Cpap masks and seals

I am currently using a Quattro air full face. I am starting to have bad leaks. Not sure if it is too big or too small. Nasal mask wouldn't work for me as I suffer from bad congestion often and I'm a mouth breather when sleeping. What have you found to be the best full face mask for sealing?

There is not an easy answer to your question. Some folks use a padacheek liners to help with the leaks. My face structure is different from yours, so what works for me may not work for you.

Sheriff

Also as the seal wears out, it becomes leaky. If it seems worn out, you could try to extend its life by boiling it. I can usually build my cushion 3 or 4 times before the leaks finally take over. Then I throw it out and start a new one. You should keep a backup cushion on hand for change outs. If you have a backup, then there is no risk to trying the boiling trick.

I can't keep a seal at all without a mask liner, so I have 2: 1 to wear and 1 to dry after cleaning.

To boil my cushion, I wash it first, followed by a vinegar/water soak for 20 minutes. Then I take a small pan, put enough distiller water in it to cover the cushion, add a tablespoon or so of baking soda, and bring to a boil. Then I turn the heat down to a simmer, drop the cushion face-side down into the water and let it simmer for 3 minutes. Then turn the cushion over for 1 minute, and over again for another minute. When finished, rinse well and let air dry. It should look like new again and have that new feel to it. Like I said, I have been able to extend the like of my cushion for many months by using this method. My signal for needing to do this is when my normally well-fitting cushion becomes leaky. Good luck!

Please note for anyone who is considering the boiling method to attempt to get further life from any cushion or nasal pillow product.

M'ohms wrote:If you have a backup, then there is no risk to trying the boiling trick.

Like M'ohms said...make sure you have a backup spare(s) before you go trying the boiling method. If the cushion or nasal pillows was going to go in the trash anyway...wouldn't hurt a thing to at least try the boiling method...which I did try with my nasal pillows and it did help but then I get ridiculously long life out of my nasal pillows anyway so for me not really worth the work.

I pretty much did what M'ohm's described except I omitted the vinegar soak (I just hate the smell of vinegar) and I used distilled water for the boiling water and I also used distilled for rinsing.
Where I live the water is horribly hard and when I boiled it in regular tap water I just got really cloudy nasal pillows due to water deposits. My first thought was this crap doesn't work...then I got to thinking about my high mineral content water and decided to try again with distilled...worked great. The nasal pillows looked, felt and functioned like new.

I never used vinegar either. I boil my seal for 2-3 minutes and the seal is crystal clear. My seals lase at least 9-12 months with boiling about every 2 months. The only other cleaning I do is wipe with baby wipes every night.

This is good info. Now that I started using the Resmed F10, I was wondering about extending the cushion life. Thanks!

Sheriff

jurgersenc wrote:I am currently using a Quattro air full face. I am starting to have bad leaks. Not sure if it is too big or too small. Nasal mask wouldn't work for me as I suffer from bad congestion often and I'm a mouth breather when sleeping. What have you found to be the best full face mask for sealing?

Well, if you get the "size" part of it figured out, then the other options may be the headgear tension or forehead support position to investigate.
You didn't say how long you've been using that mask and whether your leak rates were adequate prior to these bad leaks.

Proper sizing is fairly crucial in full face masks. Being too large will probably cause more problems than being a little too small.

Another thing that can really cause leak problems with full face masks is the bed pillow. If you're a side sleeper and your head sinks in too deeply to the pillow, it can push the mask out of alignment.


Den

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Note: boiling only works for cushions/pillows made entirely of silicone.
If hard plastic constitutes any part of the cushion, the hard plastic part may warp,
since manufacturers prefer frequent replacement.

chunkyfrog wrote:Note: boiling only works for cushions/pillows made entirely of silicone.
If hard plastic constitutes any part of the cushion, the hard plastic part may warp,
since manufacturers prefer frequent replacement.

Chunk: the F10 has a plastic "front" and the cushion is around the edges. Does that mean that I can't boil it without damaging the front?

Sheriff

Sheriff Buford wrote:Chunk: the F10 has a plastic "front" and the cushion is around the edges. Does that mean that I can't boil it without damaging the front?

try it on a spare and report back there isn't enough reported data on how/whether it works yet.

Sheriff Buford wrote: the F10 has a plastic "front" and the cushion is around the edges. Does that mean that I can't boil it without damaging the front?

This is where you only try the boiling trick if the cushion was likely going in the trash anyway and you already have a spare in your possession.
I think how long a person might boil something is going to be a factor too.
My P10 nasal pillows have a bit of plastic on them too and I haven't yet tried the boiling method on one of them (haven't really had the need).

Thanks for the great replies! I called optigen and reported the issue I was having. They are ordering me a newer mask. Now I will at least have a back up mask haha. They are giving me the new F10 I believe. Nice to hear tips and tricks as a new user. And based off of how my wife says an oxygen mask is supposed to be fitted, it seems the large is too large and the lady who fitted me was wrong. Waiting for my new mask in the mail.

Well, I boiled the cushion a few weeks back, and it worked great. It seems to give the cushion new life. The first time I boiled the cushion, I didn't use baking soda because I didn't have any in the house. I bought some, and dumped some in the boiling water today.

Question: what does the baking soda do?

Sheri

When you add the baking soda to the water it tends to cut grease better. You drop your pillows in and it foams up giving you the satisfaction that you are doing more than just boiling.

I think that removing the facial oils is beneficial and find the addition of baking soda useful.

Sheriff Buford wrote:Well, I boiled the cushion a few weeks back, and it worked great. It seems to give the cushion new life. The first time I boiled the cushion, I didn't use baking soda because I didn't have any in the house. I bought some, and dumped some in the boiling water today.

Question: what does the baking soda do?

Sheri

so, remembering something about this, I did this search: "site:cpaptalk.com boiling baking soda" in google and found this:

viewtopic/t101907/Refresh-nasal-pillows.html

and there's a link in the second message where I'd done something similar recently, and dug up one of the long threads from 2012 about it that (I think) chunky had referenced... there's discussion in there about what the baking soda does, probably better answered there than if I tried to summarize. but I think it's what hosecrusher said, alkali tends to cut grease...