Add PM2.5 filtering to a CPAP machine

[joeshmoe666]

I bought a machine that only has a foam filter, so no PM2.5 filtering. I live in Chiang Mai Thailand and we are in burning season right now, so the PM2.5 reading in my apartment is up around 60 at night. I feel like I'm getting a concentrated dose while I sleep. Is it possible to add PM2.5 filtering in some creative way ? Maybe using a standard paper filter that fits behind the the foam filter or cutting one down to size ? Or maybe using the material from a 2.5 mask somewhere in the air intake stream ? I use a nasal pillow so I don't think I could just wear a paper 2.5 mask under the nasal pillow. Maybe if I switched to a full cpap mask I could wear a paper mask under it ?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

[robysue1]

I bought a machine that only has a foam filter, so no PM2.5 filtering. I live in Chiang Mai Thailand and we are in burning season right now, so the PM2.5 reading in my apartment is up around 60 at night. I feel like I'm getting a concentrated dose while I sleep. Is it possible to add PM2.5 filtering in some creative way ? Maybe using a standard paper filter that fits behind the the foam filter or cutting one down to size ? Or maybe using the material from a 2.5 mask somewhere in the air intake stream ? I use a nasal pillow so I don't think I could just wear a paper 2.5 mask under the nasal pillow. Maybe if I switched to a full cpap mask I could wear a paper mask under it ?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

What specific machine are you using?

Some machines, such as many Philips Resprionics machines, have a foam filter and also have paper hypoallergenic (PM2.5) filters that can be placed behind the foam filter available. These filters are designed to be used in addition to the foam filter, not instead of it.

[tyrinryan]

you might look into an AB filter (anti-bacterial) filter, which is installed between the cpap and the mask, and see if it will do pm2.5. but i think you have to install it before
any humidifier

[CPAP-A-MUST]

I recall reading a few comments about people in Australia cutting down the PM 2.5 filter for their machines (I believe they were using ResMed machines) during the bush fires a few years ago. That said, I am unaware of any adverse affects on the machine as a result.

[palerider]

i think you have to install it before
any humidifier

You don't.

[palerider]

Possibly the most effective thing I've seen is people in wildfire areas using a N95 (or N100) mask and taping the whole thing over the inlet of the machine, therefore giving you a large filter area and thus very little pressure drop across the filter.