Cleaning Inside of Delivery Hose

jeepdoctor · Post by **jeepdoctor** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 5:34 am

What are folks doing to clean the inside of their delivery hose?

Please comment on rinsing the inside with hydrogen peroxide followed by a water rinse. Thanks.

cpapjack · Post by **cpapjack** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:32 am

I'd be interested to know the answerto this as well.

MandoJohnny · Post by **MandoJohnny** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:32 am

Per manufacturer and DME recommendations, I clean all my CPAP stuff in warm water and "pure" soap (soap with no additives). Then I do a thorough clean water rinse and air dry. I also clean the nasal pillow on my mask daily, suing the same method. I would not use any chemicals.

For the hose, I put just a drop of soap in the hose and then one quarter fill the hose with warm water. Then I put a thumb over each end and just work the soapy water back and forth. I drain it, and then put one end of the hose up to a faucet and form a rough seal between the faucet and the hose with my hand. I turn on the faucet and just let clear water run through the hose to rinse. I shake out any water I can and then hang the hose on a hook to air dry. It will not dry 100% during the day, but I figure that is OK. It's gonna have water vapor from the humidifier going through it anyway.

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): nasal pillow, CPAP, DME, clean

kurtchan · Post by **kurtchan** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:38 am

I agree with MandoJohnny, although, because I use a Respironics Comfort Curve mask with the funky hose, I wash it along with the cheek pads, nasal interface and humidifier tank every day.

I use a dish washing soap called "Seventh Generation" which meets all the manufacturer's guidelines -- no moisturizer, no fragrance and no antibacterial agents.

Hydrogen peroxide is pretty strong stuff and, in keeping with the printed care instructions that come with most machines, hoses and masks, I'm not sure I would use it regularly to clean anything. If you're having a problem with something growing in the hose, a bi-monthly or once-a-month quick rinse would probably kill the flora, but I worry that regular use might degrade the material of your hose.

Kurtchan

northernlights · Post by **northernlights** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 7:26 am

I've been cleaning my hose every other week, with the Citrus ll natural spray cleaner that they gave me to clean my mask (which I clean out every morning, after I get up). Seems to work OK.

Steve.

KansasRT · Post by **KansasRT** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 7:34 am

A good thing to use as an at home disinfectant is a 50/50 white vinegar and water mixture. Soak your equipment for 30 minutes and rinse really well and allow to air dry. This is an inexpensive at home treatment you can use. Once a month should be fine.

oldgearhead · Post by **oldgearhead** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 7:42 am

..I'm with Kansas on this one. Once a month with vinegar. I follow up the vinegar with a baby shampoo soak to get rid if the vinegar smell, then rinse well...

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 8:35 am

A vinegar/water solution is cheap and effective. Recently a poster nicknamed "dgallent" told me that after he does that and rinses it, he uses a couple of tablespoons of baking soda in water to soak the hose or mask for a few minutes and rinses again. He said the baking soda (a good deodorizer) completely gets rid of the vinegar smell.

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 9:38 am

If you get yourself one of link>these<link you can put your favorite cleaner in the hose, connect the two ends together and slosh it around to your hearts content. Personally I like to use a mild soap.

OwlCreekObserver · Post by **OwlCreekObserver** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 11:40 am

I mostly follow the printed guidelines that my DME gave me:

Wash the mask and its parts in gentle detergent (no moisturers, etc.) every morning. Like Kurtchan, I use the ComfortCurve mask most of the time, and I wash the little Y-shaped hose along with everything else.

Twice each week, I soak the mask and all hoses in a solution of one part white vinegar with two parts water for 30 minutes and rinse thoroughly. I haven't tried the baking soda thing, but it sounds like a great idea. I never was very big on vinagrette.

OCO

Brian12465 · Post by **Brian12465** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 3:04 pm

When the hose wouldn't dry out after hanging all day, I hooked it up to my machine (ResMed VPAP III) and let it run for 30 minutes without water in the humidifier (and without me attached). Don't know if this is OK with all machines, but my DME told me it wouldn't hurt this one. I hope they're right!

MandoJohnny · Post by **MandoJohnny** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 3:25 pm

When the hose wouldn't dry out after hanging all day, I hooked it up to my machine (ResMed VPAP III) and let it run for 30 minutes without water in the humidifier (and without me attached). Don't know if this is OK with all machines, but my DME told me it wouldn't hurt this one. I hope they're right!

I am sure it wouldn't hurt the machine, but if your machine does data, it might throw all your data off. I tried that with mine, but I got a "mask leak" warning. If anyone knows how to run the blower on a ResMed S8 Elite without throwing the data off, it would be helpful.

krousseau · Post by **krousseau** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 3:48 pm

If you want the hose to completely dry out between uses get two hoses and alternate.

Paul B · Post by **Paul B** » Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:22 pm

I bought a hose brush from another site that scrubs the inside of a hose; I even use it on my heated hose from Australia, although I scrub it very gently. This removes anything clinging to the sides, and then I flush it the same as previous posts have described.

Machine