UPDATE: The good, the bad, and maybe the ugly...

The good: My husband came home today from out of town with a new machine that a friend had given him. His machine died about three weeks ago and he was using an old backup. No data or anything on his backup machine. This couldn't be better timing.

The bad: Well, good for my husband, but for the friend. He used the machine one time and said with his deviated septum, he just could do it. And he's a retired DME provider! Therefore bad (and not smart) for the friend to not be using it; good for my husband that he got a new machine.

And then maybe ugly: My husband pulled the machine out and I was SO jealous! A new Dreamstation APAP, heated hose and everything, used once. Then I opened it up and saw...that the humidifier had water in it! The friend transported the machine with water in it to my husband, who then transported it two hours home with water in it. And for all I know, it could have been sitting upside down, sideways, or sitting on its end during that two hours home. Argh!

I"m kinda afraid to plug it in. Water is not dripping out of it or anything like that. There was some water on the manual, so at some point water did leak out of the humidifier into the bag. No standing water in the bag. And there was a fair amount of water left in the chamber. Is it okay to plug it in? If so, would running it for a while dry out anything that might be wet?

Thanks for any thoughts and/or suggestions.

If the electronics are wet, it would be the wrong thing to plug the machine in. Let it sit for two days to make sure any dampness is gone.

You have removed the tank and dumped the water.
Do not plug in the machine for at least a few days.
I would put it in a bin, surrounded by cloth bags, socks, etc.
FILLED WITH DRY, UNCOOKED RICE. the more, the merrier.
NO LOOSE RICE--all in porous bags. No little grains to get into the machinery.
This is how you save a cellphone that has dived into the toilet.
It works better than you might believe.

The Respironics perfected the dry box technology and it's pretty difficult to get the water out of the chamber even if we turn it upside down and try to shake the water out.

I would let it sit somewhere (separate the units) for 2 or 3 days to air out and then plug it in and give it a whirl.
At this point what do you have to lose?

No rice?

chunkyfrog wrote:No rice?

No...I didn't mean that.
You had already mentioned the rice thing and I didn't see the need to mention it again.

Yeah, I use rice for lots of things.
Only the freshest rice hits the plate.
The old stuff works as heating pads, knife block, etc.

I had already pulled out the chamber and separated the units. So now to gather a bunch of old socks and knee hose and purchase a big bag of rice to stuff them. Rice thing for a few days, air out for a few days...and then I'll let HIM plug it in! Hopefully it'll turn on without any issues and then I'll let it run for a while.

And it's good to hear, Pugsy, that with the newer Respironics' technology that it's hard to get water out of chamber.

Thanks everyone!

Pugsy wrote:The Respironics perfected the dry box technology and it's pretty difficult to get the water out of the chamber even if we turn it upside down and try to shake the water out.

. . .

This may sound cliché, but don't try this at home! While I don't dispute this claim, I don't suggest putting it to the test either.

D.H. wrote:This may sound cliché, but don't try this at home! While I don't dispute this claim, I don't suggest putting it to the test either.

Huh???

Why not try it at home? I have done it.

Take the water chamber out and fill it and then turn it upside down and whatever and see how much water runs out.

I would test that with JUST THE TANK--not attached to anything.
Of course, since I have a Resmed, the test would be conducted OVER THE SINK.
Resmed has not stepped up their game yet--if ever they intend to.

Just thought I'd post an update to this. Plugged it in today, and it did just fine. Set everything up for him, set him up in Sleepyhead, checked the pressure, and he's good to go! (The first old machine that died had the Respironics "credit card" memory thing, and I didn't have a way to read anymore. And the old backup he had to use for a while didn't have any real data capability.)

Thanks, all, for your suggestions and advice!