Is cleaning an issue?

[jdm2857]

Let's have a discussion; only those who agree with me may particpate.

And see the topic up there? It's clearly open to a possible answer of "no".

Now you may go sit in the corner and pout.

[DreamStalker]

Let's have a discussion; only those who agree with me may particpate.

And see the topic up there? It's clearly open to a possible answer of "no".

Now you may go sit in the corner and pout.

Yes ... we need to be able to expand our minds for all possible answers on this topic ...

[Denial Dave]

I did all those cleaning tasks that the mfgr or my DME told me needed to be done everyday for about 2 months.... Then I decided that all that cleaning was pretty excessive.

More power to those that do all of that cleaning.... It's just not for me.

[John from Brookston]

A little mold doesn't bother me...
"Mildew is good for you. It's the next best thing to fresh lettuce. Be thankful for what grows down here."-The 2WO, "Das Boot"

I wash mask cushions 2-3 times a week because my skin grease is hell on the silicone. The other stuff, maybe twice a month.

[JO'M]

I'm not sure how often I clean MY CPAP equipment matters to someone else.
You clean your equipment as much as you want and I'll clean my equipment as much as I want.

[JohnO]

...currently accepting bids to replace my basement bathroom shower as that black mold/mildew just won't quit...

I do a much better job of keeping my CPAP clean - as I wrote in another thread recently, cleaning every other week seems to do the trick for me. I wipe down my nasal pillows every couple of days.

[mon]

I am sorry I have upset so many people.
There are good and bad bacteria and too much bad bacteria will cause us to get gastro or depending how bad the bacteria are can kill us. This is via the gastric system not the respiratory system!
Regardless of what a lot of people are saying, mold spores are different and are not good for lungs.

We choose whether we smoke or not. We know smoking can lead to fatal lung conditions.
We can choose to take extra care not to get mold spores in our lungs or we can choose not to.
Over time, we may get lung cancer from smoking or another lung disease brought about by inhaling mold spores through a CPAP machine.

We can't see the bacteria on food that gives us gastro but if we knew it was there most people wouldn't eat it. Most of the time, the food we eat won't harm us because we don't leave it to grow harm causing bacteria or molds because we know better.

I choose not to grow harmful mold spores in my CPAP machine because I don't want to get the associated lung conditions molds can cause, so I choose to wash up to prevent this happening.
Some people eat their food off dirty plates but I'm sure after a couple of uses they would attempt to wash them because they may get gastro if they don't.
I chose to voice my opinion as does everyone else on this site.

There will always be those who will beg to differ. And so you have. It's obviously a topic of debate!

[Therapist]

I choose not to grow harmful mold spores in my CPAP machine because I don't want to get the associated lung conditions molds can cause, so I choose to wash up to prevent this happening.

Maybe you should not be using the humidifier? Many people find it unnecessary.

[pikov22]

Nobody is trying to get people who don't believe in cleaning their equipment to start ! Only those people interested in doing so should share how and why with each other ,I thought sharing info in a positive manner on this site was allowed. I must be wrong again. Continue to attack if you like.

If that's what you think, you might reread the original post!

[Judge Nap]

Nobody is trying to get people who don't believe in cleaning their equipment to start !

If that's what you think, you might reread the original post!

Pikov, I just got here and checked the OP. She isn't trying to get people who don't clean their equipment to start cleaning it.

I can't believe that people don't seem to worry about cleaning their equipment.

She is trying to get them to worry about it.

[mon]

Maybe you should not be using the humidifier? Many people find it unnecessary.

I do need the humidifier but because I have studied microbiology, I know the ramifications of taking a careless attitude and thought it a good thing to share.
Those who value the message can take the steps seriously and those that don't value the message can continue as they are.
Extra care doesn't do any harm and in the future, perhaps some will thank me for my opinion.

[archangle]

I can't believe that people don't seem to worry about cleaning their equipment.

Just because you use distilled water to fill the humidifier doesn't mean it remains clean. Mold spores with grow in areas that remain damp and regardless of whether the water is distilled or not, pouring new distilled water on top of used distilled water that has been sitting around for more than 24 hours will not make the old water clean. The chamber must be cleaned thoroughly at least every second day with warm soapy water and dried completely so these spores don't grow and get inhaled into the lungs.

Molds have to manufacture protein in order to grow. Protein requires nitrogen. There is very little usable nitrogen in distilled water. There is nitrogen in air, but mold can't fix atmospheric nitrogen. Mold can't grow in pure water, it needs usable nitrogen and other nutrients.

Mold also has to have an energy source. Mold does not photosynthesize, it needs energy food of some type. Unless it can eat the material the tank is made of, there's little available energy food to eat in distilled water.

There is a small amount of usable nitrogen, energy food, and other trace nutrients in the dust that slips through the filters. Also, the distilled water you buy isn't 99.9999999% pure. There is some contamination in it. All of this can slowly build up as the water evaporates and you top it back off. Dumping the water out every so often and cleaning reduces this.

[idamtnboy]

There is such a thing as being too clean, and that's a problem with children today, and many adults who have grown up in pristine home environments. Our bodies need exposure to molds and germs and bacteria in order to develop resistances to them. Besides, there are probably billions of mold spores in the all the air we all breathe every day. Preventing mold from entering our bodies is as useful an activity as trying to bottle up a cloud.

From a germ resistance standpoint I'm in quite good health. I suspect part of that came from the green swirls I watched as bit of cow s*** dropped into the milk bucket as I was milking cows in my early teen years, especially in the springtime when everything was wet and messy in the barnyard. And I ain't lying, I tell you. It really did happen, and we really did drink that milk.

[Wulfman...]

There is such a thing as being too clean, and that's a problem with children today, and many adults who have grown up in pristine home environments. Our bodies need exposure to molds and germs and bacteria in order to develop resistances to them. Besides, there are probably billions of mold spores in the all the air we all breathe every day. Preventing mold from entering our bodies is as useful an activity as trying to bottle up a cloud.

From a germ resistance standpoint I'm in quite good health. I suspect part of that came from the green swirls I watched as bit of cow s*** dropped into the milk bucket as I was milking cows in my early teen years, especially in the springtime when everything was wet and messy in the barnyard. And I ain't lying, I tell you. It really did happen, and we really did drink that milk.

You resurrected lots of (vivid) memories for me. I milked cows from grade school years through high school.

Thanks......for the memories....... (thinking of Bob Hope singing it)


Den

.

[chunkyfrog]

When we milked cows, we were always ready to grab the bucket and jump out of range when Bossy's tail started to lift.
The cats would move back, too.