moldy house = moldy HH? & sliding backwards in treatment

[echo]

Just wondering if anyone would have some insight into this:

Last january I moved into a new house, and since then, if I don't clean the HH every week, it starts to get really moldy and musty smelling and I even see white floaters in the water. When I was living in my previous house, I could just top off the HH without cleaning it for weeks and weeks without any mold issues. I just read this recent thread on here, seems that most people aren't cleaning their HH's and don't have problems with mold... and that got me thinking....

I'm wondering if there is tons of mold in this new house? It's an old house and it's actually sort of falling apart, I wouldn't be suprised if there was lots of mold growing in the walls. Maybe that's what's causing the mold to grow in the HH? (Both houses are in the same climate, pollution levels, etc, maybe about 60 miles apart).

The moldy icing on the cake, so to speak, is that since I've been here the CPAP hasn't been working at all. That is to say, I feel like crap, have gained weight, and feel like I'm slipping back to pre-CPAP days of sleeping too much and not having enough energy. This has been going on since last Christmas, about when we moved to the new house. I haven't changed anything, and the leak rate and AHI readouts are pretty good (< 1.0 AHI every night, no bad leaks, no mouth breathing, etc). On the few nights I've slept without the CPAP due to congestion (I solved that finally though!), I feel even worse, so I know the CPAP is helping, but I still feel like something's not right.

What do you think? Could it be that my house is just really moldy?? How can I get that checked ???
I'm really getting depressed and frustrated here, I've tried everything I can think of on the CPAP end to get better, but I just feel like it's getting worse. I've been alternating between the Activa + tape and some FFM that I can't remember the name of, and both are working OK. I'm still on APAP mode, and that seems OK too. Leaks OK, pressure seems fine. For the congestion, the FFM helps, but I've also been using a Neti pot every few days and that has helped TONS.

I've been meaning to go back to the sleep doc but short of having another sleep study I don't really know what they could recommend, I mean, all the *numbers* look OK. I'm pretty sure I don't have resteless leg syndrome. Diabetes, Thyroid, etc all checked out OK at the end of 2007. I'm now suspicious about the mold because the downslide in the treatment seemed to start about the same time as the moving, but maybe that was just a coincidence.

Any suggestions , especially about the mold, highly welcome!

Thanks!!! (oops, sorry for the looooong post).

[Snoredog]

do NOT use your HH until you sanitize it!!

dump out the critters, rinse it out good, put in a couple teaspoons of clorox bleach put more water in tank and slosh it around, put it in the sink and let it set for an hour or two, slosh it around some more or submerge the whole tank in some bleach water.

Probably even better to fill the sink and submerge it and your hose together, after they have soaked in that bleach for a couple hours rinse with clean water really good, sink may even be brighter.

Don't forget to clean the foam filter on the back of the machine.

Probably has more to do with the house being tight, being in a humid area, if you use an air conditioner it will take excess moisture out of the air.

or use a dehumidifier in the house.

[echo]

Since I noticed the critters in the tank (thank you NOSE because I never would have actually SEEN them) I've been obsessively cleaning the tank every couple of days.

I've been nervous about using bleach, though, so I've just been using a (clean!) sponge + detergent + really hot water every few days and then a soak once a week in vinegar. Mask is cleaned every day. Fine filter changed every 3 weeks or so. I try to rinse the foam filter once a week or so with soapy water.

Really think I should use bleach?? Won't that be dangerous (for me that is!) ?

And come to think of it, I should probably clean the hose more often than once every few weeks. Ugh.

Thanks for the tips snoredog.

[Catnapper]

Hi

You can Google for mold test kits and there should be lots of responses. You can test your home for mold using these kits.

That should answer that question, at least.

[ww]

Hi

You can Google for mold test kits and there should be lots of responses. You can test your home for mold using these kits.

That should answer that question, at least.

Mold is everywhere. Damp weather causes everything that gets slightly damp to mold whether it is your shower, siding on your house, interior walls or paper sacks. Bleach is all that gets rid of it. Do you live in an area with city water that is high in clorine content as that helps. I had to spray the entire exterior of a house (cedar siding) with a mixture of bleach and water and it removed the mold.

FDA guidelines of food processing recommend 100-200 ppm (1/2 oz/gallon) to 800 ppm for sanitizing wash water (1/4 cup/gallon) of plain old cheap bleach with no fragrances or super anythings. The kind you get at the Dollar Store. After you sanitize the equipment, you can wash in baby shampoo or plain dishwashing soap with warm water and then rinse in clear water until there is absolutely no smell of any kind. You can't wash the cpap machine, but you can the filter, hose, and humidifier. Be careful and don't soak the gasket to the humidifier very long as it will eventually harden it and run it.

Do a google search on mold and bleach and sometimes they recommend a cup to a gallon with a 15 minute exposure. That is pretty strong but is the upper end of the fda guidelines (3200 ppm). Good luck.

[wabmorgan]

Certinly sounds like your house has a mold problem.

I would certinly get that checked out.

[ozij]

I would suspect the water source too. If it's tap water, change to distilled. If it's distilled (by a pharmacy) try another pharmacy.

Edited to add:

And throw away the sponge you're using. I wouldn't touch the inside of the tank with anything - but if you must, in order to clean it, then take a piece of cotton (cloth), and iron it before use (the heat sanitizes it at least partially). Don't attempt to wipe the tank dry - let the humidifier air dry - preferably not in the bathroom.

Kitchen sponges are notorious for being source of mold and bacteria. And any sponge you're re-using on that tank may just be re-infecting it.
O.

[Snoredog]

bleach kills pretty much everything, they sometimes recommend dentures be soaked in a bleach solution if bacteria is suspected, as long as there are no gold or metals, because it can kill bacteria that grows in the microscopic pores of the acrylic or plastic, if you don't kill it all it can simply grow back.

So a person would put dentures back in the mouth after rinsing and it doesn't harm anything. Vinegar is okay if you don't suspect bacterial growth and it is excellent for dissolving calcium build up.

But the air that passes through that tank is destined for your lungs, I wouldn't want any hint of bacterial growth showing up. If you are using well water even more the reason to disinfect.

I don't have to clean mine that often because I only use distilled water in it, about as pure as you can find.

be sure to clean that hose as well, the hose can retain water 24 hrs a day if it has a "loop" in the hose, water will form and develop bacteria there. I had a bad smell develop in mine, cleaned the tank and the filters and it was my heated hose, so I sprayed some bleach water down it, then rinsed it with the sprayer on the kitchen sink.

[echo]

All wonderful feedback, thank you!

I'm using distilled water only (it's actually water for the iron) - I'll try to find a different source.

The sponge I was using was a new one dedicated only to the CPAP but I can see that after even one use it's probably contaminated... so I'll stop with that!

The water I'm using to clean everything with is normal tap water but I have no idea what the chlorine content is. I just know that I can't drink it because it tastes bad, and it's really hard water as well.

Afterwards I let everyting air dry (oops, in the bathroom). Come to think of it, I think there are some mold deposits around the edges of the tub.

After reading your feedback I'm thinking that although the HH might be ok now, the hose definitely isn't. Probably all the mold is just growing in those crevices... You've convinced me, Bleach time!

Thanks everyone!!

[echo]

hey all, just wanted to say thanks again for the bleach tip. I bleached everything yesterday, soaked it to the bone, and it all "seems" cleaner. Smelled cloroxy-fresh too (hope I didn't poison myself). I made sure to rinse thoroughly but it still smelled a bit to bleach. Anyway it's now gonna be in my weekly cleaning routine. Cheers

[goose]

Hey Echo,
Glad to see you -- it seems like it's been a while.....it could just be me, but....

I concur with snoredog's bleach solution and I'm glad to hear you've given it a try. At the hospital where my wife works they use a 10% solution for bacterial elimination, so you don't need to bleach the heck out of it -- just be consistent!!! (We also use a 10% bleach solution to sanitize the 72 gallon water tank down at the gate we provide to all the horse riders. I just bleached the tank 2 hours ago.....OT)

Ozij has hit another nail on the head. Sponges are very porous (ya think???) and provide all kinds of homes for bacterial growth. I'd definitly trash the sponge and use a cotton cloth. If possible, bleach the cloth and let it air dry -- it might pick up baddies in the dryer.....

Let us know how it's working, but it sounds like you're on your way to a sanitized HH!!!!!

Take care
cheers
goose

[echo]

Hey Echo,
Glad to see you -- it seems like it's been a while.....it could just be me, but....

Hi Goose,
It *has* been a while... nice to be remembered though Once the therapy kicked in I had all this energy to burn for work and school! Now that exams are over, I have some more time and I missed all you great guys
Actually about the same time things got real busy, I also stopped being so vigilant about cleaning the hose & the HH (i really just gotta get a 2nd hose). bad bad me. and that's a lesson for all you newbies!
thanks for the 10% tip.
anyhoo, glad to be back