Cleaning humidifier tank

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gdgiles
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Cleaning humidifier tank

Post by gdgiles » Tue Jul 22, 2014 7:03 pm

Here's what I don't get. I buy a gallon of distilled water and pour about a pint of it into my reservoir. Why would I clean the reservoir? That pint takes over 2 weeks to go away. Why not just top it off with more of the distilled water? The water had no bacteria in it. The air that passes over it is room air that's doubled filtered. Even if I do clean it, I'm still putting in distilled water from that original gallon jug. There's no mold or mildew in the reservoir.

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bwexler
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Re: Cleaning humidifier tank

Post by bwexler » Tue Jul 22, 2014 7:08 pm

There was a lengthy discussion on this a week or 2 ago.
The consensus was there is no consensus.
Some like to sterilize every night. Those like me rinse it out every year or two.
There were many opinions in between.

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palerider
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Re: Cleaning humidifier tank

Post by palerider » Tue Jul 22, 2014 7:11 pm

got me, but I have seen sludge build up in there in the past.

my bedmate had a sore throat and so hauled out the humidifier on the PR560, after using it a few nights, *with distilled water* there was ... something gloopy down in the bottom of the tank.

I dunno.

maybe pugsy's aliens left a deposit.

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bwexler
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Re: Cleaning humidifier tank

Post by bwexler » Tue Jul 22, 2014 7:15 pm

Don't look don't tell.

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palerider
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Re: Cleaning humidifier tank

Post by palerider » Tue Jul 22, 2014 7:17 pm

dear pugsy, please ask your aliens to be a bit more tidy.
thanks....

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HoseCrusher
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Re: Cleaning humidifier tank

Post by HoseCrusher » Tue Jul 22, 2014 7:20 pm

Biofilm forms in warm moist areas, in spite of filters. If you shut the heat off for your humidifier it will greatly reduce the tendency for biofilm to form.

Keep in mind that your machine is not running 24 hours a day. That means that there is the possibility of "bad stuff" making its way down the mask and tube after you have shut things down. As the humidifier and warm water cool down it is possible to form a draft that pulls some air back through your mask. You can prevent this by putting your mask in a plastic bag and cinching it up tight as soon as you remove your mask.

To check for biofilm formation just stick your finger in the tank and rub a wall. If it is slick or slimy, you have biofilm.

I generally tell people to clean their equipment according to their immune system. If it doesn't make you ill, you probably don't need to worry about cleaning it. On the other hand, if you do get ill you may want to start your road back to health by cleaning your equipment.

Who knows... having water sitting in a chamber with biofilm may actually strengthen your immune system over time. Or, you could just go outside and eat some dirt...

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library lady
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Re: Cleaning humidifier tank

Post by library lady » Tue Jul 22, 2014 7:23 pm

Yes, a wide range of opinions on this, but my experience with mold and mildew is that it takes a while to build up to a point that it's noticeable - anywhere, not just in a humidifier tank. During the winter, my tank runs dry every night so I go through a gallon in about 5 days. Now that summer is here, with the humid Minnesota weather, I fill the tank about a quarter full and still don't always empty the tank in a night. I'd rather not take a chance on giving mold/mildew a chance to start brewing it's ugly stuff, nor do I want to just top it off in the summer, as what was left in the bottom might have started brewing something that would infiltrate the entire tank. Distilled water's cheap, but medical problems that arise from breathing moldy water might be somewhat more expensive.

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palerider
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Re: Cleaning humidifier tank

Post by palerider » Tue Jul 22, 2014 7:27 pm

HoseCrusher wrote:You can prevent this by putting your mask in a plastic bag and cinching it up tight as soon as you remove your mask.
seems like a great way to encourage mold and other crap to grow on your mask, as opposed to letting it air dry in between uses.

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Re: Cleaning humidifier tank

Post by HoseCrusher » Tue Jul 22, 2014 7:35 pm

I agree, but he didn't ask about cleaning the mask...

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gdgiles
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Re: Cleaning humidifier tank

Post by gdgiles » Tue Jul 22, 2014 7:50 pm

I do clean my mask/pillow and the house attached to it. Once so far in about 5 weeks of use. We're super humid here in Georgia and I've yet to run out of water. I've only emptied it to travel on vacation.

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library lady
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Re: Cleaning humidifier tank

Post by library lady » Tue Jul 22, 2014 8:10 pm

that is all the more reason not to top it off every night, the longer the water sits in there, the greater the chance of mold/mildew, etc. since the water you do use comes off the top of the tank... now if you could push the bottom water up to the top of the tank and fill below it, you'd use up the oldest water first... maybe the aliens can figure that one out for us!

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englandsf
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Re: Cleaning humidifier tank

Post by englandsf » Tue Jul 22, 2014 8:20 pm

I recommend preventative maintenance, weekly soap to kill bacteria and monthly vinegar to remove hardness. I zm finding the base of the tank to be slightly slimy after a few days. None of our regular filters can remove bacteria and fungi.

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palerider
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Re: Cleaning humidifier tank

Post by palerider » Tue Jul 22, 2014 8:58 pm

library lady wrote: I'd rather not take a chance on giving mold/mildew a chance to start brewing it's ugly stuff,
just try to get penicillin to colonize in there

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archangle
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Re: Cleaning humidifier tank

Post by archangle » Tue Jul 22, 2014 11:42 pm

Bacteria need nutrients to grow. Even algae needs fixed nitrogen to grow.

In theory, 100% pure water wouldn't let bacteria grow. However, some dust does get through the filters. Store bought distilled water isn't 99.99999% pure. It's even been suggested that some germs can grow on the small amount of ammonia and some other airborne gasses getting dissolved in the water. When you exhale, some of your exhaled breath goes up the hose. As the air mixes, some small portion may work it's way back up the hose to the water tank.

As the water evaporates, the contaminants become more and more concentrated.

I wonder if some of the chemicals in the soap people use might cling to the tank and feed the bacteria. Things like rinse aids and moisturizers tend to stick.

I wash my tanks weekly in the the dishwasher. I have two tanks and set the just washed one aside for a week to dry out. I haven't found any buildup on mine.

I do top my water off every night without washing. If I let it evaporate out all the way, it tends to stink, which suggests that there is something in the water in the tank.

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jacobsbd
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Re: Cleaning humidifier tank

Post by jacobsbd » Wed Jul 23, 2014 4:09 am

It has been my experience that you will not have a problem until you do have a problem. I had slowly prolonged my cleaning intervals without having any problems.

I used only distilled water and occasionally rinsed the tank with no problems. However, one night I put on my mask and had a musty smell. Since then I have had to be much more careful about cleaning because no mater how well I sanitize, the ick comes back in a couple of weeks if I just add every night. I think I might have spores in the machine proper.

Just emptying the tank every morning, rinsing with hot water and swapping to the other tank once a week seems to mostly keep it under control for me,

Distilled water is a hungry mild acid. It will gradually dissolve tiny bits of almost anything that it comes in contact with if it is truly pure. This includes the plastic bottles and I have even been told that it will dissolve some minerals out of glass. If you just keep adding "distilled " water to a tank, any impurities will stay in the water as the water evaporates away. Also dust from the room will be added to the mixture. Germs can eventually get a foothold and grow using these minerals and create chemicals which can attack the sides of the tank
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