Cleaning the hose

born to be mild · Post by **born to be mild** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 11:39 am

Hi everyone,

I'm a relatively new user, and other than difficulties with finding the right mask (ComfortLite seems to be doing the best for me) my only concern is about getting things full of microbes and bacteria.

The hose is of particular concern. Everything else I can clean pretty easily... any suggestions on the hose? How often, how best to clean, what solutions to use, etc.??

Barnaby · Post by **Barnaby** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 1:50 pm

It is probably a matter of convenience I place the hose in the bottom of my basin in the bathroom and fill with warm water and a few squirts of ivory liquid soap and let it stay there for about 10 minutes. I make sure the water fills the hose and all the air is out of the hose. That is the best I can do beside I use distilled water. I place the hose over the door
to the room and let it air dry all day. I am interested to see what else some others do?? Barnaby

ProfessorSleep · Post by **ProfessorSleep** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 2:17 pm

I think hoses and humidifiers are the best sources for "crud" in the cpap systems. You'll find a lot of different answers here! My daily routine is to disconnect the hose at both ends to allow it to air dry during the day. The pillows part of my Swift mask gets "swished around" in soapy water (liquid Ivory). rinsed well, and the mask left to air dry. The HH container gets emptied and allowed to dry. Weekly everything gets a soap and water wash and a 20 minute soak in 3 parts water/1 part vinegar solution. Then rinsed well and air dry.

snoring dutchman · Post by **snoring dutchman** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 4:12 pm

I clean the hose every two days with hot water and some mild detergent, I always flush it with real hot water for at least two minutes and let it dry.
I am convinced that this method is pretty effective, I cannot find any deposit in the tube after 7 months of use.

Henk

raynardo · Post by **raynardo** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 6:16 pm

born to be mild wrote: I'm a relatively new user, and other than difficulties with finding the right mask (ComfortLite seems to be doing the best for me) my only concern is about getting things full of microbes and bacteria.

The hose is of particular concern. Everything else I can clean pretty easily... any suggestions on the hose? How often, how best to clean, what solutions to use, etc.??clean

I, too, an a newbie to this, I've only been using my system a month (but it has made a major difference in my life!). I've asked a number of other users their methods, and from their experiences I've come to a solution that works very well for me.

First my mask: I take it into the shower with me every morning and clean it using a commercial mask cleaning product called "Citrus II CPAP Mask Cleaner". Before I lather myself up in the shower, I spray the entire mask inside and out, including the short hose attached to my mask. I set it down and finish my shower. When I'm done with my shower, I thorough rinse the mask and attached hose in the shower stream for about 30 seconds. Then I attempt to get as much water out of the assembly as possible, and hand it up to air dry. It is easy to use and makes the mask smell great.

The hose: once a week I also take it into the shower with me, I put one squirt of anti-bacterial body soap (I get the generic brand at WalMart) into each end. I then almost fill the hose up with water, cover both ends with my thumbs, and slosh it back and forth for about 30 seconds. I then remove my thumbs, and let this soapy water drain. I then hold the hose up to the showerhead and let it rinse thoroughly. I repeat this rinse routine from the other end as well. I remove as much water as I can from the hose in the shower, and then hang it up on a hook on the back of my bedroom door, with the ends down, to let it air dry.

I only use distilled water in my humidifier, and I clean this in the shower at the same time, and using the same method, as my hose.

This system has served me well in my very short time using my APAP machine.

Cleaning the hose, mask, and humidifier container in the shower is almost fun, it's easy, and can't get me any wetter than I already am.

Try it. . .you'll like it!

RM

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 9:34 pm

take it outside and hold it on the end of the water hose for a few minutes, all the chlorine they put in city tap water nowadays will be like soaking it in bleach.

but then again it also has so much mtbe in it that it may shorten the life of the hose

Severeena · Post by **Severeena** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 11:25 pm

My hubby showed me what to do with my mask and hose and I still do it my way.

I use a vinegar and water solution. This is a very good disinfectant and it keeps the mold and mildew down.

I use regular face face soap on my mask, as it is facial oil so the face soap should eliminate the oil.

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): hose

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 4:54 pm

snoring dutchman wrote:I clean the hose every two days with hot water and some mild detergent, I always flush it with real hot water for at least two minutes and let it dry.

Be sure to check it yourself, trusting others might not always be the smartest thing to do.

Marie · Post by **Marie** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 7:11 pm

With all of the equipment, I received instructions on cleaning. I do it that way.Use detergent and vinegar. Also, shouldn't be cleaning the equipment in the bathroom.Or letting them dry there.

Happy New Year everyone
Marie

Dan01 · Post by **Dan01** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 7:35 pm

Severeena wrote:My hubby showed me what to do with my mask and hose and I still do it my way.

I use a vinegar and water solution. This is a very good disinfectant and it keeps the mold and mildew down.

I think that is what the experts say to do. I did it once and thought I rinced it out good enough. I coughed up a storm the next morning.

I propabably should clean it more often. Maybe next time I will use soap.

Dan01

OldSeaRock · Post by **OldSeaRock** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:24 pm

I use Simple Green® to clean my hoses and mask. It has worked like a charm!

Dan01 · Post by **Dan01** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 3:07 am

You know, I rarely clean the hose. Maybe I should do it more often, but I use distilled water in the humidifier. Bacteria need water to survive. If the hose dries out, there will be no bacterial build up. There is bacteria in the tap water, so I am veery of pumping that through my hose. Maybe I should buy some extra hoses and rate through them.

Sunflower · Post by **Sunflower** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 8:47 am

I unhook my hose everyday and hang it all day. I wash my mask everyday...my humidifier every second day and my hose and headgear once a week. I put the hose in a sink of soapy water ( ivory soap) and make sure the water is in the hose...let it soak then rinse really good...hang it over the shower all day. I feel better knowing I clean it once a week.

tomjax · Post by **tomjax** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 10:48 am

All the creative cleaning techniques are likely, IMHO, elegant solutions to non-problems.

I ignore mine until bugs or crawly things start crawling into my nose from the pillows.

Seriously, I see no need to clean them very often. I will pull the pillows our and rinse them in soapy water about once a month and clean the entire hose etc about every 5- 6 months. Ivory Soap/Water- rinse with 2/3 vinegar and sling dry.

If those who enjoy their routines want to do it, fine with me, but it is useless.

Hospital or clinic setting - YES- Home- NO.
We don't boil our noses every night, do we?

born to be mild · Post by **born to be mild** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 1:35 pm

Thanks, everyone, for your good advice.

Marie, "With all of the equipment, I received instructions on cleaning" implies that perhaps reading the enclosed instructions would be a smart idea. Noted, but not likely to happen. Like many men, I'm hard-wired to ignore any and all manufacturer's instructions. I'd rather hear from real people, such as the folks on the forum here.

Tomjax, you're certainly correct that we "don't boil our noses every night". But on the other hand, I do try to wash my face most days. And this being the last day of the year, it's just about time for my monthly bath. (I take pride in being quite fastidious.)

So it would seem that at least monthly cleaning would be a good idea. Maybe even every other week or so.

Cleaning the hose

Cleaning the hose

Re: Cleaning the hose

Awareness

cleaning hoses

Thanks, everyone

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