Mask cleaning every day ... or not?

[hades161]

I take a throw away tupperware type bowl, throw in my mask parts, some warm water, and a few drops of DR. Bonners Castile soap Lavender scent give it a good shake or 2, rub the nasal pillows a bit with my hand, let it soak a bit, then rinse and let dry. I don't wash the straps of the Swift in the bowl just all the plastic parts. I do this about 1 or 2 times a month. At night I wipe the mask off with a cleanx and turn the unit on, wait a seconds, put my mask on, and off I go.

Hehe, someone some time ago posted they shot a bug up their nose so even though its never happened to me, I think of it everytime I go to put on my mask. So I got in the habit of clearing the mask and hose for a short time before I put on my mask. Prolly never happen but "shrug" its only a few seconds to make sure =)

[Dgrendahl]

Well for me and whoever else, I clean my mask every day AND I use some sterilizing stuff to finish them off. I have gotten in the habit. I come from a medical nursing background. Well, I say it only takes one bullet well placed in the middle of your forehead to finish you off AND only one time with a dirty mask (if that be the case) to get you sicker than you'd care to be. We take better care of our cars, houses, etc. than we do our own bodies. I mentioned this to a friend of mine the other day and got called a "hypochondriac" for doing so. Go figure, eh? Well, to each his/hers own. For me and my health, I chose to error on the side of being safe. There now, said it...done it...will get off my soap-box.

How do you explain that a hospital is the WORST place to contract illnesses?

So.....you're gonna get deathly sick from your own facial/body oils?
WOW.....bottle that stuff and sell it to the CIA or KGB.

Den

[sharon1965]

i voted NO...i wash my face before bed, i clean my mask each night with cpap wipes, and once a week (or so...) i soak it all in mild dishsoap and rinse

Speaking of meaning the opposite ... you meant YES?

I know that you believe you understand what you think I said,
but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.

[Bearded_One]

I used to clean my mask every week or so, now it is maybe every two or three weeks -- if I think of it.

[rwalther]

Talk about struggling for the right words ... here's one of the funniest things I've ever read. It's a true story.

The following is the 2007 winning entry from an annual contest at Texas A&M University calling for the most appropriate definition of a contemporary term.

This years term: "Political Correctness"

"Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical, liberal minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."

[alnhwrd]

What a great thread! Thanks for all the laughs! BTW, when I started CPAP I washed everything religiously everyday, as per the instructions I received from my DME. After reading some posts here on the subject, I now wash stuff probably once a week and don't get too worked up if I miss a week. I'm not TOO worried about my own germs, but I do like the clean smell everything has when I wash it. I do wash my face every night with Neutrogena and wash my head every day in the shower, so I guess I am keeping the infestations to a minimum.

[jsmythe]

Question about "mask cleaning", does that mean the cushion and the frame or just the cushion? I clean my Activa cushion every morning and the frame,hose and humidifier chamber about every 3 days with hot soapy water. When I dont clean the cushion everyday, I cant get it to seal for diddly squat. I would rather wash it in the morning as to lay and fiddle with it half the night stopping leaks.

[sleepycarol]

My brother drives a garbage truck. He also handles the garbage and throws it in the back of the truck. He has done this for years and years. He lacks hygiene -- any type of hygiene!!! He washes his clothes 2 times a year (no joke) and wears the same set of clothes for weeks at a time.

Out of all of our family he is sick the least. We joke around that even the germs doesn't like to be around him!! He seldom gets a cold, flu, or other illnesses.

The rest of my siblings and myself are fastidious and clean so explain why we get sicker more often. And no thanks I do NOT want to be like the above brother.

[rwalther]

Maybe I should change careers. I hear the garbage industry is "cleaning up".

One tip ... for anybody that's interested.

I travel frequently, and airplanes are "germ factories". I used to get sick all the time. Then a few years back, we had a sick horse ... not just sick ... actually dying of an internal absess brought on by a really bad horse illness called "Strangles". The horse was fading fast, when our Vet started him on something called "Transfer Factor". It's an immune system supplement. I'd never heard of it, but this made me a believer. He went from "dying" to "getting better" literally the same week this started, and was completely healthy in just a couple of months. "Two Socks" now drags my knucklehead son all over the hills around our ranch.

Here's my point ... after that I did some research into the product, and found that they make a human version. I started taking it, and in a world where I used to get a cold, flu, or some other illness literally every month ... I just stopped getting sick. I haven't had so much as a sniffle for two years since I started taking this stuff.

If you're interested, check it out on http://www.4life.com ... that's the company. (Hint: Look for the "human" version. I don't recommend buying the "Livestock" formula.)

BTW ... I don't work for these guys, distribute for these guys, nor have anything to do with them, other than being a "true believer".

Other than cpap.com ... it's probably the only product I'd actually recommend to my friends.

If you get sick a lot ... try it.

Rusty

[rested gal]

I go for months without washing mine.

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I have never disassembled any of my masks for cleaning.....and never will.....

Den

I use the same routine (non-routine?! ) as Den's.

Same with the humidifier. I just add more distilled without dumping the unused water out. For months and months.

Been doing it that way for about four years.

[Dgrendahl]

I go for months without washing mine.

-----

I have never disassembled any of my masks for cleaning.....and never will.....

Den

I use the same routine (non-routine?! ) as Den's.

Same with the humidifier. I just add more distilled without dumping the unused water out. For months and months.

Been doing it that way for about four years.

Well, it is said that, "you can't teach an old dog new tricks." Well, that doesn't hold true for me. I'm open! Maybe I should just let it go for longer periods of time. I'll give it some thought.

[Wulfman]

Everybody has to make up their own minds on this issue......but SOMEBODY started this thread and inquiring minds wanted to know. I know, for me, I haven't been "sick" since the week of Thanksgiving in 2005 (flu). I also decided within the first couple of days of starting therapy (mid-May '05) that dumping leftover distilled water every morning and washing a mask was a waste of time and money that could be spent on other things. (I realize distilled water isn't expensive, but the gas to go get it is and I'm pretty damn cheap)


Den

[ICantGetNoSleep]

I wash my mask (Activa) and humidifier chamber once a week. First, I wash the tupperware container I soak my stuff in the dishwasher. I then disassemble the mask completely and soak it in warm water and baby shampoo for 30 min in the tupperware container. I then rinse each part individually and let it air dry.
I then change the water in the tupperware container, add more baby shampoo
ans disassemble the humidifier chamber and let it soak it in the tupperware container for 30 min.

[Perchancetodream]

The only time I washed my humidifier is the day it arrived from the DME. I live in a desert, don't have any mold problems and simply add distilled water as needed.

And I don't wash my mask for sanitary reasons, but have been known to drool and find the thought of a nice fresh mask every night to be appealing. If I was using a nasal mask instead of a FF it is unlikely that I would have wash it so often.

Susan

[TossinNTurnin]

I use the Citrus II wipes every morning... and probably clean the mask 3-4 times a week by running very warm, almost hot water in the sink with a few squirts of Dr. Bronner's LAVENDER Pure-Castile Soap ... let the mask sit in that for 5-20 minutes, swish it around - drain the sink and then rinse it in luke warm water and let it air dry.