Hose changin'

Sundown · Post by **Sundown** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 9:17 am

How often do you guys change your hoses? I know there was a thread about hoses and bacteria growth.. but I was wondering.. how long to you keep the same hose (with or without humidifier).

mindy · Post by **mindy** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 10:26 am

I have a spare hose so when something happens I can switch quickly. Other than that, I wash my hose with warm soapy water once a week and hang to dry - that should take care of the bacteria stuff. It can be a good idea to alternate the two hoses so they have time to dry completely. It's damp environments that are conducive to mold, etc.

I bought a very inexpensive little doohickey from cpap.com to connect both ends of the hose once I put the soapy water in so I can swish it around without spilling it and then same for the rinse water (got that tip from this forum).

Aussie hose requires a little more care in washing because of the electrical wires on the cover (not removable) so you don't want to get the outside wet.

Mindy

RipVW · Post by **RipVW** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 10:30 am

I used to change my regular hose every three months, since my DME automatically sent me a new one. After reading how our "old timers" on this forum use theirs much longer, I stopped doing that. Now I have a small collection of new 6' hoses.

Since I purchased my new Aussie heated hose, I plan to use it as long as it continues to function properly--will just clean it occasionally.

"You are getting sleepy . . ."

Panhandler · Post by **Panhandler** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 10:53 am

I take my hose and a funnel into the shower with me occasionally. I use the funnel to flush water through it, shoot a little shampoo on the inside of the funnel, hold both ends of the hose at the same level and let the shower wash the shampoo into the hose. Then I use a loop of nylon twine to snare both ends of the hose and hang it over the shower head while I take my shower.

When I'm done, I dump the soapy water out of the hose and flush it with fresh water, again using the funnel to direct the spray into the hose. I usually flush it from both ends until I'm satisfied the soap is gone, then I hang it over the faucet, open ends down until I get dried off.

Finally I swab it out with a swab made from about 8 feet of nylon twine, a few strips of fake chamois at one end and a fishing sinker at the other. Let the sinker pull the string through the hose and then pull the swab through the hose with the string. I made the swab based on memories of clarinet players in high school band using something similar to dry their horns, but have since seen a similar thing for sale on some of the CPAP websites.

My hose is the first I was issued, and will be a year old at the end of January.

6PtStar · Post by **6PtStar** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 11:08 am

I use the same contraption as Panhandler. Nylon cord with fishing sinker and a fake chamois on the other end except I don't do it in the shower. Maybe i shoud try the shower because I spill a bit ever so often. I clean once a month and one hose is over a year old. The only thing I do is use 2 hoses and alternate them so they hang and dry well between uses.

Jerry

snoregirl · Post by **snoregirl** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 11:14 am

I alternate two hoses so they will completely dry. I never wash a hose.

I threw one out after a year of use (the connector was getting loose) and I am still using the 2nd and third alternately.

I am hardly ever sick (after being constantly sick pre-cpap).

Pilot_Ron · Post by **Pilot_Ron** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 11:52 am

I haven't got my machine yet, but I did order an Aussie heated hose, and know full well that it will need to be cleaned. What I plan on doing is getting a small positive displacement hand pump and flushing the hose out with a mild soap solution. I'm thinking maybe a few drops of bleach to a cup of warm water. Just drawing from a small container puting the hose inline with the pump and generating a continuous flow throgh the hose to recirculate the cleaning solution through the hose.

mindy · Post by **mindy** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 12:08 pm

Hi Ron,

Sounds fancy! I'm not sure about the bleach???

Mindy

jimbassett · Post by **jimbassett** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 12:12 pm

I have been on the same hose for a year now. I can see no reason to wash it as filtered air and distilled water vapor is all that ever goes in or comes out. Neither of these will support bacteria so whats the problem. I do occasionally clean my mask but thats a little different situation. To each his own. jim

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 12:21 pm

Pilot_Ron wrote:I haven't got my machine yet, but I did order an Aussie heated hose, and know full well that it will need to be cleaned. What I plan on doing is getting a small positive displacement hand pump and flushing the hose out with a mild soap solution. I'm thinking maybe a few drops of bleach to a cup of warm water. Just drawing from a small container puting the hose inline with the pump and generating a continuous flow throgh the hose to recirculate the cleaning solution through the hose.

If it's a "heated" hose, the heat will leave the hose dry immediately upon shutting off the machine.....why bother with all that work? You'd just be making it wet and then it would have to be dried again. There's NOTHING coming out of a humidifier tank of distilled water! And, nothing will grow in it, either.

Almost 3 years with the same hose and have never cleaned it.....it's dry when I shut off my machine.....why would I need to clean it? If the end on the tank starts getting loose, I switch ends with the connector on the mask. It eventually shrinks back down to size.
I do have a number of extra 6 ft., 8 ft. and 10 ft. hoses, which I purchased out-of-pocket......and they're all still unopened.

Den

socknitster · Post by **socknitster** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 1:04 pm

I used to clean my hoses and then leave hang to dry once a week, alternating between two hoses, thinking that after a week they would be dry. NOT. The hose would still have water inside after a week!

I have found my hose to be dryer if I just leave it alone. I run my humidifier on max and if you don't have rainout problems, it stays dry. In my opinion that is healthier than stagnant week old tap water.

Another way to dry your hose is to just turn your machine on and walk away for half an hour.

There is no way I would bother with cleaning the Aussie hose very often at all. It is too much of a hassle and the fabric always gets wet for me when I do it, no matter how hard I try.

I FEEL like I should wash my hoses more often, but experience has taught me that it isn't worth the trouble. A dry hose has got to be a far safer hose.

Jen

Sundown · Post by **Sundown** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 7:02 pm

Thank you guys so much for all the input! I will continue to keep my hose (and purchase a back-up one) and probably alternate them once in a blue moon.

As always.. you guys give fantastic advice!!!

Big Ole Hug!

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 5:20 am

I used my first Aussie heated hose for over three years without ever cleaning it. Ever. Always used distilled water in the humidifier -- which just gets more distilled water added each night, without dumping out the remaining water.

Used the connector (shown below) to connect the heated hose to the humidifier. The only reason I finally pitched the original heated hose and have recently started using the backup I purchased last year was due to some slight tears developing at the mask end cuff.

Three years of nightly use... I more than got my money's worth out of that heated hose, I figure.

mindy · Post by **mindy** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 10:31 am

RG - my Aussie hose came with something like that on the end that's supposed to be attached to the humidifier. I don't know if that's something new? Or is what you're suggesting something additional?

thanks!
Mindy

Lubman · Post by **Lubman** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 6:40 pm

I'm thinking maybe a few drops of bleach to a cup of warm water.

Pilot-Ron Suggest you consider washing it with Ivory (liquid) Soap and water,
after all you are going to breathing through this all night and bleach might not be such a good choice.

For a while i was filling my regular hoses with water and then a bit of Ivory.
But in general there seems to be little problem with simply leaving it alone.

I do clean out the mask on a not so regular basis - but I agree with the general thoughts here on hoses.

Lubman

Humidifier

Additional Comments: Remstar Auto A-Flex Aussie Heated Hose Auto 8-15 cm H2O pressure A-Flex 2 Backup Remstar Plus w/C-Flex