FLY BOMB and my CPAP machine

[montana]

On our way to work this morning my husband announced that he set off a FLY BOMB in our house just before he left. I said: YOU DID WHAT? MY MACHINE IS IN THERE!
We live about 30 minutes away. After dropping him off at work I turned around and drove back 30 minutes to rescue my machine. It was exposed to the fly spray for around 1 hour. I ran in holding my breath...and got my machine and mask. It is now on a protected area outside on the deck. Is my machine TOAST or is my Husband?

[pitrow]

I'd say you're probably ok. Unless the machine was running, it shouldn't have gotten any of the spray inside. I'd wipe down all exterior surfaces real good, and give the mask and hose an extra good cleaning or two and not worry about it.

or be on the safe side and call the manufacturer and see what they recommend.


edit: on another forum I'm on they were just having a discussion about how to keep flys out of your house. Seems the easiest way to do it is to fill a ziplock baggie half full with water and hang it over the opening (door/window/etc) that they're coming in from. They say that the reflecting light from the water scares the flys and the don't come in. Something you might try instead of a fly bomb next time.

[johnnygoodman]

Howdy Montana,

Please DO NOT USE THIS MACHINE AGAIN. Maybe you could clean it up, maybe. I think the risk/reward ratio is very poor. This is your health, don't mess around.

I feel bad for your poor husband!

To clean this mess up, I will sell you a deeply discounted M Series Auto A-Flex brand new, 2 year warranty. This isn't free (its a recession out there!), but may spare your loving, bug bomb setting husband some nights on the couch. If interested, johnny at NO cpap SPAM dot SERIOUSLYNOSPAM com and I will get you in touch with someone who can help. We will need an rx on file before we ship if it isn't already.

Another option is to check CPAPAuction.com. From my quick search, nothing that is an exact match but there's an REMstar Auto "tank" for $200.

Johnny

[pitrow]

Please DO NOT USE THIS MACHINE AGAIN. Maybe you could clean it up, maybe. I think the risk/reward ratio is very poor. This is your health, don't mess around.

That's kinda like saying, don't ever go into the house again! Or don't ever eat anything that's touched the kitchen counter! The stuff doesn't last forever you know. You can be paranoid if ya want, but I'd clean it and use it.

Oh, and find out what kind of fly bomb it was and what's in it. A couple of them (Revenge brand specifically) have ingredients that are USDA food use approved, and shouldn't be any problem at all.

[jdm2857]

As long as the machine was not sucking in air during this mask I would thoroughly clean the mask, headgear, and hose with dishwashing liquid (or Dr. Bronner's soap) and water and rinse thoroughly. I would also wipe down the outside of the machine as described above.

You could also flush the machine with clean air by running it outside for an hour or so.

Johnny's offer is nice, but like Pitrow, I think it is overkill.

I'm sure others will disagree.

[twokatmew]

Change the filter, too!

Johnny, my machine fell off the table and into the kitty litter box, where the cats played soccer with it. May I take you up on your very generous offer?

[johnnygoodman]

Howdy,

Please DO NOT USE THIS MACHINE AGAIN. Maybe you could clean it up, maybe. I think the risk/reward ratio is very poor. This is your health, don't mess around.

That's kinda like saying, don't ever go into the house again! Or don't ever eat anything that's touched the kitchen counter! The stuff doesn't last forever you know. You can be paranoid if ya want, but I'd clean it and use it.

Oh, and find out what kind of fly bomb it was and what's in it. A couple of them (Revenge brand specifically) have ingredients that are USDA food use approved, and shouldn't be any problem at all.

Pitrow, I think you've made a fair point. I think it is likely you are correct but not certain you are correct.

My concern is diffusion/concentration. If you "bomb" a whole house and then air it out, are you getting the same amount of that stuff in your lungs as if you "bomb" your CPAP and then run all the air you are getting through it?

What is boils down to is if montana is MY mom or MY wife, I'm getting another one so as not to risk it. Plus, her husband needs an out.

Johnny

PS twokatmew: not unless your cats are radioactive.

[Wulfman]

On our way to work this morning my husband announced that he set off a FLY BOMB in our house just before he left. I said: YOU DID WHAT? MY MACHINE IS IN THERE!
We live about 30 minutes away. After dropping him off at work I turned around and drove back 30 minutes to rescue my machine. It was exposed to the fly spray for around 1 hour. I ran in holding my breath...and got my machine and mask. It is now on a protected area outside on the deck. Is my machine TOAST or is my Husband?

Poor guy!

Like some of the others suggested, I think I would TRY to see what it's like before getting a backup machine. (you should have one of those, too)
Take it to a fresh air environment, take out or change the filter (if it's washable, wash it good)......and then run it for awhile and then see if it smells weird.
To me, as long as it wasn't pulling air into the machine while the bug bomb was doing its thing, the potential damage would be much less.


Den

[Goofproof]

As long as it wasn't running, running it in a clean area for a couple of hours after a good external cleaning and changing both filters. Then I would hook it up on my husband for 8 hours, then check his color. If he is still breathing and not blue or twiching, it might be safe, at least he would be smarter, I hope you don't have pets. Jim

[BlackSpinner]

As long as it wasn't running,

Mt resmed is always moving some air unless I unplug it so that is kind of useless.

I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole (or a short Russian). Intense exposure to these kind of chemicals can trigger intense environmental allergies.

It is a good excuse to get a new machine. The old one can become a door stop.

[Hawthorne]

Take Johnny up on his very generous offer! If it were me, I would not use that machine again - no way!

[jdm2857]

BlackSpinner --

I think that you'll find that your machine blows at a low speed for a while after you turn it off but then stops.

That's what my S8 AutoSet II does.

[plr66]

Wow. Not in an alarmist tone, but I have to agree with Johnny here. Would you sit in the house with an insecticide bomb going off? Whether or not you think that the residue has entered the interior of your cpap.....do you want to gamble with whether those chemicals might be blown into your lungs? Not for me. Yes we breathe stuff out in the world at times that might be toxic. But the pressure of forcing it into the lungs just somehow makes it for me not a risk I'd be willing to take. And washing the little foam filter or replacing a paper filter just doesn't convince me of safety. Opinion FWIW.

[billbolton]

Mt resmed is always moving some air unless I unplug

Unless you have fault in your S8 Elite flow generator, it does not always move air.

It will move air at low velocity for a short while (I've never timed it exactly, but its about 20 to 30 minutes or so) after you have ceased treatment, to clear any condensate from the humidifier completely out of the air circuit.

Cheers,

Bill

[sheldons65]

Wash and rinse the hose, mask and humidifier. Time to change/clean the filter as well. You could let the machine run for about 15 minutes before using.

Most of those consumer bug products of that type degrade pretty rapidly.

if it was that bad you would have to move outside of your house because any residual is all over the place including clothes, pillows, and bed covers.