How long does your (full face) mask last?

[soldamerican]

When I had insurance they would replace my mask and headgear once every three months. Knowing that I would soon lose my coverage I stocked up, getting a new one as often as they allowed. But I kept using my mask longer than the 3 months. Now I've been using the same one for almost 8 months and it doesn't seem to be deteriorating at all. I clean it with mild soap every couple days and wear it about 5 hours a night.

I'm curious how long other folks use theirs.

[Pugsy]

Some people reports many, many months of use into years of use.
I get many, many months of use out of my nasal pillows and my insurance allows 2 replacements per month.
Usually when I finally toss them it is more from looking so darn ugly than anything else. The silicone darkens and yellows when exposed to air over time and just looks rather gross even if it is clean.

[LSAT]

I change my Quattro yearly. I change the cushion every 3-4 months. I never change the headgear except when I get a new mask. I clean my mask monthly and I use CPAP wipes nightly. I boil my cushion once between purchases.

[Sheriff Buford]

I would keep a mask as long as it works well and as long as you can stand it. My mask will start to leak badly around my temples and there is nothing I can do about it. That's when I replace it... usually 3 - 4 months. All masks are different.

Sheriff

[archangle]

I'm using a nasal mask, not full face, but...

I wash the mask I'm using once a week, clean it (in the dishwasher) and sit it aside disassembled for a week to sit dry. I use the previous week's dry, clean mask until the next cleaning cycle.

I figure it keeps down the germ growth and maybe delays the gooification of the silicone parts.

I probably get over a year on a pair of parts, as long as I don't break or tear them.

You can also buy replacement cushions. Sometimes it's pretty cheap on ebay.

I need to experiment with boiling the flaps if the silicone ever gets gooey, icky, milky or leaky.

[Madalot]

I've been using a full face mask from the beginning (late 2009). My insurance replaces everything every 3 months as well.

Usually, my masks go from 3-6 months. My husband is using one of my old masks (I had already been using it for 3 months when he took it to try) and he's been using it for 8 months.

What stops working for me is the seal which seems to fail overnight (one night it's just fine, the next night NOTHING makes it work). Since replacing just the seal is half the cost of an entire mask, I go with the new mask.

Like you, I get the mask even if I don't need it then so I have backups. I have a plastic storage tub in my bedroom that contains all my supplies. I dropped a new mask once and hit happened to hit the oxygen concentrator just right and broke the plastic, thus ruining a brand new mask (we kept all the other parts -- I have a box of spare parts including headgear, seals and valves). When I dropped that mask at 11pm, I was so glad I had a spare.

I've found that sometimes even a new mask, for whatever reason, just won't seal right now matter what we do. I like to keep my leak rate below 40 l/m and most masks are fine, but I had a new one that nothing I did could get it to go below 45 or so (still okay, but something was weird with that). Decided to grab a new mask and I was back in business with consistent leak rate in the 30's.

I wipe my masks down daily with a baby wipe and soak them weekly in Dawn Direct Foam.

[jlklinko]

Hi there
1) I just replaced the full face cusion after a month and a half of use.
2) Feels like a brand new mask again. I don't see the need to replace the plastic parts of the mask for some time.
3) Leaks are WAY down!!!!

[Rich B.]

Every 3-4 weeks. I am on a higher pressure and it leaks if I go beyond.

[Bons]

I've found that sometimes even a new mask, for whatever reason, just won't seal right now matter what we do. I like to keep my leak rate below 40 l/m and most masks are fine, but I had a new one that nothing I did could get it to go below 45 or so (still okay, but something was weird with that). Decided to grab a new mask and I was back in business with consistent leak rate in the 30's.

I have had the same problem with my 431. Brand new, out of the box and absolutely no way to stop leaks, even with a liner.

My insurance will replace the full face cushions every three months but the DME doesn't cooperate, so I can only get one every six. I find that I need to start using mask liners after 4 in order to keep the leak rate down. And I just stocked up on cushions for my nasal mask in anticipation of losing insurance.