how often to clean humidifier chamber and hose

[sleepy one]

I was wondering how often most users clean their humidifier and hose. I notice that the Resmed site says to wash the humidifier chamber and hose in soapy water every day. My CPAP supplier told me twice a week.

Is every day really necessary?

[Uncle_Bob]

every day is overkill. if you use distilled water every night it should last months.

[infntyx2]

As a new Resmed S9 user, my clinician told me that prior to this they recommended cleaning of the humidifier chamber and hose every 3 days but with the S9 model they recommend once a week.

[Chainsaw2608]

Just got my equipment today. DME said to clean the mask and humidifer container weekly and the hose monthly. I may do the hose every 2 weeks.

[Wulfman]

Here's some help for the question about "How often should I clean ___________?"

viewtopic/t53599/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=50 ... ng#p460694

For me, I've never cleaned my CPAP hose (five years-plus and still using the same original one) and occasionally (a few times a year) dump the remaining water out of my humidifier chamber......rinse with hot water and then refill with distilled. Otherwise, I just top it off with fresh distilled water. It still looks like new.


Den

[SeaPappy]

Been using XPaP almost 10 years now and, although not quite as ?????y as Wulfman (sorry, Den), I clean my humidifier and hose whenever I think it needs it....sometimes in a month, sometimes not for 6-8 months or more, depending on how I feel (been ill, sinus problems, etc.). Still have all of my original equipment (hoses, original Sullivan S6 and humidifier still in use) and is all in great shape. Just use distilled water and go with the flow. My $.02.

[Wulfman]

Been using XPaP almost 10 years now and, although not quite as ?????y as Wulfman (sorry, Den), I clean my humidifier and hose whenever I think it needs it....sometimes in a month, sometimes not for 6-8 months or more, depending on how I feel (been ill, sinus problems, etc.). Still have all of my original equipment (hoses, original Sullivan S6 and humidifier still in use) and is all in great shape. Just use distilled water and go with the flow. My $.02.

That's OK.

It works for me because......I keep my intake filter clean, I don't use heated humidity, I top off my tank about every third or fourth night (so I have an opportunity to visually check the water in the tank), and it's so dry out here that if there was any moisture in the hose, it would evaporate within seconds of shutting off the machine.

By the way.......where's the Texas Redneck Riviera?


Den

[dsm]

I used to only clean the water chamber & mask every few weeks but, with the Vpap Adapt SV (& I assume other similar shaped models such as the VPAP III) that the machine if left on (which I was doing) keeps the chamber warm plus maintains a very gentle airflow (presumably to prevent moisture getting back into the machine).

Anyway, I now turn the machine off & remove the water chamber every day + clean the mask & water chamber completely each week. Even though I only used distilled water, it seems that warmth was allowing other life forms to thrive. I never had this issue with the Bipap Auto SV water chamber.

DSM

[Janknitz]

I clean my nasal pillows daily with 7th Generation dish soap (phosphate free, scent free and color free).

I clean the little hose on the nasal pillows and the humidifier chamber weekly. The humidifier chamber gets a vinegar rinse and then a clear water rinse. I blast the little hose dry with my machine.

I never washed my hose after the first time because:
1. It took forever to dry and moisture in there is going to give more chances for nasties to grow.
2. It stays bone dry with use--my PR S1 stops all condensation in the hose (but not in the nose )
3. My humidifier is well sealed and there is constant air blowing out, so I don't think too much that's creepy crawly can get in the hose.
4. I plan to change the hose every 6 months when my insurance covers it. In the meantime, I do have a back up hose in case I need to wash this one.

I hand wash the grey sponge filter weekly and replace the white allergy filters every two weeks.

So far, so good. I'm prone to nasty respiratory infections, but haven't had one since starting CPAP.

[Jaylee]

I was the filter, hose, mask and humidifier once a week. I use a toothbrush to clean the humidifier chamber with. I do get replacement hoses but so far I still use the first one.

[kempo]

After reading these post I think I'm doing way more cleaning than necessary.

[Jaylee]

Even cleaning weekly, I discovered pink stuff in my chamber. So now I use a toothbrush to scrub it.

[frh]

It's interesting how this topic came up just as I need advice about cleaning my humidifier chamber, hose and mask.

Last night was the first night that I forgot to top-off my 2 month old S9's humidifier chamber with distilled water. Other than occasionally dumping the water, rinsing and refilling it, I have not tried to clean it. That's because I have been afraid I would damage the metal bottom of the tank.

This morning a foul smell woke me about 4 am. The only thing I could compare the smell to is really bad breath. Turns out the humidifier ran dry, and the smell is coming from it. I can also smell it in my Mirage Quattro mask.

I had to leave the house early this morning and just got back in. I also have an early day tomorrow, and need to go to bed in about 2 hours. If I had more time, I would have searched the forum before asking for advice about about cleaning the tank, hose and mask.

I am a little bit afraid to put dish soap or hand soap in the humidifier tank or climate line hose. I am also afraid I might damage it's metal bottom (or for that matter the hose) if I try to get the smell out of it with a weak solution of household bleach, or vinegar? can anyone help?

[frh]

Here's what I did so far: I rinsed the humidifier tank with room temperature distilled water. Then I heated 2 cups of distilled water in the microwave. Hot, but not hot enough to burn my fingers. I rinsed the humidifier tank with about 1/2 cup of water and poured it out 4 times. Then I used my wife's hair dryer on medium heat to dry it as best I could. I think I got rid of the odor, but I guess I will find out when I use it tonight.

I took the mask apart and washed it thoroughly with a few drops of dishwasher soap in about 1/2 gallon of water. Then I held the pieces under the shower head to rinse them. After that, I used the hair dryer to blow as much water off of them as I could.

All of the pieces are sitting on paper towels on the bathroom counter.

I did not try to wash the heated climate line hose because I don't think water and electricity would mix well.

Advice would still be welcome.

[jdm2857]

Soaking the chamber in a vinegar-water solution (the dilution doesn't have to be precise) should help to kill anything growing.

The one time I had something in my S8's humidifier, I used a diluted bleach solution. Rinsed extremely well and everything was fine. But may other members will be horrified by my suggestion, and the ResMed manual bans bleach. As far as I know, the H4i is made from plastic, stainless steel, and a silicone gasket between the two. None of them will be harmed by a bit of bleach. Since bleach is very water soluble, thorough rinsing should remove all of it. You don't want to breathe bleach fumes.