Wash Before First Use???

[Shutterbug57]

Do y’all wash masks and hoses prior to first use? At the sleep study, they just opened the package and used it. I am just curious what is normal practice.

[Pugsy]

No.
I never have but some people are super sensitive to various scents or off gassing and they do better if they wash first and let the mask sit and off gas for a while.
Though I suspect that the majority of people just open the package and slap the mask on.

[zonker]

nope.

but then it's been a while since i've had a new mask.

[lazarus]

Manufacturing residue can be a thing. But I don't rinse a room before I breathe the air in it, and medical equipment that is in a sealed package and that is to be used externally for breathing through it would only be rinsed off by me if there were some instructions on the packaging that the lawyers wanted there suggesting that it be done.

And for any mask part that will be against my face all night, my personal preference is only to use a cleaner that I would be willing to apply directly to my face.

[robysue1]

Do y’all wash masks and hoses prior to first use? At the sleep study, they just opened the package and used it. I am just curious what is normal practice.

As someone who is sometimes sensitive to the smell of new plasticy things, I sometimes give a new set of nasal pillows a quick soak in some diluted vinegar water. But the frame and headgear? Nope.

As for my husband? He's not sensitive to anything it seems like. So for him, it's open the package and slap the new mask and/or mask cushion on the machine and he goes to sleep.

As for "normal practice". I know there are some people out there who will routinely wash brand new clothing before they wear it for the first time. (I'm not one of them, but hubby's family seems to be full of them.) I think washing a brand new CPAP mask would be similar: Some people may feel the need to do it, but most people don't.

[lazarus]

Clothes? Formaldehyde! :

"Some fabrics being sold in the U.S. exceeded the allowable levels of formaldehyde. Simply washing clothing before you wear it can drastically reduce the amount of formaldehyde exposure."--https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/should ... ing-255584

(A phobia of mine following a particularly bad reaction to breathing it in and soaking it in all day as a teen working on a construction site.)

[Shutterbug57]

I’ve always been in the open & use camp. Sounds like this is not abnormal. Thanks.

[tisket]

Just got a DreamWisp mask and it says "Hand wash before first use" which is rather annoying given that it is a complex mask and I will have to take it all apart before even getting to see if it works decently.

[ozij]

I have skin sensitivities - have to be selective about the dish soap I use, and as a matter of fact, use gloves for washing more than two dishes and always for hand laundry.

When I received my very first mask from the sleep clinic for trial, 20 years ago, my face broke out where the mask touched it.
It was then I read in a forum about "wash before first use", washed the mask, and the problem was solved. Granted, this was 20 years ago production may have change since then. And no, I'm not using the same mask

I always let the new equipment off gas, always run air through a new humidifier and hose for a few hours. I give a quick rinse to new FFM's or pillows masks,without taking them apart and, if I'm not too impatient, wash the straps too.

Oh, and even on some of my clothes it says wash before first use. I wash new clothes before using them.

I think mask companies put those instruction in because the simply don't want those "why didn't you tell me???" calls and complaints - especially nowadays when review are published so quickly. "You gave our mask a bad review because the strap left color marks on you face? Read the instructions!"

@tisket and any new user, wondering about this issue - do what you think is best for you using your own experience and what you know of yourself. If you dislike the smells, have breathing allergies, have a known tendency to touch dermatitis and so on, you may want to be as careful as the company tells you.

[tisket]

I just recall this coming up before years ago and medical personnel saying medical equipment (discussing hospital practice) was meant to taken new from the package and immediately used, and that hospitals never hand washed equipment and left it out to dry overnight before first use.

This is the first time I've seen a "wash before first use" in the instructions. But it is Philips. Maybe they're tired of being sued.

[Conrad]

If it makes you feel any better, I suggest washing. It's not going to hurt anything, and the peace of mind may be worth the small amount of bother involved.

[Julie]

And I can't believe so many people commenting on this (including me I guess).

[LSAT]

I can't believe the question. Can't people make common sense decisions on their own? If you are in doubt, just wash it.

[Conrad]

I can't believe the question. Can't people make common sense decisions on their own? If you are in doubt, just wash it.

This! ^^^^^^^

As we ALL know, common sense isn't so common and these days, it's even less common than it used to be.

[tisket]

The only thing we all know is that rudeness is alive and well on the internet, as is insulting people who ask a question. What is this, third grade?

Your common sense may very well be wrong.

From a Reddit thread on the subject:

"I worked in a sleep lab and we used cpap masks and tubing right after taking it out of the packaging without washing it first. "

"I don’t if buying real parts. They’re packed under sterile conditions and aren’t washed in the hospital before use. "

"I called Resmed and they said there's no need to wash the new supplies before use as they are sterilized and sealed before shipment. "

https://www.reddit.com/r/CPAP/comments/ ... ore_using/


Or old timers here:

viewtopic/t181748/Is-it-necessary-to-cl ... plies.html


In my case, I was counting the hours until the nasal mask came because the nasal pillows one was causing so much pain in my nostril that it was waking me up in the middle of the night. So washing the new nasal mask and letting it air dry for another night meant another night of pain and poor sleep. Neither option "made me comfortable". It was a question of whether it was necessary to wash the new one. I ended up washing it and suffering another night because the Philips instructions said to wash before first use (something I've never seen in mask instructions before that I can recall) and it's Philips, maker of toxic foam.