Cleaning

[brocharlieb]

I have a friend who also uses a cpap machine, and I was talking about my cleaning regimen.

Once every week or two I soak my water vessel, hose and mask in a diluted solution of vinegar and hot water, then I rinse them and let them sit to dry. I've often also put my filter in this solution and then patted it dry and let it sit out until night when I put the machine back together, though the last time I saw my DME I was told not to do that anymore.

That's what I do, my friend says he was never told to clean his in any way, but he's started doing it occasionally since I told him what I do.

I wondered what others were doing.

Thanks for any info.

[Sheriff Buford]

I wipe my mask down every morning using Pampers Thick Wipes for Sensitive Skin. You can also use the generic brand. Be sure the baby wipes have no alcohol or aloe. Alcohol will damage the mask plastic and aloe will leave a film. I also wash my mask every weekend with a toothbrush and baby shampoo. I then soak the mask in a plastic tub or a few hours in baby shampoo and water solution. I then rinse the mask very well. If I don’t the baby scent will upset my tummy.

A lot of folks use a water/vinegar solution for cleaning their masks. I went to the website of my mask and it said not to. I suspect a little vinegar won't hurt.

Sheriff

[Heavylids]

I follow the manufacturers advice. I wash the mask, water tub and hose once a week in warm soapy water. Rinse in tap water first and then rinse out the hose and water tub again with distilled water.

I wipe the mask off daily and wash the silicon mask seal with soapy water daily because of oil from my skin. And it just sorta grosses me out to use the mask without doing that daily.

[chunkyfrog]

I use the baby wipes, a lot.
Mask parts hand washed in warm water and Method unscented (from Target)
Rinse with distilled water.(our water is hard enough to break teeth )
Sometimes I use a dash of vinegar in the first rinse water.
Same with the tank.
A baby wipe on the outside of the machine if it gets dusty.
I've been slightly remiss with cleaning hoses-just changed them out to new.

[Gerryk]

I used to clean my mask daily and the wash the hose out weekly. The humidifier tank never needed to be cleaned as long as I used he right water.
However over time I got more lax and find that I rarely need to clean the hose and wash the mask cushion when it appears to need a cleaning.

[Rick B]

I wnet through all of the regime of cleaning for awhile when I first started CPAP. Now, I just use distilled water in the humidifier (78 cents/gal. at Walmart). Clean the mask with baby shampoo after every gallon or two of distilled water and let it air dry. For germ control I have been considering alcohol in the humidifier, perhaps Glen Livett?

[Elle]

You don't want to know.

[Pugsy]

You don't want to know.

We are the bad girls aren't we? I didn't respond because I didn't want people to roll their eyes in disgust.

To OP....when I first started therapy I was pretty religious about a once a week thorough cleaning of everything...that lasted about a month...maybe two months. After that I started getting lazy and other than a weekly (or thereabouts) washing of the nasal pillows...I don't do much. Top of the humidifier with distilled water every night (I use up most of the water each night) and occasional dump and air dry. That is the extent of my cleaning schedule. I do change the filters regularly since I live in an old dusty farmhouse and have pets.

There is no hard fast rule that everyone just has to abide by a set cleaning schedule. It is up to the individual to do whatever they are comfortable with. I have a healthy immune system and no other problems that require a more rigorous cleaning. Works for me and I sleep just fine.

[Madalot]

When I first started all this, I was never told about cleaning hoses or filters, just the mask. My new DME was, uh, upset (that's being diplomatic) at some of the things I was never told. My cleaning regimen now is:

Mask wiped down daily with unscented baby wipes (I like Target brand).
Once a week (every Sunday) mask, hoses & filters (washable ones) get soaked water with Dawn Direct Foam, rinsed and air dried. My filters take 24 hours to dry, so I have extra sets that I rotate weekly.

I have to use antibacterial filters in my machine and I change those every 2-4 weeks, depending on how dirty they get. They are checked during the Sunday cleaning and changed as necessary.

My first DME let me go almost 8 months on ONE antibacterial filter. When we realized it and looked at it, I almost vomited realizing what I was breathing. It was so gross.

[xenablue]

I agree with Pugsy - although after hearing about the young man who died in a sleep center from Legionnaire's contracted from an unclean humidifier tank, I'm a little more diligent about that piece of equipment.

I think a lot has to do with your own environment, your body's immune system, whether you have pets etc., as well as your own personal thoughts on cleanliness and hygiene.

Personally, I'm fastidious about cleanliness in my house and tend to be the same with my CPAP equipment, however I didn't empty and wash/dry my tank every day as recommended by my DME and the manual. Now - I do wash and dry it once a week and swap it out with another tank. My nasal pillows get cleaned with wipes every day, changed out with pre-cleaned ones mid-week, then whole mask gets washed on the weekend, along with all tubing. If I'm using the SleepWeaver - it gets washed every morning. Filters get changed every 2 weeks.

One day I went to my DME to pick up some supplies and there was this one guy who'd brought his equipment in for some reason. I thought the DME girl was going to be ill - this guy's machine and mask were nothing short of disgusting. In fact the girl put on gloves, asked him to pick it up off the counter, which she cleaned, then had him put it down on several sheets of paper towel. The guy must've been up for a replacement machine, so that was tossed, but before she did, explained how he should keep the machine reasonably clean. The mask - OMG! It was dark grey - not intentionally. The girl then took his mask out back, returning a few minutes later with a sparkling CLEAR mask (except for the headgear which was trashed). Oh, and his tubing was grey/black - when she returned with it - it was white (she tossed that too, but wanted to show the man what the tubing SHOULD look like).

This poor girl did a great job of handling this guy discretely and graciously, and I was trying not to notice, but BOY! OH BOY! did that incident make an impact on me about what happens to our gear if it's not cleaned once in a while!

Cheers,
xena

[Roger2]

Once every week or two I soak my water vessel, hose and mask in a diluted solution of vinegar and hot water, then I rinse them and let them sit to dry.

I think how well and how often you should clean your equipment depends a lot on any other ancillary health problems you might have. Since I also have COPD and seem to get a bad case of bronchitis often I take more precautions cleaning my equipment than others here.

I clean my hose twice a week, the water tank and mask three times a week and the headgear once a week in mild baby shampoo and body soap. Once a week, all of these items except the headgear also gets a bath in a mixture of Control III Disinfectant diluted one ounce to a gallon of regular tap water.

The head gear need to be washed once a week if your head perspires a lot as does mine. The material in the headgear soaks up the perspiration which not only reduces its life but also its effectiveness in holding your mask to your face.

Hope that helps.

pax
Roger

[Pugsy]

Oh, and his tubing was grey/black - when she returned with it - it was white (she tossed that too, but wanted to show the man what the tubing SHOULD look like).

Yuck.. how did it ever get to be looking like that? Must have been a really dirty household and never cleaned anything. I had a white performance hose that I used from day one until I bought a heated hose last fall (so over 2 years) and it was still pretty much new looking except for some very minor color changes at the gray coupling to the humidifier and even that was most the typical "air discoloration" thing because when I did wash it before I stored it away..the color didn't change. The hose itself was still totally white and looked just like the brand new Performance hose I still have in a package.

I might be lazy but I do have some standards and my stuff would be hard pressed to tell new from used unless very close scrutiny is used.

[xenablue]

I'm with ya Pugsy - wondered the same thing - as I'm sure the DME girl did. It was NASTY!

xena

[locust78]

A big part of my cleaning has been the SoClean system, that uses activated oxygen to kill off all the germs in my mask, hose, and reservoir. Before getting it, I was a little on the lax side, and generally waited until the odor moved to to take it apart and soak it down with soap and water. I still take it apart and wash it down in the sink, but it doesn't get as nasty in between washings. Also, I feel a lot better about sticking my nasal pillows up my nose every night, knowing that there's no germs hanging around waiting to do their dirty work.

[Sheriff Buford]

Oh, and his tubing was grey/black - when she returned with it - it was white (she tossed that too, but wanted to show the man what the tubing SHOULD look like).

Yuck.. how did it ever get to be looking like that?

I was at a sleep apnea workshop chatting with a couple that were both on cpap therapy for years. I asked them how often they washed their masks and what soap did they use....

The response I got was "...what?"...

Sheriff