Confused about cleaning....

[wintersummer]

I'm new to the CPAP world, 5 days in. I'm confused about cleaning. I'm also attempting to streamline process, as I'm traveling with CPAP tomorrow, gone for 10 days.

My DME respiratory therapist told me to clean everything weekly. I was looking at ResMed site and saw recommendations for daily cleaning. I've looked at this board and it seems like there is some variation in thoughts on cleaning. So, I don't want to open that discussion again.

For the time I am away (staying in hotels/motels), would a weekly cleaning be OK? I just learned about the CPAP wipes. Would they work for a good wipe-down on the other days? Or, do you recommend attempting to do the full cleaning every day?

Thanks for your help.

[Pugsy]

Weekly is more than sufficient.

For removing the facial oils from the mask cushion which might need to be done more often than weekly...
doesn't have to be the fancy expensive cpap wipes...most people here just use the wipes available at the store...like baby wipes. If it's gentle enough for a babies butt it won't hurt the mask.

[chunkyfrog]

Daily cleaning tends to accelerate deterioration of silicone parts.
Frequent disassembly/reassembly increases likelihood of breakage.
Resmed may be covering their collective glutes;
but my suspicions lean toward the profit column . . .

Clean equipment is a good thing--but good things can be overdone.

[raisedfist]

I clean everything when I feel like it...which is not often. For the humidifier chamber I use distilled water and I never notice any build up...I top it off every 1-3 days and have never had any issues. I guess every few months you could say I do a cleaning of it. I never clean the hose unless I am sick. I use nasal pillows for a mask and maybe clean those once every 2 weeks. When I use a full face mask, I do wipe the cushion with a baby wipe almost nightly, because I excessively mouth breathe and some sort of gunk forms in the corner of the cushion.

[Cardsfan]

Just a tip- if you are in a hotel, I would empty the water container every day. Just in case the housekeeper picks it up or moves it, don't want water getting in the motor. Another thing I do is have a piece of paper with "MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH" that I put on the machine and mask.
For cleaning, the only thing I would wash is the cushion, with whatever soap or shampoo the hotel has. Or, just use a baby wipe. I would take an extra filter and keep an eye on that. We were in a rental home last winter and my filter got filthy in about a weeks time, where as at my house, they last months and still look new. Just depends on the dust. I wouldn't bother washing the long hose or the complete mask and have to dismantle everything. I'd wait and do that at home.

[palerider]

So, I don't want to open that discussion again.

For the time I am away (staying in hotels/motels), would a weekly cleaning be OK?

"Don't want to open discussion".... immediately opens discussion.

[Okie bipap]

When we travel, we notify the front desk that we do not need housekeeping services while we are there. We put the do not disturb sign on the door. We leave the machines set up while we are out of the room, and have never had any problems while traveling.

[Muse-Inc]

Dump water every morning. Traveling use bottled water to fill (distilled best but hard to do when traveling), when get home put straight white vinegar in the humidifier tank and let sit for 20 mins and then rub to loosen the gritty mineral deposits, rinse out and wash.

I hung my hose in the closet when traveling. At home it sits unconnected coiled on mattress.

I have touchy skin so I wash my face before masking up. I use Conture CPAP Wipes (Amazon) for 2-3 days then wash with Dawn, rinse, spray with straight vinegar, let sit 1-2 mins, rinse well, air dry. In hotel, after washing I sit on clean washcloth in drawer with humidifier tank. My FFM only has 3 parts so easy to disassemble, clean, re-assemble.

Hose gets washed following a cold OR if it looks dirty (mine's inside a hose cozzie so I have to slide it aback a bit to view.

Traveling: take extra mask. I use a power strip and turn off during the day. Oh, and some duct tape just in case I keep an index card of everything I need to remember in my CPAP travel bag. I bought a CPAP luggage tag from our host www.cpap.com.

[Julie]

Little tip - maybe it sounds cynical, but Resmed, like any other company, listens to their lawyers and covers their you-know-what with disclaimers and info re cleaning, etc. In fact, cleaning is really only needed daily (depending on you and how the mask looks after use) or more likely weekly (if that) and wipes usually take care of that, though soap and water used gently is fine too. The humidifier may end up - eventually - with a little pinkish stuff in corners, but that can be easily dealt with (if you haven't been using distilled water and a Q-tip. The distilled water helps to keep the stuff out of corners, but is not meant for you to worry about otherwise in terms of your health (inhaling etc). Tap water's usually fine, just needs cleaning a bit more often depending on where you live. And many here have used the same hoses for decades without EVER 'cleaning' them at all!

[Sheriff Buford]

You can wash your cushion every week or two. Go buy some Pampers Baby Wipes for sensitive skin. They are $1.78 at Wal Mart. Wipe the mask cushion every morning, and done..... don't look back....

Sheriff