Dreamstation ultra-fine filters greasy?

[roger84]

I have a large supply of Snuggel brand and a few Philips brand and they are all greasy fresh out of the pack. Could someone examine a filter by pressing around it with their thumb and index finger and please tell me if theirs are the same. I am again trying to diagnose a problem with my original DS (the replacement DS2 sucks); a greasy film that developed all over the inside of every part within a matter of minutes and severe congestion. I thought I may have caused it by trying to clean my blower after spraying it with canned air (NEVER DO THIS). Only, I just felt grease on the mouth of the intake. The amount of this stuff on everything is incredible and I just deep cleaned my tubing and mask before swapping my Airsense 10 for the DS2 a couple nights ago and did not get good sleep with it. It tastes a little salty.

[chunkyfrog]

Canned air contains LUBRICANT.

[palerider]

Canned air contains LUBRICANT.

Sometimes.

[chunkyfrog]

I have never seen a greasy filter.
Except the used ones out of the range hood.
What is going on here?

[roger84]

I still haven't figured out what's going on. I'm using my Airsense 10 lately. It's like it follows me. It seems to be an ultra fine dust that mixes with moisture to create a kind of slime or grease. I feel around frequently. I can rub my fingers together after finding some, and create tiny little clumps of gunk. The taste is a little salty and metallic. It tends to collect at "junctions" such as the quick-release elbow, the parts where the frame connects to the nasal pillow, the tube in the water chamber that leads to the outlet, the lining chamber where evaporated water hits. So it is either coming from the water, the room, or the turbine. Recently tried:

- Different distilled water
- Different brand filters
- Rinsing everything well with hot water (and a couple times with a little alcohol) - this fixes it for only one night and even then it's not perfect and there is new buildup in the morning on the equipment and mild eye discharge.

Tonight I am going to try removing everything surrounding the CPAP, except the bed. It will be sitting on nothing but a folding table. I will also be using the most expensive distilled water available in my area, Deer Park brand.

[palerider]

I will also be using the most expensive distilled water available in my area, Deer Park brand.

If your water is getting into your AIR filter, you're doing something *VERY* wrong.

[roger84]

I am not getting the filters wet. At least not with the Airsense 10. With the DS2 it's very easy to get water on the filter since the water chamber touches it.

Last night was pretty good. I rinsed the mask with hot water. It seemed clean after drying. Immediately after starting the CPAP I noticed the grease on the nasal pillow so I wiped it off. It reappeared throughout the night, so I wiped again, but my symptoms this morning are minimal.

To me this narrows it down to either the water or the nightstand - perhaps fumes from products in it, the wood finish, or both. It's old. I will try Giant brand water tonight, one I don't often use.

[chunkyfrog]

Is it possible that you are using a soap or lotion on your hands, etc,
but not considering the fact that these products contain both oil and salt?

[roger84]

I don't use lotion and I rinse my hands very well when I wash them.

[jtravel]

I had a issue a few years ago when using a room cool mist humidifier with Tap water. It would cause fine white mineral dust deposits on surfaces and would also show up around my Cpap filter intake path.

[chunkyfrog]

I suspect that greasy filters never really existed.
Nobody ever REALLY sees this.
The OP is clearly yanking us.

[roger84]

I've been dealing with a multitude of CPAP issues in my current home including mysterious greasy gunk on my Dreamstation 1 and now my Airsense 10, which at least I found the origin of. I feel like I've been jinxed.

Anyway the filters may have just felt greasy because my fingers weren't quite clean from examining other parts.