WARNING!!!

[oceanpearl]

I have been suffering from a cough and chest infection for over a month, both my internist and sleep doctor think that it might have been caused by not cleaning my hose on a daily basis. They say that because the hose does not have the opportunity to dry out during the day it is a prime place for mold growth.
PLEASE DON'T LEAR THE HARD WAY AS I DID!!!

[hobbs]

Maybe, but 5+ years on the hose, wash it once a month and never had any problems. YMMV

[DreamStalker]

[quote="oceanpearl"]I have been suffering from a cough and chest infection for over a month, both my internist and sleep doctor think that it might have been caused by not cleaning my hose on a daily basis. They say that because the hose does not have the opportunity to dry out during the day it is a prime place for mold growth.
PLEASE DON'T LEAR THE HARD WAY AS I DID!!!

[ozij]

Whether or not the hose has time to dry depends on:

• The amount of humidity where you live
• How high your humidifier is set
• Whether you use a heated hose - and let the heat dry it
• Whether you hang the hose to dry in dry place, on in a humid one - e.g. the bathroom.

Guess Dreamstalker means this, Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 18:04: viewtopic.php?p=227109#227109

[<snip>

My pulmonary doctor was very specific about not using a hose two nights in a row, simply because they don't dry out and that provides heat and moisture for mold growth. There are always mold spores in the air and all they need is moisture and heat.

I rotate six hoses and NEVER use a hose two nights in a row...

Hmm... maybe its not so good for hoses to be used once in 6. I hang my single hose on hook everyday. Can't imagine having place to hang 6 (!) in my bedroom...


viewtopic.php?p=227336#227336

Every six days I clean my hoses with Dawn dishwashing liquid then soak them for an hour in a vinegar and water solution.
Not really being anal about anything. Just that I have known people with all kinds severe bronchial problems (not particulary from CPAP)and I AIN'T taking any chances with MY lungs. You can all do with yours as you choose.

Let's hope that Dreamstalker has better common sense than to wear a hose for a year without cleaning or replacing it.

"With both the CPAP humidifier and the room air humidifier proper care and cleaning reduces the risk of growing molds and bacteria. You breathe this humidified air into your lungs and some strains of bacteria can cause lung infections."

http://www.lung.ca/diseases-maladies/ap ... 1&month=11

[tomjax]

Opinions are as varied as those who give them.

I would take issue with your docs that opine that cleaning of the mask may be involved.

IMHO, this is pure BS and on par with the advice many docs give.

I love it when a person starts a statemnt with, "Well, my doctor said----""

I would think that one of the little black balls with all the answers would probably be as accurate.

IMHO

[DreamStalker]

I have one of those black balls and the answers have always been right on.

[JeffH]

NEVER wash my hose. Only trouble I have is during allergy season...and the trouble is because it's allergy season.

[feeling_better]

This is just my opinion. For those who wish to increase the number of days between they clean the hose, or those occasions when you dont have the time to clean the hose, this is my view:

Assuming you are using only distilled water, in the morning,

A. Remove the mask or nasal pillow (this needs washing)
B. empty the water container
C. put the container back in
D. run the machine with heat on for about 30 min. You may need to run more or less min, and adjust the heat level settings, depending on if you have high humidity, how high a heat setting you were using at therapy, your room temperature, etc. You can check the hose to see if there is any visible moisture left at all, if yes, need to run longer.

E. If somehow you can manually set the pressure for this run, it is best to
run at the highest possible pressure.

Running without the mask/pillow allows a lot more air to go thru, reducing overheating and increasing drying speed.

The machine manufactures do not recommend running it with heat and no water, for obvious reasons of overheating. So you need to make a judgment here as to how hot the heating chamber is getting for your particular machine, and if the material there could possibly be damaged. If you are not comfortable with this, please do not run with heat and without water.

For my Respironics m series with integrated hh, the plastic water container appears quite robust for me to run with even the highest heat setting (at least when the room temperature here is around 65F in the early morning -- we turn off our heater at night and use electric blankets. I have to see how it will be in the summer). Yes, we are also in a low humidity area. Right after this run, when I touch the water container, it is only lukewarm and I do not expect it to cause any damage. Again the key here is to run the air when the heater is on; I expect that most machines have interlocks when the air is not running the heater will not turn on. Of course I do not have experience with any other machine.

I am eager to hear others' view on this.

_________________

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

[DreamStalker]

This is just my opinion. For those who wish to increase the number of days between they clean the hose, or those occasions when you dont have the time to clean the hose, this is my view:

Assuming you are using only distilled water, in the morning,

A. Remove the mask or nasal pillow (this needs washing)
B. empty the water container
C. put the container back in
D. run the machine with heat on for about 30 min. You may need to run more or less min, and adjust the heat level settings, depending on if you have high humidity, how high a heat setting you were using at therapy, your room temperature, etc. You can check the hose to see if there is any visible moisture left at all, if yes, need to run longer.

E. If somehow you can manually set the pressure for this run, it is best to
run at the highest possible pressure.

Running without the mask/pillow allows a lot more air to go thru, reducing overheating and increasing drying speed.

The machine manufactures do not recommend running it with heat and no water, for obvious reasons of overheating. So you need to make a judgment here as to how hot the heating chamber is getting for your particular machine, and if the material there could possibly be damaged. If you are not comfortable with this, please do not run with heat and without water.

For my Respironics m series with integrated hh, the plastic water container appears quite robust for me to run with even the highest heat setting (at least when the room temperature here is around 65F). Yes we are in a low humidity area. Right after this run, when I touch the water container, it is only lukewarm and I do not expect it to cause any damage. Again the key here is to run the air when the heater is on; I expect that most machines have interlocks when the air is not running the heater will not turn on. Of course I do not have experience with any other machine.

I am eager to hear others' view on this.

I don't think it is a good idea to use your machine (especially if you are using the data to tweak your optimum pressure) and/or heated humidifier without water to dry a hose.

Unless you drop it in the toilet or something like that, the best thing to do is to just leave your cpap hose alone. The only thing that needs washing on a regular basis is the mask cushion or nasal pillows. The HH reservoir itself only needs to be wahsed if it is actually dirty (which it should not be if you use only distilled water).

I have never washed my one and only cpap hose in almost two years, I have rinsed my HH reseroir with tap water maybe three times in the past 18 months and my set up is squeeky clean ... and I have not had a respiratory infection since I started PAP treatment.

This thread topic is laughable just as it always is every time it comes up.

[ww]

[quote="oceanpearl"]I have been suffering from a cough and chest infection for over a month, both my internist and sleep doctor think that it might have been caused by not cleaning my hose on a daily basis. They say that because the hose does not have the opportunity to dry out during the day it is a prime place for mold growth.
PLEASE DON'T LEAR THE HARD WAY AS I DID!!!

[Guest]

If I see moisture in my mask and hose I blow it dry with an old cpap, 10-15 minutes.
Since I'm the only one using this stuff, I inspect it occasionally for mildew or mold (have never found any). Wipe the nasal pillows daily.

[Goofproof]

As near as I can tell I'm 750 cleanings behind. I don't have to worry about mold, I get less breathing filtered XPAP air than I do breathing Cave Air or my home air. I should wear the XPAP system 24/7. Jim

[xyz]

Think about it. What is the perfect environment for mold to grow? Moisture, heat, darkness. Anyone with sleep apnea can figure this out.

That's why it's important to use distilled water.
Doing so gives you a little bit of leeway on cleaning things.
(Extending time, not eliminating it.)

I know, I know. There are some folks on this forum who appear to have the hide of an alligator. They can get away with things that others can't.

Using distilled water is a 7 cent per night decision.
Your health could benefit from it.

If you 1) use distilled water, 2) clean on an appropriate schedule (I think once a day for a hose is not necessary), and 3) use the proper techniques (remove and empty humidifier daily, hang hose on a hook to drain and dry), then you'll be better off than if you don't.

[Guest]

Ocean Pearl,

Thank You for posting your Info., I know that others like me really appreciate it so continue to give us your opinion and your Doctor's diagnosis, some people are just so set in there ways that they will never be open minded to anything, even good advice as in your case!

In Our Booklet:

CONTRAINDICTIONS:

1. Bullous Lung Disease

2. Pathalogically Low Blood Pressure

3. Bipassed Upper Airway

4. Pnuemothorax, it has been reported that people using continous positive airway pressure can get this!

It also states that if our mask parts, hoses, and heated humidifier's are not washed daily, that bacteria will start to grow especially around the seal of the HH ! Oh, you can also get Inner/Middle Ear Infection's from the use of cpap therapy, geezzz, I wonder if that is going to PISS Dreamstalker off to

Dreamstalker,

Don't you think you we're a little bit to hard on Oceanpearl?

After all, myself and ALOT of other user's of this forum truly appreciate users like Oceanpearl informing us of how they get sick from dirty/unwased parts of our equipment!

If you choose not to wash your, that up to you, but don't go beating people up and rolling your eyes to people that take care of their selves, their equipment, and their health!

BTW, I bet you use your HH in the Passover mode don't you???
This dosen't heat the water, Correct?
Maybe that is the difference between mold and bacteria growing/ or not in the HH?

Have you EVER taken that into consideration??
When something is heated, and then left out at room temp for hours, it tends to become a little slimy, even after boiling water for 5 or 10 minutes...

Please try to stay away from these type of topics, as others on this forum would like to read them and we don't need grumpy squabbler's comments like yours, take an extra nap a day! Maybe that will help you

THERE,

Have a Teriffic Day!

[Hawthorne]

I think some people could be a little kinder in their responses and not ridicule people when they raise something that is, to them, legitimate.
If you want to put people off posting on the board some of the replies to this post are just the way to do it! I was of the opinion that this board was to help people not to make fun of them. Some of us are not as experienced as some others on the board. There are diplomatic ways to disagree.