CPAP and Hotels

[socknitster]

[quote="pippincat"]All,

I know there have been lots of posts on CPAP and traveling. I will be traveling and I am concerned about leaving the CPAP out on the night stand in the hotel while I am gone. Do all of you disconnect it and put it up each morning before you leave for the day? Is it OK to leave it out? Have any of you had experiences when the cleaning people have damaged it.

Thanks
pippincat

[Lubman]

I travel around the world with my ASV. Other than always taking out the humidifier and placing where it would not get moved and spill into the machine, I never lock up the machine.
There are times when I put the machine in the case in the closet, or place it on the top shelf of the closet out of site, but mainly I leave it on the counter and no one has disturbed it.

Often I hang up the hose and mask in the closet to avoid someone spraying it with cleaning chemicals or accidently breaking it.

I either use tap water or bottled water - only in one case did I go to a pharmacy and get a liter of distilled water (after convincing the pharmacist that I wanted distilled water and not sparkling water - in another language where both terms sounded similar...)

Use common sense and consider where you are and in what quality of hotel -- and store things accordingly.

Lubman

[krousseau]

The only thing I do is empty the humidifier-just in case housekeeping decides to move the unit to dust. I do the same thing if visiting anyone--or when my grandkids visit. Let your family know to remove the humidifier before moving it too.

When at the hospital and told to bring it-I put a big sign on it--to empty/remove humidifier before moving.

[TheDreamer]

So, I was thinking about asking a question...when I tried to search for it...and found this thread. Which answered the question of whether I could leave my CPAP machine in my hotel room.

Guess that's one less thing to worry about as the date of my first trip since starting CPAP is closing in me....

The Dreamer

[Gerryk]

I have traveled away from home and stayed in hotels two times since I started on CPAP. Both times I packed up my machine in it's bag and took it with me when I left the room for the day. I packed my mask and humidifier chamber in my suit case which stayed in the room but my machine in it's bag went into the car and was covered up. I also brought a surger protector with, this also helped to charge my cell phone at night.

Gerry

[araminta]

So many of my pals have had laptops, cameras and cell phones stolen from cars, I consider the notion of leaving items in a car --even covered -- to be a real risk.

If you don't feel ok about leaving the cpap equip in the room, then how 'bout leaving it with the folks who manage the place and most often have a closet for luggage, etc. that's held for a while.

[OwlCreekObserver]

I always pack a power strip and also a relatively short heavy-duty extension cord (you never know where there's going to be an open outlet!).

I've stayed in some hotels where the nightstand is taken up with a lamp, telephone, radio, etc. In that case, rather than move stuff around every day, I just set a chair on the other side of the bed and put my CPAP there. Either way I've never worried about housekeeping messing with it and (as far as I know) they've never touched it.

As for distilled water: If I'm driving, I just carry a jug in the car. If I'm flying and renting a car when I get there, I pick up a jug somewhere after I arrive. I've used tap water on occasion, but rarely have a problem finding distilled water.

[yorkiemum01]

I just had to tell PapDaddy I love his Avatar..how cute!

[datracer99]

I always pack a power strip and also a relatively short heavy-duty extension cord (you never know where there's going to be an open outlet!).

I'm not sure why you need a "heavy duty" extension cord. Most CPAPs don't draw much current. Just look at the power cord supplied with the machine. I have made one that is as light as possible, basically the same figure 8 wire as the original cord.

[TheDreamer]

Well, I'm flying and I don't drive, plus its airport adjacent...so there's no car to stash my CPAP in.... And, too risky to drag it around while having fun at a open-source/sci-fi convention.

And, water is really expensive at the hotel....so don't want to have to dump it every morning.

The Dreamer.

[momadams]

I just put a Do Not Disturb sign on the door.
Even for a one-week conference, I can certainly keep the bathroom clean and make the bed.
Shari

[TheDreamer]

Even though I'm a slob in the bathroom.....I might consider leaving the sign out.

The only problem is then I won't have extra hotel shampoos to take home with me, and they won't replenish the hotel room coffee.....though that might not be a problem for the convention that I'm going to next weekend. Especially since it shouldn't be that much of a struggle to get up and out....and then tap the consuite for breakfast.

The Dreamer.

[Ruby Vee]

Well, I'm flying and I don't drive, plus its airport adjacent...so there's no car to stash my CPAP in.... And, too risky to drag it around while having fun at a open-source/sci-fi convention.

And, water is really expensive at the hotel....so don't want to have to dump it every morning.

The Dreamer.

Can you just move the humidifier so there's no danger of it sloshing into your machine? Leave the water in and use it again the next night? I'm a newbie, so I'm asking, not advising.

[plr66]

I'll apologize if my response is redundant, admitting that I have not read this entire thread. My experience is that there simply has been no problem with traveling and leaving my cpap in my hotels. As others have likely said, you need to take reasonable and simple precautions, but no need to haul the thing around with you during your days! As suggested above, I simply separate the humidifier and leave it on an entirely different surface like the dresser or table, so it cannot be spilled onto or into the cpap. 90% of the time, I leave the cpap right on the night stand where I used it, but make sure it is moved in as far as possible so it cannot be easily swiped or knocked off the surface. When in doubt, I simply put the machine in its shoulder bag (without the humidifier) on the dresser. Also important to unplug the machine and coil your cords if they extend anywhere that might be caught on or tripped on to pull the machine off the night stand.

The mask is of more concern to me in terms of being handled, moved, dropped on the floor, or whatever else might happen when housekeeping does their thing. I never leave my hose hanging on a door hook like I do at home. I just shove it into the cpap bag for the day. I never leave my mask out. I wash the nasal pillow every morning, shake out the rinse water well, put it into a small mesh bag, and put that in a protected space where it can air dry without being conspicuous or needing to be moved by housekeeping staff. Usually this is on top of the hose in the cpap bag with the zippered "lid" open for the day on the dresser against the mirror.

Keep it simple. Just basic common sense stuff works, and I promise that these safeguards only take 3 minutes in the mornings.

Edit to add that I usually stuff a wad of kleenex into the openings of the two ports of the humidifier just to keep dust from getting into it during the day. (I don't do this at home, because I don't vacuum every day at home. Not even close!! ).