Why?

Rafe · Post by **Rafe** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:40 am

Why do I need to clean and disinfect the hose if there is always positive air pressure? How can bacteria or viruses get into the hose?

If I only use distilled water in the humidifier, why do I need to clean it?

Why is it that if I get AHI's consistently below 0.7 on CPAP at my titrated pressure of 12 cm H2O, APAP set at 12-14 cm H2O has a 90% pressure of 13.0 but the same AHI's?

Why are mouth leaks important if my AHI's stay well below 1?

Why does my DME send me supplies and replacements (filters, pillows) in sandwich bags, but cpap.com sends them in the manufacturer's packaging?

Just some questions...

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:26 pm

If you and your house are clean you don't have to become obsessive about it. I clean my stuff once a week wash outer filter weekly or bi-weekly change the inter filter every 2 weeks or monthly. If I have colds or flu, I clean better and more often.

I only use distilled water in the HH, and I don't heat it, but I dump it every 3 days. Using it heated maybe it would need dumped sooner.

If you have mouthleaks, you aren't holding the pressure needed to keep your airway open, that's what this is all about.

Your APAP pressure would probably be better set at 10 to 14 CM, Set where you are at you may not be getting the low pressure benifits of using APAP.

You DME can play with your stuff if he uses sandwich bags, cpap.com doesn't get to play with your stuff. Jim

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:34 pm

oldgearhead · Post by **oldgearhead** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:19 pm

1) ..I don't clean my hose.

2) I don't clean the HH (dump the water once in a while).

3) Your machine will not score apneas if the leak is too large.

4) GoofProof answered that one..

CollegeGirl · Post by **CollegeGirl** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:06 pm

Just to add on a little to what OGH said: If you're in Large Leak (which is what happens when one mouth leaks) the machine does not record apneas or hypopneas. Thus, even if your data says your AHIs are very low, it is not taking that time into account at all. Your actual number of apneas is probably much greater, as it is when you are mouth-leaking that you are not getting adequate pressure, and therefore MUCH more prone to events than when you are not mouth-leaking.

Sleepless in St. Louis · Post by **Sleepless in St. Louis** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:18 pm

Although I did at first, I don't hardly ever clean the humifier chamber and never the hose and after a year I have not had any problems with anything. My feeling is that people run a greater risk of contaminating the equipment by touching it and through other sources of microbes in the house than they do by just letting it be. Use distilled or RO water only, keep the filter and maks clean and you'll be okay.

I also think this approach helps equipment to last longer. The soaps and other cleaning agents people use run some risk of shortening the life of the equipment.

Rafe · Post by **Rafe** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 7:05 pm

I just looked at my data. 0 seconds Large Leaks.

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 7:23 pm

Even with no large leaks, leaks can raise AHI, on Encore Pro leaks over 50, raise my AHI, at 35 avg leak, is the break point for me raise AHI. Jim

A leak rate over 35, and the machine reads snoring, ups the pressure and leaks even more, at 32 to 33, things stay peaceful.

SleepGuy · Post by **SleepGuy** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:55 pm

microbes do not mobilize around in cpap equipment (there's a thread on this) so you don't even need to use distilled water (according to the docs doing the study). But I'd still use distilled or RO water just to keep the mineral deoposits down. I hardly ever clean my equipment and have had no issues (4 years).

Using a cpap is hard enough; no sense obsessing about these kinds of things.