Replacement of mask, tubing and white filter?

[Taruno]

Hello all!

I've just joined yesterday to get some info from experienced users.
I have been told by my sleep lab at Kaiser that I need to replace the mask, tubing and the inside white filter every 3 months!

Is that a standard period of time?
Do these items get worn out that soon just by breathing through them 6 or 7 hour a day?

I would really appreciate your input, thanks!
Taruno

[LinkC]

Filters get dirty. I get about 3 weeks on a white one. The blacks can be washed and reused.

About two years on the tubing. Six months on a mask but change the cushions at three.

Remember, your DME is in business to sell you supplied and will try as often as your insurance allows.

[cosmo]

This is what my Kaiser told me. The supplies are free for me, so I will take it

100% DME coverage.

[Pugsy]

What machine are you using?

I like to change my filter once a month. It gets pretty ugly looking by then. It's going to depend on the filter used and maybe just how dusty your house is.

Long hose...can last for years with common sense care. Certainly once every 3 months replacement is excessive IMHO.

Mask...depends on mask used and which part. Headgear and hard plastic parts will last months and months but cushions may get tired and need replacement as often as once a month. It depends on any number of things like facial oils and cleaning schedule.
I gets months and months of use out of my nasal pillows and my headgear will last for years because there just isn't much to it to wear out unless it is the velcro on a strap.

DMEs that push for everything needing replaced at 3 months are wanting repeat sales...cash cow.
It is a good idea to get a spare of everything though. Just in case something happens to something.

[2 B Sleeping Soundly]

...Remember, your DME is in business to sell you supplied and will try as often as your insurance allows.

Normally that would be true, but with Kaiser (at least in California) they are the insurance provider and also the DME (in house). Apria Healthcare is the company that ships out the PAP supplies at Kaiser's request.

[Taruno]

THANK YOU, Link C, Cosmo, Pugsy and 2B sleeping soundly!

It was great of you guys/gal to reply so fast and provide some advise.
Your points of view were very helpful and gave me some clues to understand the relativity of the Kaiser prescription. I'll be watching the white filter from now on.

I still have a question: what is a nasal pillow? Is it part of the mask?

By the way, my machine is a Philip Respironics REMstar Auto A-Flex and I don't use a humidifier. Should I?

Thanks again,
Taruno

[2 B Sleeping Soundly]

THANK YOU, Link C, Cosmo, Pugsy and 2B sleeping soundly!

It was great of you guys/gal to reply so fast and provide some advise.
Your points of view were very helpful and gave me some clues to understand the relativity of the Kaiser prescription. I'll be watching the white filter from now on.

I still have a question: what is a nasal pillow? Is it part of the mask?

By the way, my machine is a Philip Respironics REMstar Auto A-Flex and I don't use a humidifier. Should I?

Thanks again,
Taruno

For a look at what nasal pillows are click on this link: https://www.cpap.com/productpage/2759

As far as using a humidifier goes it is a comfort feature to be used if you want to or need to. You will know after using your PAP machine for a little while if your nasal passages get really dried out or not. Some of us wouldn't want to sleep one night without our humidifier and then there are others who would never consider using one or even ever need to.

[rjg202]

Now I don't feel so bad about waiting to replace my supplies. CPAP machine is 1 year with daily use. Only negative is I dream alot now and grind/clench teeth so I had to get a night guard which is another issue that I never had before I started sleeping like a baby and getting bed sores from the lack of tossing/turning.

Supplies:
I do the white filters every 4-6 weeks, they are white when I take them out for the most part with a slight spot or 2 but I change for good measure.
The Pillows , 4-5 months but I should do sooner.

Have not changed the headgear/tubing/chamber yet, been a year. I do have all the supplies. DME Provider keeps telling me I have to, but I don't. One good thing is the humidifier chamber they sent me is a washable one, though I am still using the original and it is clear as the new one. I only use distilled water and honestly I don't wash my climateline as much as I should.

How do you know when to replace the headgear and the short hose that goes between the climateline and pillows. I have a very high insurance deductible so I try to maximize my supplies. I do have about 5-7 pillows new and all other consumables new just in case.

[70sSanO]

Except for filters, masks and hoses "can" last a really long time. When I first started years ago, I bought my machine on-line and my insurance company just reimbursed me a certain percentage so I never really had a true DME. I ended up buying everything else without using insurance, so that meant buying parts and pieces of masks, and cushions, filters, etc. off ebay. I did buy a new mask a few years after the first one fell apart.

So my goal was to keep using what I had for as long as possible in other words I used my Ultra Mirage FFM for 5 years and replaced the cushion a couple of times and unfortunately the crappy forehead support more than a few times. I will say that I made a decision early on not to get a humidifier because I didn't want to mess with all of the daily cleaning. I was told that all the cleaning breaks down the cushion material.

In 2011 when I got my S9 I actually went to a brick and mortar DME. My insurance allowed me a new mask and hose every 3 months, and because I used up my big deductible buying the machine I got 4 masks and hoses before my deductible came around again. Three of them are still in the closet and the first mask, cushion and hose I got is pushing 2 years...

...only 3 more years and I can change masks!

John