Rainout, Condensation--Solutions

[socknitster]

Since my tonsilectomy, my pressure needs went down and for the first time I started experiencing rainout condensation in my hose and mask. At a pressure of 16ish I could tolerate the humidifier on 5 with no issues whatsoever.

Now that my typical max pressure is 10ish, I couldn't put the humidifier above 2 without dealing with rainout all night long. But my nose still felt like a desert. Especially now that it has finally gotten cold.

I tried homemade hosecovers. Didn't help.

I ordered an Aussie Heated hose. Not here yet. Hoping it comes in the next week.

Then with the words of a fellow cpap'r echoing in my head from a long distant and almost forgotten post. . .

and a head cold coming on. . .

I tried tucking my hose in bed with my warm body at night.

And it works. Got my humidifier back up to 5. Zero rain out. I'm fighting the head cold valiently with extra humidity. And since the hose is covered in fleece, it really doesn't bother me at all to have a fuzzy companion, other than my husband.

So, just in case anyone else is having this problem and can't afford the Aussie Hose, try this. I hope it will work for you too.

Jen

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): humidifier, hose, rainout, CPAP

[DreamDiver]

Socknister,

It amazes me that you are having trouble with rainout in Indiana at this time of the year. I'm in Georgia, and it's just cold and dry - relative humidity of 36%. Night temperatures outside rarely exceed 40F. Even with my low pressure I have to crank my humidifier all the way up to 5 so it doesn't give me dry mouth. Surely it must be cold and dry there too.

Have you got a whole-home humidifier? If so, consider cranking it down at night. Do you sleep with the temperature around or below 60F at night? If so, you may need to turn up your heat in the house or at least in your bedroom. You could try a ceramic heater, though they can be loud. If you are unwilling to give up snuggling under warm sheets in a cold room at night, you may have to put up with the dreadful rainout until your Aussie arrives.

It all has to do with laws of physics (temp, humidity, pressure) all wrapped up in dewpoint. The idea is to keep the room temperature above the dewpoint temperature that can be achieved inside your hose. It changes as new weather fronts come and go and as you change your hose pressure.

It is unfortunate that the 'easy button' from staples doesn't suspend the laws of physics just for our hoses on dewpoint-achieveable nights.

[socknitster]

We keep our house at about 70 degrees at night. The hose was hanging from a peg over my head up against an outside wall. Our home was built in the early 70's before the energy crisis, so the walls aren't the most insulated and so forth.

My side of the bed is right over a heating vent and it blasts me and makes me so uncomfortable I rarely sleep with much more than a sheet, sometimes a light blanket. We don't have a whole house humidifier either. I run one in my son's room each night and in the kitchen when the hygrometer says it is getting really dry in the house.

The average lows have been in the 30's overnight for the last few weeks. I don't know for sure which thing was causing the rainout, but I'm guessing it was the cold wall. I do prefer having the hose suspended behind me. But I am sleeping better with fewer wakeups with the hose cuddled up next to me because absolutely NOTHING is condensing in there when I do that.

So, if you don't toss and turn (I can only sleep on my left side and back because of aerophagia, (and no tummy sleeping because I am in early pregnancy) so I don't have any choice when it comes to tossing and turning) sleeping cuddled up to your hose is cheaper than buying the heated one from Australia. I'm looking forward to getting that, though!

Jen

[wabmorgan]

Might be a little unusal.... but I have the cpap on the floor at the foot of the bed with a 10ft hose.


----------------or-----------------

You might see if you can move the headboard of the bed next to an interior wall.

[ozij]

Dreamdiver, I bet your pressure is much higher that Jen's.

O.

[Kenv]

Just buy a heated hose for your cpap machine, no more rainout.
http://www.sleepzone.com.au/showitems.a ... PAP%20Tube'
Ken

[brearsebawn]

do not understand

[Amontilado]

do not understand

"Rainout" is the term used where condensation occurs on the inside of the long hose, like the drops forming on the outside of a cold soda can on a warm humid day. The covers keep the hose from becoming to cool relative to the air inside the hose. Thus, no condensation or "rainout". Also, the rainout can sometimes be mitigated by cutting back on how warm and moist the air is coming from the humidifier (I use mine in "passover" or off mode, so no moisture or heat is added other than from the air passing over the water in the humidifier). When Jenn mentioned this happening when she reduced her pressure, it was due to the air at a lesser pressure getting the same amount of added heat and humidity at the higher pressure. Air at a lesser pressure can handle less moisture in it at a given temp than the same air at a high pressure. Simple thermodynamics if you want to look it up.

S.

[Raj]

I think you're going to like the Aussie heated hose you've ordered; mine has totally eliminated rainout and in-mask condensation (the Swift LT, which I use and very much like, is quite prone to condensation). The hose can overheat if you put it under the covers, but you won't need to. And you will have to remember to turn it off in the morning if you want it to last.

[Karla1958]

Does the Aussie heated hose come with a cover? Or do I still have to buy or make a fleece cover for the hose? I looked at the site and they showed a burgundy colored hose cover and a grey hose cover but there wasn't any mention of what comes with the hose. Does anyone have any idea which one you get or do you have a choice? I didn't see where there was any length listed either. What length is the hose? I'm half asleep so maybe it had these questions answered on the page, but I just didn't see them. I'm so lame when I'm half asleep. Does the heated hose really make the cold air coming out of the hose warm? That's one thing I hate about my machine is the cold air on the face when you are trying to put the mask on or when you try to adjust it or if there is a leak. That cold air just isn't the thing you want to feel when you are tired and ready to sleep. It's like a cold shower! My roomie keeps it ice cold in the apartment anyway and I have a heated blanket even in the summer. (Oh the cats love that blanket!) But when that cold air... brrr... It would be great if the air came out at body temp or slightly lower. When that cold air hits my front teeth... ouch! I was also wondering about that site. It says no charge for shipping to the US, but then it adds $16 to the price of the hose. Or maybe I'm reading that wrong again. Anyone know what they charge for shipping? Thanks

Karla

[Jeeper]

The Aussie hose does come with a cover. I have two of them. One for a backup. My first Aussie hose is over two years old and still works well.

Jeeper

[hose head]

Although this is good info about rainout and such, I would like to point the Original Poster had this problem two years ago and is probably chasing the child she was pregnant with around as the baby is now a toddler. I certainly hope she has solved her rainout problem by now.

[socknitster]

Charlie is 9 1/2 months old now--and yes, I am chasing him around.

I still struggle with rainout sometimes depending on what mask I am using. My favorite mask is the swift lt, but it is a condensation nightmare and even when my hose is dry I can get drenched with cold water up my nose--eeek----that is a bad way to wake up!

But most of the time I don't have a problem. The aussie hose didn't work for me and I sold it. It got too hot for me and it had a smell that my pregnant nose found obnoxious. I already have an above average sense of smell and pregnancy made it 10 x worse.

But sleeping with the hose tucked in with me really does work and I still do that sometimes.

Jen

[kopoloff]

I was having trouble with rainout. I tried everything, and everything didn't work. Even thought about building a condensate trap to go in the hose.

Then I bought a heated hose. No more rainout. Last night as an experiment I ran the humidifier at 6. no rainout. Seems to me that the heated hose is 'everything' all wrapped up in one place. It works

And thankyou to everyone who kept telling this stubbon dog to just buy the thing and stop looking for other solutions.

K

[mindy]

And just a timing note ... I found that one can now purchase the Aussie heated hose in the United States -- it is made by the same great folks in Australia but we can get it much faster (a couple of days) instead of a couple of weeks and no exchange rate. I wish Johnny would stock them!

Mindy