Hypo filter or not?

[Cardsfan]

Hypoallergenic filters- All this filter talk got me thinking...
I do not have allergies, so I have just gone with the filter the DME sent. But, I started wondering, my filter has never looked dirty or discolored after 2-3 months, when I change it. Now, I know my house isn't THAT clean that we have no dust. So is the filter working?
If I try a hypoallergenic filter, do you think I'd see a difference? Do they work better? Are they better for the machine at protecting it?
Do you advise hypoallergenic filter even if you do not have allergies?

[Julie]

Why look for trouble if things are ok?

[Pugsy]

Is your DME supplying name brand ResMed filters or after market brand?

I am wondering if the filter you are using is what I would call a fine filter or if it's what I sometimes see with ResMed machines and it's not nearly as fine and due to the way it's made is going to get yucky looking a lot later than the fine filter. There is a filter used in the ResMeds that is washable and will last a lot longer and will take a lot longer before it gets yucky looking. I know because I had one in a brand new S9 that I got that had 0 hours on it. I have never been able to find that same type of filter to buy as replacement though...all I have found has been the disposable fine or hypoallergnic fine filters.
I recently got a hold of some aftermarket filters like what came with my brand new S9...so I know they are out there and it makes me wonder where ResMed came up with the filter they put in my S9.

I have both and while it's easy to see the difference and feel the difference when you have them side by side I don't know if I can get a picture that will show the difference.
I will try later to get a picture.

I personally have use both ResMed brand white fine and hypoallerginc filters and after market brands...to be honest I have never been able to tell any difference in the name brand and aftermarket white fine filter or the hypoallergic ones.

So for me....obvious difference between the washable filter I have seen and the disposable fine filters in how they are made and the disposable filters definitely are going to get dirtier sooner.
It's like using a high grade air filter in your furnace and the really cheap air filter that doesn't catch nearly as much stuff.

[LSAT]

I change my S9 filters at 6 months and they are as clean as the new ones. (I change them anyway...I'm a big spender).

[Pugsy]

I just changed my filter a few days ago...maybe last weekend.
I should have kept that old one so people could see the difference between one month used and new.
Man...that thing was nasty looking gray.

Remember...I live out in the country and it's dusty most of the time...and the house is an 80 year old farmhouse with not much insulation and duct work that is very old and such so that it's just dusty a lot...and I have pets which probably is the least of my problem.
I am no where near being a clean freak and rarely wash my cpap equipment but I change those filters regularly. and a month is about as far as I want to stretch it.

[Cardsfan]

I don't have any packaging left from the filters I use. So I don't know the details. It is whatever Lincare ships me. I do see a difference between them and the ones I got with a 2nd hand machine I got from Metsfan. He included a few filters, No packaging, so I don't know what they are. But they are slick feeling and definitely different than what I have gotten from Lincare. (S9 machine). Are those the hypos?

[Pugsy]

I don't know if they are hypos (the slick feeling ones) because I have had both the regular disposable fine filters and the hypos and the name brand and after market...and they all felt "slick" and I really couldn't tell any difference in any of them. Even with have one in one hand and the other in the other hand side by side and fresh out of the packaging so I knew exactly which was which.
To me the hypos and regular both felt "slick"..when talking about the disposable filter.

The filter that is more washable definitely does NOT have a slick feeling to the touch and feels more like a coarse woven filter and looks like it. It's easy to spot the difference with it.

[SewTired]

As a Lincare customer, I can tell you that the warehouse doesn't stock either Resmed BRAND filters nor hypoallergenic filters. You need to contact your local office for either of those and they will ship them out directly.

Did a test over the summer due to allergies and had much less problems using the Resmed or hypoallergenic filters than the knockoffs that Lincare supplies from their warehouse. However, the knockoffs worked fine for me over the winter.

[Pugsy]

Okay I got pictures of the 3 filters I have for my S9.

The far left is a white fine hypoallerginic disposable filter from name brand ResMed package.
The middle one is a washable filter as is the one on the far right. I don't know the brand of the one in the middle but it looks and feels denser than the one on the right.

I don't have a regular white fine disposable filter that isn't labeled as hypoallerginic but in the past I had both and to be honest couldn't ever tell you which one was what. I could never spot or feel a difference.

The washable filter on the right came out of an A/G package. A/G is an aftermarket company that supplies a lot of generic cpap equipment.

I don't know what I did with the original washable filter that came with my S9...it's somewhere but I can't find it but if my memory serves me correctly it was more like the washable filter in the middle.

[chunkyfrog]

Where do you get washable filters for Resmed?
I have only seen disposable fiber filters.
I have a washable foam filter for my Intellipap.
I thought only foam filters could be washed.

[Pugsy]

Where do you get washable filters for Resmed?
I have only seen disposable fiber filters.
I have a washable foam filter for my Intellipap.
I thought only foam filters could be washed.

I got one with my first S9...when it was brand new.
I have never been able to find a similar filter on the market anyway until I got these A/G filters in a box of donated stuff.
It doesn't say "washable" on it (the A/G package) but if you were to see it and feel it you would know it is washable and I used to wash my first S9 filter all the time.

I don't particularly like the "washable" filter. If you were to see it and feel it and compare it to the white fine filter you would understand why. It's too porous and is simply not going to do a good job of filtering IMHO.
It's not foam but it will withstand numerous washings. I know because I used to do it with my first S9 but when I finally got around to ordering some replacements and ended up with the white fine filters that are officially disposable I was able to actually see and feel the difference in the filter and that's when I discontinued using the "washable" filter.

[palerider]

Air filter
Standard:Material: Polyester non woven fiber Average arrestance: >75% for ~7 micron dust

Hypoallergenic:Material: Acrylic and polypropylene fibers in a polypropylene carrier
Efficiency: >98% for ~7-8 micron dust; >80% for ~0.5 micron dust

standard filters aren't sold as being washable, but you can do so.

[Sir NoddinOff]

If you were to see it and feel it and compare it to the white fine filter you would understand why. It's too porous and is simply not going to do a good job of filtering IMHO.
It's not foam but it will withstand numerous washings. I know because I used to do it with my first S9 but when I finally got around to ordering some replacements and ended up with the white fine filters that are officially disposable I was able to actually see and feel the difference in the filter and that's when I discontinued using the "washable" filter.

I got something like that cheap Ebay once... they look like a kind of polyfiber mat that is loosely woven (you can see a lot of light thru it) - then cut roughly with scissors and stuck in a ziplock bag. I could have washed mine but they didn't look like they filtered out much grime - boom, into the garbage.

[Cardsfan]

Thanks for the pic. The ones I get from Lincare look like the one in the middle in your pic. Almost like I can see through them, or at least light would filter through. I'm going to give the hypoallergenic ones a try.

[Sir NoddinOff]

I now splurge on filters from CPAP.com... they cost a bit more but the quality control is great and I've never gotten a bad filter in three years. CPAP.com is our sponsor and I like to give them that extra bit of business - stuff like cleaning supplies, including Control III and mask wipes, plus several other other odds and ends.