Broken Mirage Liberty

Reidan · Post by **Reidan** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 2:45 pm

Early this morning I reached up to adjust my mask to stop it from leaking. I guess I grabbed it by the elbow valve to adjust it. I heard a snap and the valve came off of the mask! It will go back on, but any movement of the hose and it either leaks or pops off again.

My DME does not sell parts, only whole units. CPAP.Com does not have the part I need to replace, claimed this model was too new to have too many parts in stock for yet. What other vendors should I consider?

When I called CPAP.Com she recommended that I claim it to my DME as a warranty replacement. Anyone else have this happen and get it replaced under warranty?

Looks like I will have to do some creative engineering when I get home tonight or sleep without it until I get it repaired/replaced.

CamiTampa · Post by **CamiTampa** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 2:57 pm

Mine broke after six weeks and the dme replaced the entire mask. There is a part number for the elbow and the price is $26.00. Talk to your Dme first as there is a 90 day warranty on the mask.

Reidan · Post by **Reidan** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 3:44 pm

DME called me back this morning and said they would replace it under warranty. I told them I would come by during lunch and make the exchange.

When I got there they brought out a mask in a zip lock bag. Immediately warning bells went off in my head since this looked to be a used mask. I asked to check it out first. I pulled it out and sniffed it. Apparently it had been used by a smoker as it smelled of cigarettes. I pulled the elbow off the mask and told the guy I only needed that one part and did not need the rest of the mask. He said fine.

Tonight I will take the elbow and boil it and rinse it in alcohol. Hopefully that will be good enough to get rid of the smell and kill any germs.

I am not real happy with them trying to give me a used mask as a warranty replacement. Anyone know of a good DME in the Atlanta Ga. area. Preferably North of Atlanta in the Gwinnett County area?

Thanks,
Patrick

RosemaryB · Post by **RosemaryB** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 5:42 pm

[quote="Reidan"]DME called me back this morning and said they would replace it under warranty. I told them I would come by during lunch and make the exchange.

When I got there they brought out a mask in a zip lock bag. Immediately warning bells went off in my head since this looked to be a used mask. I asked to check it out first. I pulled it out and sniffed it. Apparently it had been used by a smoker as it smelled of cigarettes. I pulled the elbow off the mask and told the guy I only needed that one part and did not need the rest of the mask. He said fine.

Tonight I will take the elbow and boil it and rinse it in alcohol. Hopefully that will be good enough to get rid of the smell and kill any germs.

I am not real happy with them trying to give me a used mask as a warranty replacement. Anyone know of a good DME in the Atlanta Ga. area. Preferably North of Atlanta in the Gwinnett County area?

Thanks,
Patrick

krousseau · Post by **krousseau** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 9:59 am

DME's are not supposed to take back used respiratory equipment that has been in direct contact with a patient. If the DME claims to be JACHO accredited-you can file a report with JACHO online.

neverbetter · Post by **neverbetter** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 10:30 am

My wifes lasted a little over a week and broke.

Oh my God, it smelled? That stinks!

seriously
The resmed insurance pays for a new one within 30 days or another resmed mask.
Every company has that. Insist on a new one.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 11:40 am

just make sure you get it from an AUTHORIZED dealer that buys directly from Resmed.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 11:55 am

Most insurances, unfortunatley won't cover the cost of parts for masks. That's why they'll pay for a new mask every three months. My HME will sometimes take off parts from fitting room masks after being disinfected. I don't see a big problem with that as long as we're not charging for it. Not many of our patients seem to mind. We definitely do not send out used masks for patients to use. That's just nasty. Those Liberty masks are a big pain in the butt. More often than not, I have returns on those within the week.

Dgrendahl · Post by **Dgrendahl** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 2:06 pm

Now, if you were a vet, you could easily get the spare part.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 2:50 pm

The Liberty elbow, valve and clip part is on cpap.com. Just search for liberty and it comes up.

Broken Mirage Liberty

Broken Mirage Liberty

Mask replacement parts