retaining their stickiness.

That and she wants to sell you replacement cushions every month.

Nothing in distilled water and baking soda is going to hurt you or your cushions. The method I describe is for deep cleaning every month or 2. It isn't meant to be used daily. The best way to tell that you are due to boil is when after cleaning with your preferred soap that it is still slippery. Your leak graphs will also look abnormally high as well.

Daily cleaning will leave residue just like your skin oils and sweat will. It happens slowly but eventually you will have a build up.

by **Nooblakahn** on Sun Apr 07, 2013 12:29 pm

MagsterMile wrote:I tried boiling the cushion once. Used distilled water and a little bit of baking soda. It was clear afterwards. But, I think a little bit of the stickiness went away. When I told the DME about it, she wasn't real happy. Her reason: cushions should be washed using the same soap that you use for washing your face. That is the best thing for them and they won't break down as quickly. I have been following the washing with the face soap routine and the cushions are retaining their stickiness.

I hear ya. I wouldn't do this every day, but this cushion had seen over a month of use, and would be in the trash right now otherwise. I see no harm in doing this every now and then to revive an otherwise dead cushion. I would not do this though, without having a backup plan. SInce I got my second cushion from my DME thursday, figured why not give it a shot. I want to try to stockpile for that one, as I plan to get a mirage quattro to try from my DME. Want a working cushion or two for my fx, since the FX really does work quite well for me.

by **MagsterMile** on Sun Apr 07, 2013 12:19 pm

I tried boiling the cushion once. Used distilled water and a little bit of baking soda. It was clear afterwards. But, I think a little bit of the stickiness went away. When I told the DME about it, she wasn't real happy. Her reason: cushions should be washed using the same soap that you use for washing your face. That is the best thing for them and they won't break down as quickly. I have been following the washing with the face soap routine and the cushions are retaining their stickiness.

by **chunkyfrog** on Sun Apr 07, 2013 10:51 am

That did not occur to me until you (sort of) mentioned it.

by **Nooblakahn** on Sun Apr 07, 2013 10:40 am

Be careful if you opt to google boiling silicone. You might get some info unrelated to sleep apnea that you might be good with not having knoweldge of... :shock:

by **chunkyfrog** on Sun Apr 07, 2013 10:27 am

I just remembered something I read about silicone; that it absorbs gases readily.
I have noted that old, cloudy pillows smell a little funky, and that the odor leaves after boiling.
Maybe the heat and some chemical reaction with the soda helps remove the gases.

Boiling Stuff Part 2

Post a reply

Expand view Topic review: Boiling Stuff Part 2

Re: Boiling Stuff Part 2

Re: Boiling Stuff Part 2

Re: Boiling Stuff Part 2

Re: Boiling Stuff Part 2

Re: Boiling Stuff Part 2

Re: Boiling Stuff Part 2

Re: Boiling Stuff Part 2

Re: Boiling Stuff Part 2

Re: Boiling Stuff Part 2

Re: Boiling Stuff Part 2

Re: Boiling Stuff Part 2

Re: Boiling Stuff Part 2

Re: Boiling Stuff Part 2

Re: Boiling Stuff Part 2

Re: Boiling Stuff Part 2