Citrus II Hospital Germicidal Deodorizing Cleaner

[quietmorning]

I found this product when doing a search for Citrus II: Citrus II Hospital Germicidal Deodorizing Cleaner. . . the people who have posted reviews state they use to clean their cpap equipment. (?)

I love the idea of having a germicide and a fungicide to wipe down my equipment daily. . .

but is this safe to use?

[TheUglyTruth]

I wash my mask every few days to get the body oils off. The rest never gets cleaned.

Nobody touches my machine and equipment but me. So if there are deadly germs on there they came from me.

So far it is keeping me alive and not killing me.

[Sheriff Buford]

I'm not sure of the cleaner you are referring to. I would suggest you use a mild soap that will kill bacteria. I use baby shampoo. It is mild and kills bacteria. Some folks here use a different-type soap, but it should be mild. I wipe down my mask every morning with either cpap wipes or pampers thick wipes for sensitive skin. I bought a pack yesterday, and I think it was around $1.78. You can use a generic wipe, but make sure it doesn't have alcohol (eats up the silicone on the mask) or aloe (leaves a film). I scrub the mask with a tooth brush on weekends with the baby shampoo, then soak the mask in a tub of water/baby shampoo solution for a few hours. I then rinse well. Everyone's routine is different.

Sheriff

[Julie]

Question - do you wipe down all surfaces in your home daily? How about telephones?

The trend to sanitizing everything in sight - new to this generation - is making more people sick than otherwise. Half the products are less effective than plain old soap but are filling the air with chemicals nature never intended to fill up our homes. A Cpap machine is just a route, with a little push built in, to allow regular old room air (with a filter however) to open your airway a bit when you sleep. It's not an invasive surgical instrument and even if you incidentally have a cold would not would not be greatly affected by that.

I believe we are doing a disservice to children by sanitizing everything up the wazoo wherever they are and in fact they'd be much better off getting some natural immunities into their system... but in any case, stop looking (not you personally) for the holy grail of 'clean', you're making yourselves cuckoo and probably sick in the process. Relax!

[quietmorning]

My biggest issue is mold. This is an old house and this cleaner being labeled as a anti-fungal really caught my attention. Ive had two hoses that ended up smelling an awful lot like mold within the first couple of weeks despite washing and using the cpap tube brush.

[Julie]

Can you not address the mold problem itself? If it's a real one, you are chancing your children's health and your own, so get an inspector in to look at it, or if you're renting and your landlord's not dealing with it, then municipal authorities should be told. The spores are in the air though, and can do just as much damage when you're awake as when you're asleep.

[quietmorning]

Can you not address the mold problem itself? If it's a real one, you are chancing your children's health and your own, so get an inspector in to look at it, or if you're renting and your landlord's not dealing with it, then municipal authorities should be told. The spores are in the air though, and can do just as much damage when you're awake as when you're asleep.

Good morning, Julie,

My children are grown and and on their own with their own families.

This house has been in my husband's family for four generations, so there is no way we will sell the house and move, nor will it ever be torn down. It's a piece of history in the city where we live, so the city isn't about to let us tear it down and start over, either. Sometime, you just have to do the best you can with what you have.

I understand your concern for the mold - and thank you for your concern. I've talked repeatedly to my husband about it - it has been looked at, it is not black mold. My body does a good job fighting off any infection from it, but I'd like to keep it at bay as much as I personally have the power to do so. The CPAP forces air - so the air can go deeper into the lung - this is why this is the ONE place I really don't want any mold to get into.

This house has not had any significant work done on it since his grandmother lived here. :-/ It is like any historic house needing restoration (of which we are working on a as much as we can when we can do it. The roof in the laundry room is about to be torn out as well as the flooring and rebuilt - that will go a long way toward preventing future mold - the roof is rotted as well as the floor) - heh. It 'rains' in there. Doing laundry with an umbrella is an interesting feat. So, we do what we can, when we can. Currently we have the choice of spraying all the walls down with bleach once a week - but that's even worse for the lungs if you've ever done that. The last time I did this, I was nearly hospitalized with burns in my lungs. Soooooo. . .

We work as we can, when we can. . .and do what we can. A natural (this product is made by the same people that make the cpap wipes - this product is made out of citrus oil, there are no harsh unnatural chemicals in it) product that is anti-fungal peaked my interest . . . but as I asked above, I'm not sure that this is safe for the equipment, though other people seem to use it to wipe down their cpap equipment every day.

**shrugs** I'm not willing to destroy my equipment, nor put harsh chemicals into my lungs. So, I asked.

[Julie]

Oh, I'm sorry, had no idea of the situation... I do know that in general citrus wipes are good, and if you look on Cpap.com under accessories (or something like that) I think they sell them, but I hope someone else can tell you more specifically the answer to your question.

[nanwilson]

Have you ever thought it could be your water....not your water actually, but the pipes that deliver the water. If they are very old and made of copper, then they could be adding a stink to your stuff when you wash it. Why don't you give this a trial...buy a big jug of drinking or distilled water at the store, then wash you hoses, mask and humidifier in that for a week or two.....if there is no yucky smell after two weeks...you have the answer.

[quietmorning]

Have you ever thought it could be your water....not your water actually, but the pipes that deliver the water. If they are very old and made of copper, then they could be adding a stink to your stuff when you wash it. Why don't you give this a trial...buy a big jug of drinking or distilled water at the store, then wash you hoses, mask and humidifier in that for a week or two.....if there is no yucky smell after two weeks...you have the answer.

Hi, Nan,

The sink (kitchen) where I wash my cpap equipment has new pipes, as does the downstairs bathroom. The upstairs bathroom still needs new plumbing. We don't drink from that bathroom, ever.

I can do the trial, just to make sure, but I know the pipes in this side of the house were replaced with updated plumbing less than fifteen years ago. I can see where this was confusing as I sated that there has been no significant work done on the house since his grandmother lived here. . . heh. . .I was thinking structurally - sorry about that. . .but the pipes have been replaced on the east side of the house.

Thanks for taking interest!

[nanwilson]

Have you ever thought it could be your water....not your water actually, but the pipes that deliver the water. If they are very old and made of copper, then they could be adding a stink to your stuff when you wash it. Why don't you give this a trial...buy a big jug of drinking or distilled water at the store, then wash you hoses, mask and humidifier in that for a week or two.....if there is no yucky smell after two weeks...you have the answer.

Hi, Nan,

The sink (kitchen) where I wash my cpap equipment has new pipes, as does the downstairs bathroom. The upstairs bathroom still needs new plumbing. We don't drink from that bathroom, ever.

I can do the trial, just to make sure, but I know the pipes in this side of the house were replaced with updated plumbing less than fifteen years ago. I can see where this was confusing as I sated that there has been no significant work done on the house since his grandmother lived here. . . heh. . .I was thinking structurally - sorry about that. . .but the pipes have been replaced on the east side of the house.

Thanks for taking interest!

.It was a good thought while it lasted .....detective work can be as bumming as the problem can't it. I don't think I would use the very strong wipes if it were me...if I use anything strong it tends to burn my face . All I've use for the past 3 years is baby shampoo and the unscented baby wipes if I am traveling. Good luck.
Cheers

[chunkyfrog]

Since baby shampoo has been mentioned in this thread, I agree that it is safe and mild (for most cpap accessories);
but do NOT use it on SleepWeaver Advance or élan, as baby shampoo is one common cleaning product
that has been found (by Circadiance) to be destructive to the special fabrics in these masks.

[quietmorning]

Have you ever thought it could be your water....not your water actually, but the pipes that deliver the water. If they are very old and made of copper, then they could be adding a stink to your stuff when you wash it. Why don't you give this a trial...buy a big jug of drinking or distilled water at the store, then wash you hoses, mask and humidifier in that for a week or two.....if there is no yucky smell after two weeks...you have the answer.

Hi, Nan,

The sink (kitchen) where I wash my cpap equipment has new pipes, as does the downstairs bathroom. The upstairs bathroom still needs new plumbing. We don't drink from that bathroom, ever.

I can do the trial, just to make sure, but I know the pipes in this side of the house were replaced with updated plumbing less than fifteen years ago. I can see where this was confusing as I sated that there has been no significant work done on the house since his grandmother lived here. . . heh. . .I was thinking structurally - sorry about that. . .but the pipes have been replaced on the east side of the house.

Thanks for taking interest!

.It was a good thought while it lasted .....detective work can be as bumming as the problem can't it. I don't think I would use the very strong wipes if it were me...if I use anything strong it tends to burn my face . All I've use for the past 3 years is baby shampoo and the unscented baby wipes if I am traveling. Good luck.
Cheers

**Chuckles** being on cpap has made me a MUCH better problem solver!

[chunkyfrog]

I don't know if I would trust the hospital germicidal cleaner to be safe.
I ordered this stuff.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/Contro ... eaner.html
It's made especially for cpap; I only use it after an illness.

[quietmorning]

I don't know if I would trust the hospital germicidal cleaner to be safe.
I ordered this stuff.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/Contro ... eaner.html
It's made especially for cpap; I only use it after an illness.

Yes, I use this after there's been any illness in the house, though I'll tell you this is the first time I've noticed that it is also anti-fungal. Maybe I'll switch to once a month instead of only when there's been the flu bug floating around the house.