A quick newbie question...

[spmccord]

I am a newly diagnosed with sleep Apnea and just got my machine (sorry...at work. I don't have the model, etc). I haven't started using it yet.

I have limited time in the mornings before work. What is the minimum I have to do in the morning with the mask, tank, and hose? Will just a quick rinse until I get home??

Thanks!

P.S. I'm glad I found this forum!

[Pachyderm's Nose]

You don't HAVE to do anything but turn off the machine and take off the mask. I usually do that and hang my mask in the closet but I am in the "I'll clean it if I darn well feel like it" camp so take it for what it's worth.

[LSAT]

You don't HAVE to do anything but turn off the machine and take off the mask. I usually do that and hang my mask in the closet but I am in the "I'll clean it if I darn well feel like it" camp so take it for what it's worth.

I agree....................I wipe the mask with a baby wipe before I put it on at night...........That's all.

[Super Iridium]

And as long as you're using distilled water, you really only have to clean it once a week or so.

[Foggy1]

I would suggest putting the mask away somewhere to keep it clean every morning (or to keep it away from pets). You can do the cleaning when you get home or at bedtime. I wipe mine down with mask wipes before bed. I also use a disposable mask liner (RemZZZ). And I do a good cleaning of tank, hose, and mask on the weekend.

Some people end up with red marks on their face from mask straps. (Not everybody has the issue.) If so, you may have to get up a few minutes earlier to let these fade away before walking in to the office.

[Sheriff Buford]

I take my mask off, and immediately wipe the mask down with a baby wipe for sensitive skin. Takes only a minute. I do store the mask out-of-reach of my Australian Shepherd.... she is the curious-type....

Sheriff

[sleeplessinaz]

I take off my mask and hang hose and mask in a closet. I take the nasal pillow off first and give it a quick wash. Put it in closet to dry - away from my four cats. Done!

[robysue]

When I remember, I hang the mask (unrinsed) on a hook. When I don't, it spends the day lying on the bed. We do keep the bedroom door closed so the cat can't get to my equipment.

[RogerSC]

I just dump the water out of the humidifier tank in the morning. And refill it with distilled water at night, along with wiping off the nasal pillows. That's about it most days. Pretty simple and short at both ends of the day.

[hyperlexis]

Gross, gross, gross!

Listen, as a newbie, learn good habits now, not later once bad habits have set in.

It's real simple, and it takes two minutes. If you can brush your teeth, and change your underwear, you can handle this. Daily, take your mask, unhook the headgear, lather the mask up with baby shampoo or mild liquid pure soap (rub it on the cushion) and hot water in the sink, swish it all around for a bit, rinse under the tap and set on a towel to dry. Beyond easy. Read the owner's manual for more detailed instructions on mask cleaning techniques. Or watch the Fisher Paykel mask cleaning videos on You Tube. You can tell the guy totally gets off on it. It's such a hoot to watch. It's best for you to do this all several hours before bed, so the items dry, but in a pinch at least do it before bed and shake out the water and dry as best as possible. It wont hurt if damp, but who wants a wet mask at night.... You should also rinse the soap water through the hose and the humidifier chamber too, daily or as often as possible.

Do this and you will have a nice, squeaky clean, sanitary mask on your face each night. Not one covered in old face oils and bacteria. Now you certainly don't have to do this, but then again, you don't have to change your underwear each day either.... Just turn them inside out, and live that secret, secret shame....

Good luck!

[Otter]

Here's my morning CPAP routine.

>Get up, go use the bathroom or at least wash my hands.
>Come back, get the humidifier tub and dump the distilled out of it.
>Put the tub back in the machine start the "warm up cycle" to dry everything out.
>Wipe the mask cushion with a Citrus II mask wipes. (I buy these at a local Walgreens that has a DME section. Even cheaper than online.)
>Hang the mask from my headboard.

This adds about 3 min to my day. Nothing much happens if the day starts in crisis mode or I don't realize I'm not going back to bed in a few minutes and I just leave everything.

I did get some mold in the mask elbow recently, but I think it might have been a year since I cleaned it, and I've been so discombobulated the last few months my "daily" routine has been closer to being weekly. If I'd dumped and dried more often, I doubt that would have happened. And even with the missed maintenance, the humidifier tub looks brand new.

You need to clean things now and then, but you don't need to sterilize everything every day. Your DME may tell you that you do, but that's because it's not their labor, and they figure they're a little less likely to get sued if they specify an extreme cleaning regimen. They'd sing a different tune if they had to do the work.

[spmccord]

That's quite a range of cleanliness!

I'll try to be as clean as possible to start with and see how it goes!

[hyperlexis]

That's quite a range of cleanliness!

I'll try to be as clean as possible to start with and see how it goes!

Yes, some of it is stomach turning. Gd help us as a species if taking two minutes a day to wash a mask has become too strenuous an activity. I have visions of Hoarders episodes....

Be clean, wash your equipment. You will be grateful you learned a good routine habit now, and not later when your spouse looks at your yellowed old mask covered in oil and just looks at you and says nothing....

[spmccord]

A forum question...I added my equipment in my profile, but the forum is showing my mask but not showing my machine/humidifier.

Any idea why not??

[Julie]

A known glitch for that - but can you at least state what it is in a post for the record?