Cleaning Mask, Hose and Humidifier

[torontoCPAPguy]

Mask: Daily clean with a disinfectant wipe inside and outside including all surfaces that come into contact with my face and therefore my facial oils, etc. Includes the parts of the straps that make contact with my face; just to remove the oils from them. I start with the inside of the mask, then the outside of the mask and then the straps. Wipes are cheap enough.

Hose: I have purchase a total of four hoses. Two are in my travel bag all the time and two are being used with my bedside APAP and are rotated because I have not yet been able to find a gentle detergent soap without an odour. So I wash one of the two hoses each week in the sink with either baby shampoo or Prell detergent shampoo... swishing the detergent mix around for a couple of minutes and then I run clear water from the tap through the hose until all traces of soap are gone. I towel dry the exterior and place the tube on my backup CPAP and let it run for ten minutes or twenty minutes and then hang it up to complete drying; switching to the other hose for a week.

Humidifier: Either I permit it to run dry or I empty it and use disinfectant wipe to clean and then rinse with clear water to make sure I don't blow any disinfectant down into my lungs; once a week.

I generally use a wipe to clean around the machine and bits and pieces once a week to prevent any buildup of hand oils, dirt, dust, etc.

So far so good, but I am still a newbie at this. I'd love to find an odourless detergent recommendation.

[sleeplessinaz]

WOW--all that daily cleaning is really not necessary but when I was a newbie I know did that same thing!! LOL! Now, I use Dr. Bonner's mild peppermint liguid Castile soap on my nasal pillows every other morning. You can get the Dr. Bonner soap now at Target or GNC. I do wash and scrub my face every evening before bed. In my Humidifier tank --I use strictly distilled water and it never gets cleaned unless I need to dump the water to make the machine portable. I only top it off every night. My hose almost never gets cleaned--what exactly is making it dirty???? LOL! I toss it after a month or so as my insurance sends me them once a month. I think some people clean waaaaay too much --it really is up to your comfort level. Have fun!!
Carrie

[Geminidream]

Clean??? You mean there's stuff you're supposed to clean?

LOL @ Fred

I clean everything once every 7-10 days...sometimes a little sooner.....I don't believe in overcleaning (or is that over kill?)

[dtsm]

How about head gear, the straps? How long do the head gears last?

Can they be thrown in machine (put into nylon bag first) and wash say once a month?

[Patrick A]

Join the club, Komodo. Cleaning? What's that. It's occassional for me. After almost 20 years you would think I would drop dead from lack of cleaninig if you listended to folks here. If you have a healthy immune system, periodic cleaning is all that should be needed.

John, I clean my mask seal, and my face daily because that improves the seal. I didn't start out like that. But I discovered that a daily clean with Dr. Bonner liquid soap improves both the sealability and the longeivity of the seal.

O.

Funny thing...........I find that I get a BETTER SEAL when my mask is slightly dirty. After cleaning my mask, it takes two days before I get the "best" seal. It'll stay that way for a few days, THEN it starts to "slip" a little with the facial oils, and it's time to wash it again.

I haven't cleaned my mask since I got it. I just recycle them in the trash can.....the filters are adifferent story.

[Jaylee]

I am the executive in charge of cleaning both my BiPap and my Dad's CPap every Sunday morning before church

I soak them in warm water with some dishsoap. I do his first, then mine. I soak them for about 5 minutes. I will add white vinager if there was illness that week like a cold. Then I rinse well with water. I stick the spray nosel in one end of the hoses to flush them out. I lay flat to dry for a couple of hours on a towel, then I hang the masks over the railing on the stairs, and the hose too. The humidifier tanks I let air dry. Then I refill each with distilled water and put them back in the machines.

[Severeena]

I use the Hands Rudolph and I just put my mask in the dishwasher.

I know the ResMed you have to swish with ver mild liquid dish washing soap rinse really well and let dry.

I hope this will help.

[deadhead77]

I dismantle and clean the whole mask every morning plus flush the hose through and hang it all to dry. All the snot, dribble and sweat crap makes me feel ill, I just have to have it all spotless. How anyone can put on a dirty mask is beyond me!

Grossmungus.

[Jersey Girl]

Every day: I wipe down my nasal mask using Citrus Magic CPAP wipes. It doesn't hurt the special materials that the mask is made from and doesn't leave any residue or odor.

Every week: I wash out the tube and nasal mask plastic, pillowy parts with very warm water and dishwashing liquid. I rince the hose well and hang it in the bathroom to dry. I dry the plastic/pillowy parts with a clean paper towel.

Every week I take the humidifier and put a little distilled vinegar into the humidifier and mix with water. I allow it to sit for a minimum of 30 minutes (usually longer) and then rince well and let it dry on a paper towel out of the sun. (The booklet specifically recommends not to expose it to direct sunlight).

I find this to be an easy routine and everything stays nice and clean!

[Bibs]

What Joy said.
I clean my nasal pillow about every 2nd morning.
Top up humidifier every few nights with a bottle of previously boiled water that's beside the machine

My Saturday morning routine: (whilst listening to Billie Holiday).
Run a bit of hand soap through the tube, connect the tube to the tap in the bathroom basin and run warm to cool water through it, then hang it up for the day.
Wash the headgear with a little shampoo, whilst Im having a shower. Then let it hang off a coat-hanger on the balcony, for the day.
Dump out humidifier and wash it with the glassware in the kitchen, rinse & then let it drain with the dishes, for the day.

Saturday nights (new sheets and clean CPAP) are sooo dreamy..

[janeysmom]

Wow! Thanks for all the replies. Very interesting and neat to see what everyone does. And I am sure this will be helpful for all the newbies. Thanks!!

[Rip Van Winkle]

Wow excellent newbie information - just what I was looking for!

[SleepyStarfish]

I clean the seal, head rests, and inside of my mask every night because mine gets oily from face oils, also. I wash the humidifier tank about once a month with hot water and antibacterial soap. I have never washed the hose and, frankly, don't relish the idea of wrestling with it to get it on and off the mask and machine!

[Linus]

I have nasal pillows. I find mine get a little bit slippery from the moisure and skin oils. I wash the pillow with soap and water. When I am finished, I put the nasal pillow in an ultrasonic cleaner ($20 on amazon). Once I get out of the shower and finish dressing, I drain the nasal pillow and let it air dry.

The ultrasonic cleaner gets the oils off of it so that the seal during the night is better.

One other thing...the $20 ultrasonic cleaner (http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Ultr ... 427&sr=8-2) will only run for 3 mintues. I had to modify mine so that it will run for 20 minutes. That was a whole different project. I added a new resistor, a capacitor and an internal fan to keep the voltage regulators cool for a 20 minute run.

I have details on that if anyone has the same cleaner.

[Cosette]

[quote="Bibs"]What Joy said.
I clean my nasal pillow about every 2nd morning.
Top up humidifier every few nights with a bottle of previously boiled water that's beside the machine

Boiled water should not be used, only distilled water. Boiling water concentrates the minerals in the water. Distilled water has the minerals and any other extraneous material removed by the distillation process.