How would you clean a used machine

[Thatgirl]

When I bought my bipap off Craigslist it had 5 hours of use. I replaced the hose, filter, humidifier tank, and started with a fresh mask. I wiped the outside of the machine down with a Lysol wipe. It felt brand new. Even the screen protector plastic pieces were still on it.

Someone in the house clearly smoked, because the case smelled like smoke. I found a bag on eBay for $50 with an extra power supply and heated hoed included. So that's nice for traveling- I was able to get ride of the smokey bag and now I have a power supply and hose I leave in my travel bag. I also don't need to worry about taking my knit hose cover off my main hose for travel now.

The machine itself didn't smell like smoke at all, thankfully. I'm sure it lived in the bag, in the closet, for all but 5 hours of its existence until it met me.

[palerider]

When I bought my bipap off Craigslist it had 5 hours of use. I replaced the hose, filter, humidifier tank, and started with a fresh mask. I wiped the outside of the machine down with a Lysol wipe. It felt brand new. Even the screen protector plastic pieces were still on it.

that's the best plan, wipe down the outside, replace the filters.

[Cardsfan]

I would not spray lysol into a machine that then blows air and Lysol into my lungs.

[chunkyfrog]

Unless the machine came from a hazmat area, I think a baby wipe would be sufficient.

[Goofproof]

Unless the machine came from a hazmat area, I think a baby wipe would be sufficient.

For most things you are probably correct. Need to find out why the machine isn't needed anymore.

Maybe the person died, if it was from a gunshot to the head the cleaning might be different than infection from a hangnail. Might even need to call Ghostbusters in for a consult. Jim

[Michelle-OH]

My dme provider offers free cleaing/sanitizing of machines, not sure what they would charge to do for a machine not bought from them, but it might be worth it to check with dme providers around you.

[Wulfman...]

I bought a used bipap a while ago, said it was hardly used and it looks brand new. I am wondering if I need to do anything special to clean it before I use it? Since the air only flows one way through the machine I don't see how it can be a problem if I sanitize the tank and use a new hose but I know that hospitals that use xpap on more than one patient go through some procedure to clean and sanitize but not sure what it is.

Any thoughts (and please don't tell me to by a NoClean)

Sounds like you've got things pretty well figured out. Most of the "previously owned" machines I've purchased had very few hours on them (like 10 or less), but for the others, I just cleaned or replaced the foam filters, cleaned the tank (some came without and some were never used) and let them run for a few minutes before trying them out. Nothing "smelly" or anything like that. They all worked very well......even a couple that had over 4000 hours on them.

I've taken some of mine apart and there's really nothing in the airflow path for anything to cling to. I would never spray or blow anything in them.......might adversely affect things or deteriorate seals or interior surfaces. From some of the prior discussions on the forum which involved machines which had come from places where someone smoked, they usually let them run for awhile till it was no longer a problem.


Den

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[archangle]

I know that hospitals that use xpap on more than one patient go through some procedure to clean and sanitize but not sure what it is.

The Useful Links in my signature below has links to ResMed's "sanitization/sterilization" procedures for hoses/water tanks/masks. (If ResMed hasn't changed the link locations again, that is.) There is NO process to sanitize the blower units, other than wiping down the outside.

Some of the higher end machines like ventilators have a changeable "air path." This is a module that includes the blower, and all the "air plubming" inside the blower unit. I don't remember where I saw that. There's no normal CPAP that has this.

My dme provider offers free cleaing/sanitizing of machines, not sure what they would charge to do for a machine not bought from them, but it might be worth it to check with dme providers around you.

It would be interesting to see what they're doing. There's really no way to do this other than wiping the machine down or doing a thorough disassembly.

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As for spraying something inside the machine, there are some sensors in the air path in many machines. The humidity sensor might be susceptible to damage by chemicals. Some types of airflow sensors might be sensitive to getting any kind of chemical on them. The pressure sensors could be sealed well enough that they keep most chemicals out.

You might be able to sterilize the inside of a CPAP machine with ethylene oxide, but that's very definitely only for use in a commercial operation. Ozone might be usable, too, but it would definitely need to be a commercial operation, too, not a home device. Ozone can damage a lot of things, especially plastic, in the concentration needed to sterilize things.

With any kind of toxic gas like ethylene oxide or corrosive gas like ozone, you need to figure out out get the gas to go deep into the nooks and crannies of the inside of the CPAP machine and then how to be sure all traces of the gas are gone after treatment. Note that the SoClean does not treat the blower unit, only the water chamber, hose, and mask.

Almost all sterilization processes require specific parameters such as time, temperature, handling, etc. Half measures may not kill any germs at all. For any kind of home treatment, including ozone, you need to be remember that even valid sterilizing agents don't kill germs if the concentration and duration of exposure. If you have "chemical X" that kills germs when sprayed on surfaces or in high concentration, that doesn't mean that the fumes of X will kill any germs at all.