Air Tubing Leaks Anyone??

[Sheriff Buford]

I have noticed on several occasions of some members referring to air leaks via their air hose. I have never had that trouble so that is why I'm asking. I am also aware that a leak in the air hose can reduce proper therapy. For you folks that have had cracked or leaky air hoses how did you find them? If the leak is big enough, I assume you heard the air excaping. Is this what happened to you? Do you think a bad hose is an exception or occurs more often than I realize?

Happy papin'

Sheriff

[cflame1]

I've ended up with a pin hole leak in a hose... I heard the air escaping.

[Sheriff Buford]

I've ended up with a pin hole leak in a hose... I heard the air escaping.

How long did you have the hose?

Sheriff

[jabman]

I have not yet had this problem but I did get a backup hose just incase.

[cflame1]

a little over a year... they seem to get weaker right at the rubber end connections

[StevenXXXX]

I have had the same hose on my CPAP for the 7 1/2 years I have had the CPAP.

No holes / leaks whatsoever.

[nudave]

I have had the same hose on my CPAP for the 7 1/2 years I have had the CPAP.

No holes / leaks whatsoever.

You aren't concerned about what may be growing in that hose?

[robysue]

I use a hose cozy on my hoses. And I'm not sure I'd hear any leaks through the cozy.

With my first Slimline hose I discovered the leaks when washing the hose: My hose connector conveniently fits right over a little rim around the water outlet of the bathroom faucet. To rinse the inside of the hose, I hook the hose directly over that little rim and turn the water on as high as possible. Putting my thumb partway over the other end of the hose causes enough water pressure to build up to check for leaks. The first time I discovered a pinhole sized tear in the Slimline was when I got water sprayed into my face while doing this.

And at the time this happened, there was no solid evidence of leaking in my ResScan data. The week before I found the leak, ResScan was still showing flat lines at 0.0 L/min most of the night, my median leak rate was 0.0 L/min night after night, and my 95% was still consistently below 10.0 L/min and usually below 7.0 L/min.

The fix for me was duct tape. This hose is now my backup, backup hose since I own two other hoses without leaks (so far).

[BlackSpinner]

The pin holes hiss - I now use a cosy over my hose - To keep the cat claws off the hose more then anything else.

[chunkyfrog]

My fault--I was too rough changing masks in the middle of the night. --totally wrecked it--twice!
Now I wrap the hose/end piece joint with Vetwrap.--reminds me not to be a moron.

[StevenXXXX]

I have had the same hose on my CPAP for the 7 1/2 years I have had the CPAP.

No holes / leaks whatsoever.

You aren't concerned about what may be growing in that hose?

If the hose is cleaned adequately & often enough (I do it once a week), nothing will grow in the hose.

[archangle]

It's good to have at least one spare part for everything.

I wash the hose weekly by hooking it to the faucet and running hot water through it. Then I put the clean hose on my old brick CPAP and run air long enough to dry out the drops. Then I put the clean hose in a clean dry place until the next wash cycle and use the spare hose. I've never found one that seemed to have anything nasty in it.

I've CPAPed for 7 years and I've had one or two hoses that either developed a pinhole leak in the middle of the hose or had the rubber on the ends get gunky and threw it away.

I've bought a few spares separately, or gotten a "free" hose when I got a new mask online or bought a used CPAP machine.