How long do you have to wait for tubes to dry when cleaning

[OSAdude76]

This is a total noob question, but I'm cleaning my CPAP tonight for the first time and I just want to make sure it'll be okay to use even if it's not totally dry. Would any extra water still in the hose hurt anything before I use it?

[rjezuit]

It will evaporate without you even knowing it.

[Wulfman...]

This is a total noob question, but I'm cleaning my CPAP tonight for the first time and I just want to make sure it'll be okay to use even if it's not totally dry. Would any extra water still in the hose hurt anything before I use it?

Well, at least you're cleaning it at night before going to bed. Too many others think they have to "dry" this stuff before they put humidified air back in it........which is a total waste of time.

Nope. Not a problem. A little extra moisture in your air won't hurt a thing.

Lots of us don't even "clean" our hoses because it's just distilled water being vaporized into the air we're breathing. Nothing in there to clean. Somewhat the same for the HH tanks, too. Many of us just dump and rinse them periodically and refill with distilled. As long as you're keeping the intake air filters clean, there shouldn't be anything getting in there to worry about. And, even if it did, it would fall into the HH tank and stay there. Water vapor molecules are too small to carry anything out of the HH tank to you.


Den

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[OSAdude76]

This is a total noob question, but I'm cleaning my CPAP tonight for the first time and I just want to make sure it'll be okay to use even if it's not totally dry. Would any extra water still in the hose hurt anything before I use it?

Well, at least you're cleaning it at night before going to bed. Too many others think they have to "dry" this stuff before they put humidified air back in it........which is a total waste of time.

Nope. Not a problem. A little extra moisture in your air won't hurt a thing.

Lots of us don't even "clean" our hoses because it's just distilled water being vaporized into the air we're breathing. Nothing in there to clean. Somewhat the same for the HH tanks, too. Many of us just dump and rinse them periodically and refill with distilled. As long as you're keeping the intake air filters clean, there shouldn't be anything getting in there to worry about. And, even if it did, it would fall into the HH tank and stay there. Water vapor molecules are too small to carry anything out of the HH tank to you.


Den

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I was wondering how useful it would be to clean the hose! Since there is not much going in there except distilled water, I didn't see why a weekly clean would be necessary (and more junk could get in there from cleaning it).

So really the most important thing is to clean the mask as that's actually going on your body?

[CaptainRaven40]

I clean my mask everyday. I clean my hose about once a week and I check the filter and flick it clean about every other day. I empty the humidifier tank every day and clean it once a week. I wipe down the hose on the end where my mask attaches everyday. I clean my head gear once a week. This is all because it makes me feel clean and I know it's clean. It's a personal preference. Plenty of of other people on here do very minimal cleaning and that's what is comfortable and right for them. There is no blanket answer to how often. You can go by what the manufacturer tells you and go from there and adapt what is right for you. I am no expert, but everyone has a way of doing things and they aren't wrong in what they do. It is just the way they do it and it works for them. At the end of the day if you are getting great therapy and everything isn't infected with something you are fine. You don't have to clean as often as I do. I am disabled and am home a lot so I have the time. You may not. I ramble too much.

[Wulfman...]

This is a total noob question, but I'm cleaning my CPAP tonight for the first time and I just want to make sure it'll be okay to use even if it's not totally dry. Would any extra water still in the hose hurt anything before I use it?

Well, at least you're cleaning it at night before going to bed. Too many others think they have to "dry" this stuff before they put humidified air back in it........which is a total waste of time.

Nope. Not a problem. A little extra moisture in your air won't hurt a thing.

Lots of us don't even "clean" our hoses because it's just distilled water being vaporized into the air we're breathing. Nothing in there to clean. Somewhat the same for the HH tanks, too. Many of us just dump and rinse them periodically and refill with distilled. As long as you're keeping the intake air filters clean, there shouldn't be anything getting in there to worry about. And, even if it did, it would fall into the HH tank and stay there. Water vapor molecules are too small to carry anything out of the HH tank to you.


Den

.

I was wondering how useful it would be to clean the hose! Since there is not much going in there except distilled water, I didn't see why a weekly clean would be necessary (and more junk could get in there from cleaning it).

So really the most important thing is to clean the mask as that's actually going on your body?

Yeah, depending on your level of "germophobia" or OCD. Many of us long-time users are fairly lax on that, too.
After all, it's YOUR germs on that stuff. And, it all depends on the type of masks that people use, too.

The first morning after my first night, I dumped my tank to refill it.......and thought "Why the Hell did I do THAT?" And, from then on, it was "periodically".......a few times a year.


Den

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[CaptainRaven40]

Yeah for me with my mask. I use the Airfit P10 and I use lansinoh regularly and it leaves the nasal pillows a little greasy feeling and I don't like that so I clean them.

[Julie]

Never cleaned a hose in 10 yrs.

[chunkyfrog]

0-7 days, cleaned hose nightly.
After that, I tapered off to never.
I would not advise this if you are immune-compromised.
Otherwise, whatever keeps you from lying awake with worry.

[OSAdude76]

Thank you all so much for sharing! I'm glad to hear that you can get by without regular hose cleaning. I'll probably still do it sometimes though!

Okay last question: is soapy water or vinegar better for cleaning the hose?

[Pugsy]

Okay last question: is soapy water or vinegar better for cleaning the hose?

Again...your preference.
I hate, hate, hate (did I say hate) the smell of vinegar. I had to clean a faucet last night with vinegar (well water that you can just about see the minerals in) and my house still stinks.
The only thing I might use vinegar on would be mineral deposits in the water chamber.
Otherwise if/when I clean anything it is hot soapy water and hot water rinse.

That said...I have never cleaned my heated hoses and the regular hose was maybe once a year....

When I first started cpap therapy back in May 2009 I was a lot more "strict" with a religious once a week thorough cleaning of everything and my mask was daily...that got old real quick and maybe lasted 6 months.
After that it got less and less frequent with the exception of the nasal pillows...which got washed about once a week or so. By then I wasn't using the Lansinoh ointment to make things gunky.
Unless I have a drippy nose from a cold or flu...the nasal pillows get washed about once every week or two now.

[hegel]

With my old machine the humidifier had no hygrometer to monitor the humidity in my room and adjust accordingly. As a result, my hose would have lots of water in it every night. I was told by my Kaiser sleep tech that warm moist environments are perfect for growing germs, mold, etc. As a result I bought a So-Clean machine and I have to say that I like it. My old wet hose would smell a bit funky after several nights without this.

However, my new machine manages the moisture in my hose much better. It's dry in the morning...so far! I haven't used it in the winter yet. Nevertheless, I'm also coming around to thinking that one doesn't need to be overly cleansly (word?) with all of this. But if I lived in Florida, I might think differently--again, moist humid environments welcome nasties. But many here with a lot of experience will dispute this. I respond: read Death in Venice.

[SewTired]

This is a total noob question, but I'm cleaning my CPAP tonight for the first time and I just want to make sure it'll be okay to use even if it's not totally dry. Would any extra water still in the hose hurt anything before I use it?

Not a problem. I usually clean the stuff a couple hours before going to bed. You can always run MASK FIT for 3 minutes to clear out excessive moisture.

And yes, while some regulars never clean their hose, that is poor hygiene practice. Everybody lives in different environments. Some folks don't use humidity. Others just go with the flow and if it hasn't made them sick yet. . .

[LSAT]

I've said this before......I'll bet that many of the people that clean their hose regularly hang it in the bathroom to dry....The most germ infested area of the home.

[CaptainRaven40]

I've said this before......I'll bet that many of the people that clean their hose regularly hang it in the bathroom to dry....The most germ infested area of the home.

That is one place my CPAP hose doesn't go to. I hang it to dry in the room it is used in. My bedroom. I see no reason to hang it anywhere else but that's just me and what I like to do. Really this topic is just as personalized as masks are for people.