Does your (unemptied) humidifier have condesation in it?

[ozij]

I've been thinking about the "how often do you clean your humidifier" discussions - and I believe we should say which kind of humidifiers we're using.

For instance, my Puritan Bennett H2O always - no matter how warm or cold the room - always has a very light layer of condensation left inside, in the area of the hose outlet. If there's water left in the tank, that layer is always there. At one point I wasn't washing the humidifier very often until one evening I bent next to the that opening and got a whiff of that "old rag" smell - you know, the smell you get for a rag or handtowel that has through many cycles of almost drying an getting wet again. Very eeuuuuw (or yech).
It looked fine but that was the point when I decided that at least once a week of drying and washing (OK, washing and drying) was necessary. I found myself wondering how come Rested Gal and others survived so much longer without cleaning. I was actually wondering about Rested Gal's sense of smell , but then it dawned on me that it was more likely the machine itself. Rested Gal has a Fisher Paykel. I have a hunch that most porbably this layer of condensation clinging to the inside of my humidifier tank has something to do with how that tank is built -

I wonder if I'm right. If I am, then some humidifiers need more maintenance that others.

So -
O.

[Wulfman]

Ozij,

I think it also has to do with whether you use it "heated" or not and where you live. In my area, the relative humidity is SO low that there's virtually no condensation (except maybe for inside a cold mask and warm exhaled breath), and what little there may be evaporates almost immediately.
I think the humidity factor is also why the "passover" method works for me. The air is so dry that just passing over water adds humidity to it.

Best wishes,

Den

[Goofproof]

Anytime the temp of the water gets hotter than the outside of the heated humitifier water will form on the inside. The temp that it forms at is called the dew point. Moist areas provide a good enviroment for the growth of mold, this is what you smell. If your water had chlorine in it, the mold would not be as likely to grow, but your body wouldn't like it either.

Most of us use distilled water in our HH, distilled water has no chlorine or minerals in it, that's why we use it to keep deposits from forming on our equiptment.

Cleaning the HH and Hoses with mild bleach water kills the mold, using mild vinegar and water does too and also removes scale (deposits) from the use of tap water. But using these chemicals shorten the life of our equiptment. (Not Much) Mold isn't healthy to breath.

[NightHawkeye]

OK, call me stupid (...being new to CPAP and all). I'm wondering if I'm in for a harsh lesson here. For the two weeks I've had my machine, I've used only distilled water, never let water just sit in it, filled it just before use, emptied it immediately after use, and then blown air through it for another 15-30 minutes to dry it out.

Am I going to be in for a rude awakening when I sniff the humidifer chamber? I assumed that my current routine care would prevent mold from being able to get a foothold. I wasn't planning on having to wash it weekly as well. Should I plan on that?

Gosh, I just for the first time yesterday, completely disassembled and washed all parts of my ultra mirage FF mask. Don't tell me I'm going to have to add the humidifier cleaning to the weekly maintenance list.

Regards,
Bill

[ozij]

Ozij,

I think it also has to do with whether you use it "heated" or not and where you live. In my area, the relative humidity is SO low that there's virtually no condensation (except maybe for inside a cold mask and warm exhaled breath), and what little there may be evaporates almost immediately.

Den,
I live where it's pretty dry too - my point it that the way the PB is built traps any evaporation, and it condenses inside ,and I'm wondering it it's true of othe machines in other places. And yes, I do use it warm - not very high though.

Moist areas provide a good enviroment for the growth of mold, this is what you smell.

...That's what I feared...

Am I going to be in for a rude awakening when I sniff the humidifer chamber?

After never letting water sit in, and blowing air in it daily for 15-30 minutes? I doubt that.


O.

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[Severeena]

I have the ResMed 2i heated humidifier. I clean it out every other day.

I rinse it out with Distilled Water and then I fill it up.

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[Goofproof]

I don't clean it as much as I should, using distilled water keeps it clean, I don't even dump it out just add and clean it weekly when I service the filters.

I would feel better about it if the HH wasn't hooked to the REMstar CPAP. But removing and replacing the water tank might cause premature wear out.

The moisture probably keeps the blower area damp. I also don't use the REMstar to dry things. I try to keep the hours use for my lungs, a cheap hair drier can be used for drying parts. (air or low heat)

I am thinking about making a adapter to fit the hose and the hair dryer.

[guest 1]

I use the Humidaire. As per RG I just keep adding more distilled water every few days...every 3 days in winter (dry heated house) every 6 days in summer (humid area). On the rare occassion when I let it run dry it is DRY.

Avoid any musty smells by keeping the hoses and interface blown dry when droplets appear (use my old plain cpap for the blow-dry).

[groggybob]

My old Respironics passover humidifier never showed any condensation and required a weekly cleaning to avoid growing any kind of nasties, I now use a Respironics integrated HH and there is always condensation in the chamber, we also turn the heat down to about 58 degrees at night so I would expect condensation. I clean it once a week and simply add more water nightly between cleanings. I run the HH on 3 and have to fill it before bedtime or it won't make it through the night without running dry.

Sure is nice for an occasional mouth breather like me to not wake up through the night with my tongue and mouth feeling like the Sahara desert.

When you consider that xPAP equipment is forcing air, and who knows what else, deep into our bodies, I feel that anyone who doesn't regularly clean their equipment is playing with fire. OSA is bad enough, strange lung infections won't help matters.

Bob

[tomjax]

It may just be that my osa has fried my brain.

I have read and re- read the question and answers.

I may just be losing it, but I think this is a trick question.

Humidity in a humidifier???

Condensate in a consensor??????

Beam me down, Scotty.

;;;;;;
Sign on atheists casket:
All dressed up and no place to go..

[Darth Vader Look]

My first unit was a Fisher & Paykel 233 and due to the lower room temperature at night I did see condensation in the hose and mask. You could also see condensation in the humidifier container. I would only put enough distilled water in the unit to get me through the night leaving a little in the morning. I was told to clean the humidifier every week and replace the water everyday.

[wading thru the muck!]

Sign on atheist's casket:
All dressed up and no place to go..

...but six feet under.

[felineperson3]

I use the RemStar heated humidifier and there is definitely condensation that forms on the inside of the chamber. I suppose this is normal as the chamber is warmer on the inside than the room temp--the opposite happening when glass with an iced drink is exposed to warmer room temp. That's my theory anyway and as I've read somewhere on this forum before--that's my story and I'm sticking with it--

[leslie]

My HH always has condensation, but it has never had a bad smell. I use only distilled water in it, in case that makes a difference.

Once, when I was on vacation, I put a little too much water into it, and some of it got into the hose and I woke up in the night, making a loud clicking noise every time I breathed in. My sister was on vacation with me and heard me in the dark, whispering, "What's going on here?" as I tried to figure out where the noise was coming from, and she said, "You've been perking over there for awhile."

When I turned on the light and saw water in my mask, I finally figured it out.

I bet perking is still preferable to the other person in the room than snoring . . .

[Goofproof]

[quote="leslie"]My HH always has condensation, but it has never had a bad smell. I use only distilled water in it, in case that makes a difference.

Once, when I was on vacation, I put a little too much water into it, and some of it got into the hose and I woke up in the night, making a loud clicking noise every time I breathed in. My sister was on vacation with me and heard me in the dark, whispering, "What's going on here?" as I tried to figure out where the noise was coming from, and she said, "You've been perking over there for awhile."

When I turned on the light and saw water in my mask, I finally figured it out.

I bet perking is still preferable to the other person in the room than snoring . . .