Tiny Hole in CPAP Hose - Only six weeks old

I was washing my CPAP 6' Hose this morning when I noticed a tiny stream coming out. Totally shocked!! I had never anticipated looking for a small pinhole in the hose...

I had trouble breathing last night. I just couldn't get enough air. And, I took the mask off and slept without it the last two hours or so. I checked my Encore Report this morning, leak rate was a solid 30-35 when it should have been 18-20. Mysterious, because I'll usually wake up to a Mask leak.

Lesson learned:

Literally, pressure check everything.

1. Cusp one end of hose and either blow into it checking for pressure leaks or like this morning, fill it with water from the sink.

2. Cusp the end of the mask and Diffuser, blow into it as hard as possible to detect any leaks.

I was so lucky to find this problem. Cognitively, it could of gone on for quite some time. **The hose was only six weeks old**

Input welcome,,

SG

Many people carry a spare hose as a backup as they are inexpensive.

In the mean time you could repair the hose using gorilla tape which can be found at most hardware stores.

Maybe a cat, dog, mouse, sharp corner on the nightstand, fingernail, subconsciously chewing on it during sleep, or pulled to hard.

I had the cat thing happen to it once. They don't taste as good as when I have them at a restaurant.

Two words for something to keep by the bed. Duct Tape

Allen

It's not a matter of fixing it.... It just caught me off guard!! DME usually replaces every three months which gives you a certain peace of mind. I wasn't expecting this...

When I'm tired, as I am now, I'll go to sleep even though I'm aware of not getting enough air. I'm just too tired to put two and two together. Really, I have to push myself hard to create a higher state of awareness. Takes a lot of energy.... And cognitive abilities can be dull....

Now I know what the Astronauts must feel when they space walk. I'm really surprised a small pinhole could do this to my therapy!!

SG

I forgot to add, I had a towel wrapped around the hose to prevent 'rainout'. Dah, guess I wouldn't notice a leak....

Addendum:

3. Don't wash your hose. You'll poke holes in it.

LinkC wrote:Addendum:

3. Don't wash your hose. You'll poke holes in it.

Ditto.


Den

My hose is now almost a year old and covered with duct tape patches where the cat stepped on it and slid off, digging in her nails.

A few tine pinholes aren't going to materially affect your leak rate. Compare the size of the pin holes to the size of the exhaust hole(s).

I have been using My original Hose for over two years now with no Problems but I store the Hose along with the Machine Daily as i have small G'Children here--Not worth the risk of Damage as Kids will be Kids and their curosity gets the best of them. I have never washed my Hose and only rinsed it out a couple times in over two years. I have several new Hoses stored just in case though. Could be that your Hose was Flawed from the Manufacturer--Hard to say but never the less a Hole is a Hole.

Hoses are an easy repair. Duct tape works like a charm. Takes longer to find the tape than to make the repair. It will last a long time also.


JeffH

Don't wash the hose??

When you say duct tape are you speaking about the aluminium tape or the one exterior gray, sticky side white with a kind of threads inside?

I have never seen gorilla tape here only gorila glue and that's not good.

Thanks

Gorilla glue is great stuff, and a drop of it might fix a small hole in a hose; urethane glues stick to about anything, including many plastics. Urethane glues are very sticky when wet, expand as they cure, and can be impossible to remove after it cures. Alcohol can usually remove it before it cures, you may have to sand it off or file it down after it cures.

The latest hose I received on my regular DME delivery is quite unlikely to get a leak as it is very thick. That the good, but the bad is it is so stiff it stands up when I turn over rather than flex and swivel. I called and they will replace when I get around to it. I'm back to my old one now. Moral is take thin and flexible and patch as needed.