Is it really necessary to clean your mask & tubing ?

[Physician]

We told to regularly clean our mask/pillows and tubing, preferably with baby shampoo and water rinses. But is there evidence that this does any actual good other than esthetics and a warm fuzzy feeling of cleanliness ?

Has any OSA patient acquired a respiratory infect proven to be caused by the failure to regularly clean these items ?

[Goofproof]

If you keep your living area fairly clean, why worry, they are your germs you breath them all day. If you use a HH with Water, I use mine without water, keep it fresh and clean, but I don't recommend taking it apart to clean it, they do crack.. Jim

[Breathe Jimbo]

Why let bacteria, viruses, and other nasties find homes, grow, fester, and mutate in our respiratory equipment if we can avoid it? A few days here and there probably do not matter, but do you really want to take a chance during the winter when all kinds of bugs are going around? Do you really want to reinfect yourself when you are getting over something? Aren't the answers to these questions fairly obvious?

[Physician]

Why let bacteria, viruses, and other nasties find homes, grow, fester, and mutate in our respiratory equipment if we can avoid it? A few days here and there probably do not matter, but do you really want to take a chance during the winter when all kinds of bugs are going around? Do you really want to reinfect yourself when you are getting over something? Aren't the answers to these questions fairly obvious?

I don't see the mask and tubing as a friendly culture media. Do you have evidence that illness-causing bacteria and/or viruses proliferate there ?

[Shellie_p]

mask I would say YES, since the mask is what is in direct contact with your skin, how often i would say is up to you. I wash my mask 2-3 times a week and rarely wash the long section of tubing,
And rarely wash the humidifier tank, (this might change since i have a new machine) the tank though I ONLY Use distilled water and it was always dry in the mornings so it had no fear of growing anything in it.

However I do tear it all apart and clean it occasionally. something like every couple of months maybe. just did it recently since I passed my old machine over to my daughter.

Now the filter is a bit of a different story, It I try to wash daily

YMMV though I think it all depends on you, your environment and other various factors, I know when I had the nasal mask, I HAD to wash it daily or I was acne central around my nose which can be painfull.

[CRMW]

I don't clean the equipment as often as some of the others on the board. The mask will get oil and dead skin on it that requires cleaning, and the filters need to be rinsed periodically but I rarely clean the hose. The water chamber gets cleaned if I have had to use tap water and I start to get a calcium buildup.

[Physician]

mask I would say YES, since the mask is what is in direct contact with your skin, how often i would say is up to you. I wash my mask 2-3 times a week and rarely wash the long section of tubing,
And rarely wash the humidifier tank, (this might change since i have a new machine) the tank though I ONLY Use distilled water and it was always dry in the mornings so it had no fear of growing anything in it.

However I do tear it all apart and clean it occasionally. something like every couple of months maybe. just did it recently since I passed my old machine over to my daughter.

Now the filter is a bit of a different story, It I try to wash daily

YMMV though I think it all depends on you, your environment and other various factors, I know when I had the nasal mask, I HAD to wash it daily or I was acne central around my nose which can be painfull.

That acne might be only oil-related, and not bacteria. But again, has anyone acquired a respiratory infection proven to be due to the failure to clean their facial appliance ?

Now if one postulates that the mask should be cleaned because of inhalable "bugs", then we all should be cleaning the tubing just as often as that is also included in the air pathway and is a larger surface area than the mask.

[KAZ]

As to if a particular respiratory infection can be tracked back to poor equipment maintenance who knows? For my self I clean the mask cushion with one of the mask wipes several times a week to help achieve a better seal. I also wash my face every night before bed for the same reason. I use distilled water in my humi and only do top offs, and have never in three years cleaned the tank. I'm on the same hose which is hung to dry everyday so that it doesn't contribute to rain out. If, I began to have chronic respiratory infections I would go the other way until I discovered the cause. Regards

[M.D.Hosehead]

I'd bet physician is correct.

Cleaning the mask so that it seals better is a different issue from infection.

I can't think of any source of infectious material in the mask except:

a. your bedroom air, which having been filtered, is probably cleaner than the air you breathe all day (even more true if you have a bacterial filter inline)
b. the breath you exhaled
c. bacteria from your skin and bedding

The tank and hose only get infectious material from (a) above.

This is no more than informed conjecture, and easily disproved by reliable evidence of cpap acquired infections. That was the point of physician's OP.

I clean the silicone part of my mask to reduce leaks. Once a week or less, I wash the hard plastic frame. It's probably unnecessary, but the mask can start to smell like my morning breath, which can be a little shocking when I first put it on at night.

[Breathe Jimbo]

Do illness-causing bacteria and/or viruses proliferate in the human nose? Is your nose in contact with nasal pillows? Has anyone ever sneezed into their mask?

[wrenn]

I rarely clean the hose but I hang it to dry daily so it won't get moldy. I have to wash the cushion daily for seal but I hate the colour it tuns if I use any type of soap so I try to just use water and vinegar...until I start to get paranoid about bugs and then it is back to ugly coloured cushion. I top up the tank with distilled and wash it every few months.

I have two brothers in law who have been on cpap for years and neither of them ever wash anything.

[Wulfman]

Lots of opinions about "cleaning". Like others on the forum, I'm a minimalist. I can think of better ways to waste my time.
It always amuses me that people think they can "infect" themselves with their own germs.
You might want to check out this thread and the ones that are linked within.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=48196&p=438663&hili ... ng#p438663


Den

[jdm2857]

Do illness-causing bacteria and/or viruses proliferate in the human nose? Is your nose in contact with nasal pillows? Has anyone ever sneezed into their mask?

Of course they do. But the tissues inside of the nose are a much more favorable place for their proliferation than the inside of a plastic mask or hose. Viruses cannot multiply without host cells. (They contain genetic material that "hijacks" the host cell and causes it to replicate virions. Bacteria require favorable conditions and a food source to multiply. That's why petri dishes contain media like nutrient agar.

So wash your mask as often as you want. It won't hurt anything. But the chance of preventing a respiratory infection from an agent that is already established inside of your nasal passages is pretty slim.

[kempo]

I wash my FX pillow every day in a sink full of soapy water. It only takes minutes. If I didn't wash it every day to me it would be the same as using a handkerchief everyday without washing it. Yuck!

[plr66]

I recommend never washing your hose. Too many places inside to store soap residue which may not rinse completely, and then can probably build up other stuff. The water vapor that passes through the hose is harmless. Just hang the hose during the day.

I used to wash my nasal pillows daily with a bit of baby shampoo when I used nasal pillow masks. Easy and quick.

Since having to switch to FFM, I've learned that washing the cushion every day was actually counter-productive for me. I do wash my face every night about an hour before going to bed so that my face thoroughly dries and is not overly susceptible to mask marking. But I get a much better seal by not washing my mask cushion. In winter, I learned that due to decreased facial oils, I do not need to wash the cushion for several weeks, believe it or not. In summer, I do wipe the cushion every few days with a cloth or occasionally with a wipe. And I'm a clean-freak! Just ask Den (Wulfman) about my initial reaction to his no-wash routine 2 years ago before I discovered the benefit! Not for everyone, but will work better for some.

Now I will mention that I was totally grossed out when in line at the airport scanner two weeks ago, and a man in front of me opened his machine.---Not only was the top of it completely encrusted with dried-on grimy dust that had apparently gotten wet at some time in the past few years, but the "white" foam filter on the back was completely black. OMG!! No comparison in my mind as to which issues might actually create lung problems, if any.