New hoser with hose cleaning question

[geoDoug]

Hi all.

I started using my CPAP a couple months ago. I've searched through this forum for an answer to my question, but I can't find it. Sorry if it's already been address. "Cleaning" is such a popular search result that I wouldn't be surprised if I missed it.

I've got an ongoing problem that I can't find an answer to. How do you get rid of the water droplets left behind when you wash the tubing? The tube takes DAYS to dry when I just hang it up afterward. That problem will probably solve itself in the summer when the air is dryer, but I can't exactly go half the year without washing!

This is a problem, since any time I clean my hose, I've got water that won't go away for days. It's a barrier to use, encourages me to not keep the tube as clean as I could, and it's just plain annoying.

Can anybody give me suggestions for drying a hose more quickly after washing it? (Without putting it in the dryer. )

Doug.

[Kattitude]

geoDoug,
I remember another poster saying that they just hooked the hose back to the machine and let the air blowing through it for a few minutes dry the hose out. Not sure how that would effect your leak rate but it might help.

Connie

[momadams]

Two hoses. One to use while the other dries.
Shari

[Kattitude]

2 hoses, yep - that's a good idea too. Particularly if you have cats in the house like mine. Big George (my cat) decided to attack the hose one morning. Unfortunately, it was the first morning in months that I was looking forward to sleeping in without an alarm clock. I guess he thought I was sleeping with a snake and he decided to kill it. He's lucky he lived through that morning! It did wake me up to the fact that back ups are a good thing though.

Connie

[mhacker]

I hook mine to the regular vacuum hose, use a piece of gauze over the other end to keep from sucking dust etc and let the air passing through it dry it out. Takes a minute or two.

[snoregirl]

another take is don't clean the hose. Why would it need it?

[roster]

Hi all.

........... How do you get rid of the water droplets left behind when you wash the tubing? The tube takes DAYS to dry when I just hang it up afterward.

I agree with snoregirl. Why wash it? You are introducing more "dirt" during washing than is already in the hose. Any method you use to dry out the hose will leave behind any minerals that were in the rinse water.

[Wulfman]

Some of my favorite threads on "hose and humidifier cleaning and other interesting hose stories".

Yeah.....SOME of you know what's comin'...... (there are also links to other threads in these threads)

viewtopic.php?t=16941

viewtopic.php?t=5075

viewtopic.php?t=15573


Den (has never cleaned his CPAP hose since starting therapy 2 years ago)

[wog]

[quote="geoDoug"]Hi all.

That problem will probably solve itself in the summer when the air is dryer, but I can't exactly go half the year without washing!

This is a problem, since any time I clean my hose, I've got water that won't go away for days. It's a barrier to use, encourages me to not keep the tube as clean as I could, and it's just plain annoying.

[momadams]

Humidity sitting there after the night, breeding ground for microbial stuff, mold, etc.

I sterilize mine every week.

Shari

[roster]

[quote="dsm"]On the issue of leaving your mask on/in the bed & not cleaning it daily ...

Just over a year ago, a former regular whose id I have forgotten, said one day how on the previous night he came home late - hit the hay after slapping on his mask then before he was fully asleep the air stopped flowing - he pulled it off & found a cockroach stuck in the swivel joint.

That story sure shook a few of us & I suspect mask cleaning & hose cleaning improved somewhat.

DSM

[RosemaryB]

OMG, a cockroach .

I had a friend who had a baby roach crawl into his ear while he slept. The doc had to get it out, very painful. Imagine one of these in your sinuses. . . Now, I know I won't be able to sleep .

All the advice this summer is to not leave standing water because mosquitos breed there. There could be a whole brood of mosquitos in your nose, next thing you know.

Now, my Aussie hose stays nice and dry every night, even if I wash it. But I've been draping it over the headboard. So, how do I get the cover off the Aussie hose so I can check for crawlie things? Maybe if I hang it over the shower bar, nothing will crawl in there.

[mhacker]

Why clean the hose?

Duh, because I was told to. That really is a good question however. I use RO water and there is some condensation but what can something live on? I got bad boogies but pick them before bed so I doubt it's them.

A cockroach can climb into a recently cleaned device

I will fire the cats if that happens. However you have a valid point. My mask hangs in the air by the top of the bed. Flies, dust, cat hair, etc can stop by.

Now you have me paranoid because I have a slight silverfish problem in the wet months of winter and spring. What are safe disinfectants to breathe in - they are not going to rinse clean or "just go away" ?

ugh

[Wolfmarsh]

This may sound silly, but I clean my hose about once a month with a 25/75 solution of listerine/distilled water.

I fill about 1/4 of the hose, plug the ends with my fingers, and start flailing it around

Then i pour out the fluid mix in the tub, and pour about half a gallon of distilled water through it to wash everything out.

Then I pop out my data card (dont know if this actually prevents logging, or if it stores in an internal memory then dumps to the card next time its reinserted) and run the cpap machine on the tube for about 15 minutes.

Voila!


The up side, is even if the cleaning isnt necessary, the next few times i use my machine, i get a nice minty smell all night.

[RosemaryB]

Now you have me paranoid because I have a slight silverfish problem in the wet months of winter and spring.

OH NO, not centipedes . I saw one in the bathroom recently. . .