Drying CPAP Hose

[mymorning]

I am wondering how people get their tubing free of all the water that collects in there. I am also curious about masks too, I am new to this and am encouraged to use it but want to know more about what and how people do regarding this process.

[breakfast]

I hang it over a towel rack with both ends hanging. That seems to do it.

The mask, I just hang up on a hook in the bedroom and wipe it down daily.

[Janknitz]

My tubing seems to take FOREVER to dry, even after I swing it around like a lasso as some people will suggest. You can also run your machine at full blast, but it takes a long time and it's a PITA. I have an extra tube so when I wash one I swap it for the other to give it plenty of time to dry.

For around $10 (unless you have a special hose), a second hose is a good investment. You always have a spare in case something happens, and you don't have to worry about whether the just washed hose is dry enough.

On another forum, someone actually BOUGHT an "equipment dryer" for around $400. That seems SO silly to me, but I guess if you've got money to burn . . .

As for masks and fiters, just dry them off with a lint free cloth (I use microfiber cloths from the dollar store) and let them air dry. They dry quickly, thank goodness.

[Robespierre]

I just don't bother to dry mine on those rare occasions when I wash it. I normally keep the thing hanging over a double hook in the closet during the day, anyway. If there's any residual moisture, I guess I get a little extra humidification that night.

[Chainsaw2608]

I am wondering how people get their tubing free of all the water that collects in there. I am also curious about masks too, I am new to this and am encouraged to use it but want to know more about what and how people do regarding this process.

Like the others that have resonded, I hang mine over a hook. If it is has some moisture in it then I put my humidifier on by pass and turn on the machine for 5 or 10 minutes before I put my mask on and go to bed.

[torontoCPAPguy]

I hang it over the towel rack for a short while (perhaps half hour) and then connect it to the blower and let it run for a half hour. Dry as a bone. And this is important because otherwise there is the possibility of mold or bacteria culturing. It's easy enough. I let the masks sit on a towel after flapping it about for a bit and then hook it up to the end of the hose while the blower is running and let it stand loosely on that towel or on the bedspread so that the air flow is swirling around inside the mask to get it bone dry. Works well for me. I don't wash the headgear very often but do wipe it down every morning as the last use of my disinfectant wipe, to get rid of the oils and allow it to last longer. I save the climate control hose for when it is really needed otherwise use a standard thinline or full size hose and generally I have at least two per machine. If you have several different mask, wash them all at the same time; it does pretty fast and you're done in minutes once you get used to it. Ditto the humidifier tanks... DO NOT put them in the dishwasher please; you will wind up with a frosty tank from the etching and with crazing from the heat. I wipe down the mask inside and out each morning and then the outside of my equipment (well, not my EQUIPMENT, but rather the blower and humidifier). Keeps everything nice and clean and looking like new. I have yet to wash the hose covers that we use when we are using heated humidified air in a cold room and want to avoid condensation inside the hose.

I actually went out and purchased a shotgun barrel cleaner (20 ga?) to clean the hoses but have never really needed to use it. So I use it for the shotguns (shhhh. Don't tell the wife).

Also picked up a couple of top of the line carbon fibre cleaners for the .45's and .22's while I was in there.

[semreka]

After washing the pieces , place all the pieces but hose and humidifier on a paper towel away from direct sunlight,leave them to dry.
Attached the hose to the machine , install the humidifier to the machine , but do not put any water in the humidifier.
Turn the machine on.
place the second end of the hose to a lover elevation compared to the machine.
put a tissue under the open end of the hose, the smeared water inside the hose will come out by means of air flow.
You will see that the tissue gets wet.
At the end, both the humidifier and the hose will dry.
You need to keep your cpap working for about 15 minutes .
God bless....

[echo]

After washing (which is rarely), I swing it like a lasso and then hook it up to the machine to dry.

During the summer I leave the hose connected to the machine in the mornings.
During the winter (when I get condensation in the hose), I disconnect it every morning and let it dry hanging from a hook in the bedroom.

Once I cut open a water bottle, connected the small end to the hose, and directed a hair dryer into the cut-out end of the bottle. This was when I had washed the hose right before bedtime and couldn't wait for the machine to dry it. Worked like a charm. Make sure the hair dryer is on a low/no heat setting otherwise it all heats up REAL quick!

[mymorning]

I did see the equipment dryer on another website and it was less than the amount that you had mentioned. I will try to locate it and get back to you. I would value some opinions. Thank you!

[bearded_two]

I do not understand why it is necessary to dry the inside of a CPAP hose; hanging it up will drain the water out sufficiently to prevent a snoot full of water. When I did wash my hose, I just wiped the outside with a hand towel or bath towel and hung it up for a few minutes to allow the water to drain.

[noname]

Never do I wash it. If it collects condensation, I blow it dry with my old cpap. I guess as a newbie though, you don't have an old cpap. Why do you feel that you have to wash it?

[tomjax]

I am always amused with this question.
The purpose of a humidifier is to provide moisture to the patient.
What is wrong with simply washing it out and plugging it back in and breathe?
Ths water in the hose will then be turned to vapor and delivered to the patient, which it the point all along.
I never wash mine anyway.
Maybe once in the past 3- 4 years.
Same for my mask.
I may clean my pillows every few months when bugs stary crawling up my nose.

But I am easily confused anyway.

And why do we seek answers from docs that know nothing?

Remember that half of all doctors graduate in the bottom 50 pct of their class.

Something to ponder.

[jdm2857]

That's not a bad idea at all, as long as you wash the hose (and shake out the excess water) just before bedtime, so that the moist hose isn't sitting around all day.

[torontoCPAPguy]

After washing (which is rarely), I swing it like a lasso and then hook it up to the machine to dry.

During the summer I leave the hose connected to the machine in the mornings.
During the winter (when I get condensation in the hose), I disconnect it every morning and let it dry hanging from a hook in the bedroom.

Once I cut open a water bottle, connected the small end to the hose, and directed a hair dryer into the cut-out end of the bottle. This was when I had washed the hose right before bedtime and couldn't wait for the machine to dry it. Worked like a charm. Make sure the hair dryer is on a low/no heat setting otherwise it all heats up REAL quick!

Just thinking out loud here; I don't think I would want to swing the hose around like a lassoo as some of them are rather fragile and may not take that on a continued basis although it is a GREAT idea (centrifugal force and all that). Also, the hairdryer idea is a good one too but make absolutely certain that it is on either very low heat or NO heat as the boning on these hoses is not the greatest, not is the strength of the plastic hose itself. When cooler it is stronger, hence I don't mind running plain air through the hose and letting it run for a half hour. But whatever you decide to do I believe that although there are plenty on here that don't wash anything, don't dry anything and chew on thumbtacks before bed... personally, I take care of my equipment as best I can and that means protecting myself from bacterial growth and mold. They are both VERY VERY VERY bad news and you can take it from one who has had bacterial pneumonia and has spent three weeks intubated and had my lungs suctioned out and torn to ratpoop as a result. It's been a year and I still cannot take a long walk on a hot muggy day. Having said that, you don't have to be crazy about disinfection... washing once a week is sufficient and wiping down the mask daily with an anitseptic wipe of some sort is fine. I wash the humidifier tank when I wash the hose, about one time a week, generally Saturday mornings. I forget a lot. Nut not so the mask, which I do wash every week in odorless soap (geez, nothing worse than having a system that stinks from lemons or whatever for two or three days.) There are plenty of odorless soaps on the market and Target is a great source of them for one. Here's a list:

Clearly Natural Unscented Pure and Natural Glycerine Soap. Found in a pump bottle with other hand cleaners in the super market

Method Go Naked Dish Soap - TARGET
Seventh Generation Free & Clear Dish Soap - TARGET
Purex
Ivory unscented
Dr. Bronners (health food store) totally unscented
Ivory Classic Pure liquid Soap - no scent
7th Generation unscented (for handwashing dishes)
Dove Baby Unscented Shampoo - LOBLAWS
vory Liquid Hand Soap. I have a pump by my sink, and a small squeeze bottle for my travel cleaning






I bought everything on their self like a madman but you can probably buy one or two bottles of the soap of your choice (I like Method or Seventh Generation) and that should last you a year or two. I have a lifetime supply, believe me.

Read the forums; keep the system dry and you will improve your odds of avoiding bacterial or mold issues; iven if they are only acting as allergens.

And take it easy on the hoses... those Climate Control hoses are expensive and are built like matchsticks. They will not take abuse. Lots of forum members with ductape on their hoses already. I treat mine like the Magna Carta... very gently.


And keeping the mold and 'blech' and bodily oily fluids off the hose and the mask and the headgear is going to make it stay alive much longer. I pulled out my headphones the other day and found that the rubber earpads had deteriorated to the point of actually crumbling when touched. Fortunately, the manufacturer has a lifetime warranty on these parts and sent me out a better set of sennheiser headphones immediately and told me to toss the old ones in the trash; not worth the cost of shipping them back despite the retail price of $100+. Think it's the same with the hoses.... they cost a couple of bucks to make and package and sell for $80 in the USA and $150 or more in Canada.

[kopoloff]

have a lookee here
viewtopic/t39373/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=39 ... 05#p341005

k