Why is my mask trying to drown me?

[Blackcat99]

Hi
I seem to be getting pretty regular rainout. It is starting to effect my therapy as I am ripping off my mask way too early in the morning.
I have set the humidity at 0 and have a heated hose but the moisture seems to be coming from a build up inside the mask itself (Swift FX Nano) rather than the hose.
I am still pretty new to this and just wondered if I have made any newbie mistakes or is this common? We are currently having a very cold winter here in Melbourne, would that contribute to it?

Happy for any thoughts!

[MarylandCPAPer]

Some solutions for rainout are putting your CPAP machine lower than your mattress level. I have gotten rainout when i very slightly overfilled an Airsense 10 humidifier chamber. I have not used a heated hose yet and we are in the midst of a rather hot summer in the US.

It will help others here to offer suggestions if you fill in the Equipment Profile (under the User Control Panel, above) using TEXT, not pictures.

Have you tried using a regular CPAP hose (non-heated)?

Rainout is not a normal part of therapy. It just indicates there is a need for some adjustments in the setup of your equipment.

[Blackcat99]

Ok I will check the tank level in future as I always fill it to the top!

[MarylandCPAPer]

I use the A10 too. The only time I got rainout was when I filled the humidifier tub a tiny, tiny amount over Maximum. Since then, I have always made sure to never fill to the Maximum line, and no more rainout. Let us know what works for you.

[Blackcat99]

Will do, thanks so much for the suggestion!

[Morbius]

How cold is your room? Rainout is caused by warm humidified air hitting a cold surface, so if the mask shell temperature is 10 degrees and you're blowing 37 degree breaths on it, rain's gonna fall.

Perhaps you can fashion a mask sweater (but don't occlude the exhalation port).

[Peaceful sleeper]

Hi Blackcat,
My machine is model similar to yours. My DME told me to use distilled water only and to only put in enough water for one night and dump what's left in the morning. Because of her advice I only fill the tank to a little under half way. In the morning I only have a tiny bit left to put down the drain. Not once have I had rainout.

Also, and this might just be "dumb luck." I got the little bedside travel shelf from cpap.com. It slides in between the mattress and box springs, so the machine is lower that me. It works great. When my husband gets a chance he is going to make something more permanent but for now it's a great item. Plus I can take it apart and use it for travel, as well. Some say that the machine being lower than you helps with rainout. I didn't know that. Just got the shelf because I didn't have anything else to put the cpap on that was close enough to my bed.
Best wishes!

[Blackcat99]

It's pretty cold in my room at the moment, a mask cosy sounds awesome! I need a pattern to knit one

[Blackcat99]

Thanks for your reply peaceful sleeper, it sounds like the level of my tank is something I need to look at as I always overfill it.

[Kam23]

I sleep with the sheets over my head ( vents not blocked) to prevent the mask from getting a build up of condensation. My head is in a little cave or tent.

[Blackcat99]

Thanks kam23 I like the idea of the mask cosy but your idea of a tent sounds good too
I just hate waking up in the middle of the night being rained upon!

[Ladyskets]

I use a FisherPaykel mask and get water in my mask also. I do NOT use a humidifier at all. There is absolutely no rain out in the hose. Unfortunately, It's from my breath condensing on the inside of the mask each time I breathe. I can actually see it happen. I've tried wrapping my hose and that doesn't work. I've yet to find a solution. Keeping my room warmer is not an option. I'd never get any sleep in a warm room. All I can do is sleep with a small cloth under my pillow. When I wake up to dripping in my nose, I grab my cloth, wipe out the mask and go back to sleep. A different mask is not an option either. I went through six different masks to find one that fit well and felt comfortable.

[yaconsult]

Hose hangers can help any hose condensation to run back down into the water tank. I like and use this one from amazon that slips between the mattress and box spring - it's only $12: http://www.amazon.com/North-American-He ... B0034CHMRU