S9 Auto Set with Humidifier Questions

I am new to all of this CPAP stuff (got my S9 Auto only 4 days ago and diagnosed 3 weeks ago) and had a few questions…

Should you use distilled water in the humidifier? I generally use boiled water from the tap and each morning wash it out and dry it.

Cleaning the climate line tubing? I have not tried to clean this as yet but am worried do you just clean the outside or do you clean the inside of the tube? And what happens to the connectors if they get wet in the cleaning process? And what do use for the cleaning?

digga188 wrote:I am new to all of this CPAP stuff (got my S9 Auto only 4 days ago and diagnosed 3 weeks ago) and had a few questions…

Should you use distilled water in the humidifier? I generally use boiled water from the tap and each morning wash it out and dry it.

Distilled water is odorless and leaves no residue. Tap water has minerals and added chemicals. If the chlorine odor doesn't bother you, then using tap is no really a big deal.

Cleaning the climate line tubing? I have not tried to clean this as yet but am worried do you just clean the outside or do you clean the inside of the tube? And what happens to the connectors if they get wet in the cleaning process? And what do use for the cleaning?

The inside of the hose is what needs the cleaning. Mold and mildew can build up in there over time. The S9 Climate hose is safe to rinse inside and out. Use warm water and a mild liquid soap.

Welcome digga

You need to use water without minerals to avoid they stay in the water chamber a create a sediment on it. So you can use demineralized or distilled water. The boiled water has still the minerals in it. If you wash the chamber each morning you will still have a sediment formed in it but slowly. If you put some vinegar (half and half) with water in the chamber and let it tramper, vinegar will dissolve the minerals and kit the germs, etc.

The hose you can wash it with a mix of dishwasher and warm water, let it tramper and if you want from time to time you can use the same vinegar solution. It won"t damage the connectors, only thing is to be sure they are dry before plug the hose to the machine and no water inside the hose wet it when you make the connection.

Distilled water will prolong the life the tank an don,t have to wash it as much but you can get the cleanable tank which can be taken apart and easier to clean than the one piece tank.
I pour hot soapy water into the hose (you can get hose brush) and hook it to the kitchen hot water tap to flush everything out and then hang it to drip-dry

I just use distilled water out of the jug...Wash my climateline once a week with my other stuff..Just lay hose in warm soapy water&take the end that hook's to machine & slip it right on the faucet in bathroom..Fit's perfect..Then let it rinse out in hot water for a minute or so .Then just hang on shower head to dry..

I will also take my hose in the soapy water&suck on the hose to pull the soapy water up into hose..Just remember not to suck down the soapy water..lol

I hook the hose to the faucet once a week and run the hottest water I can get through the hose. Then rinse the outside. I have two hoses and swap them and let the clean one dry for a week. I dry mine on an old CPAP machine by letting it run for an hour or so.

With anything other than distilled water, you'll get a buildup of minerals as the water evaporates. You can fight this by dumping the water and cleaning frequently, but I prefer to be clean to start with.

Don't worry about the electrical connections unless that end of the tube is dripping wet (and then it isn't a problem if you want to talk about the technical issues).
You might find the cpap end of the hose fits most modern taps and lets you flush it with water. I do that weekly unless its a high mould week and then I do it every few days.