Boiling Stuff Part 2

[allen476]

After reading the original post about boiling pillows to make them come back to life, I tried it to find that it did work. Then two days later, I came down with a cold. So I had to drag my Quattro FF mask out. The problem was that the seal looked as though it really needed replaced. Then I thought what the heck, I'll try boiling them.

Now before you cringe and start swearing that one will ruin their seals, you need to understand silicone. First silicone can withstand high temperatures. Silicone cookware can withstand temperatures up to 500F. So the temperature of boiling water isn't going to affect it.

I used a small sauce pan that was just big enough to hold one FF mask seal and filled with distilled water. I then added 1 teaspoon baking soda and brought to a rapid boil then reducing to just a boil.

As you can see in the photo, the seals have the usual whitish film. The before picture was after I washed all of them with hot water and Dawn dish liquid and then left to dry.






Now I had to decide how long to boil. I decided that 5 minutes would be a good baseline. So I dropped the first one in with the part that goes against your face so that it was on the bottom. I turned it over after 2 minutes for 1 minute and then turned it over again to finish. I pulled it out and immediately rinsed with hot tap water.

Repeated the above with the other two. Adding more distilled water in between each one. Do not add any more baking soda.

Now for the moment of truth.........

They are once again crystal clear.








I tried to get a close up of them but it didn't work too well. But here is a photo that you can see that it is clear.












As far as stickiness, They are not as sticky as new but do have some stickiness to them. One of them is my Ultra Mirage seal that hasn't been used in over 3 years. After boiling it looks and feels like new.

I used one of the Quattro seals the first night. According to the data, it didn't leak too much.

I used the lot of them the rest of the week, Surprisingly they all worked well.

My conclusion, If you were to boil your mask everyday I think that you would cause premature wear. I believe though that you wouldn't do any harm by boiling your everyday mask seal once a month. Since I won't need these masks until I am sick again, I am going to boil them again and put away.


If you don't believe me, try it with an old seal that you might have. Just remember to use distilled water and baking soda.

Edited on 4/28/12 - Put more spacing in between pics/descriptions and removed before and after water pics.

[LSAT]

OK....I tried it with an old Quattro seal......It worked just as you said. It's crystal clear. I will try it tonight to see if it still seals. To be continued..........

[LSAT]

OK....I tried it with an old Quattro seal......It worked just as you said. It's crystal clear. I will try it tonight to see if it still seals. To be continued..........

OK....I slept with my newly boiled silicone seal.....It worked like a new seal. I guess I will save myself some co-pays and save my insurance the replacement costs for new replacement seals. (Sorry DME).

Thanks for the tip Allen

[VA3AEQ]

I boiled the cushions from my backup and regular mask. As reported, they come out clean. I also boiled some other silicone parts from a free backup machine from a smoker. The stained parts are much less stained and smell less like smoke.

None of the parts were deformed in any way.


Dave.....

[Uncle_Bob]

Thanks Allen I might try this with my Swift LT pillows.

You might want to consider getting additional personal security, Resmed will be hunting you down

[chunkyfrog]

I wonder what boiling would do for my Respironics full face Comfort gel cushions.
I'm ready to do a 'shield' or two, but the gel gets sorrier sooner--and I'm not sure. . .

[SleepingDVader]

This is a great post. Many thanks!

[allen476]

Everybody......Your Welcome!!!

I don't know what the long term impact of boiling will be though. As you can say...It is a work in progress. The problem is that I use a Swift FX normally and did this because I really didn't want to shell out about $25 for a new seal when I only use a FFM when I am sick. Which is about 2 weeks out of the year.

Uncle Bob - I have a bunch of Swift LT pillows and I am going to try them as well. I don't hold out much hope as they are the ones that collapse after 1 week of use.

LSAT and everyone else that uses a FFM nightly - Can you update us on how the seal is working after boiling. I rotated that week through the lot just to see if there was any that weren't as good. Now that I am back to using my FX, I can't judge any long term effects.

On a related note, I boiled my FX headgear (NO, not the neoprene part) and the forehead pads for my FF masks. The FX actually stayed in place all of last night and didn't slide around on me, a first. It also didn't feel slimy and oily, another first. The forehead pads were like new as well.

I am really happy that people are getting the same results that I did.

[allen476]

I wonder what boiling would do for my Respironics full face Comfort gel cushions.
I'm ready to do a 'shield' or two, but the gel gets sorrier sooner--and I'm not sure. . .

I don't know what would happen to the gel. From looking at CPAP.com, it says not to boil for additional conformity. So something tells me that it might not be wise to do so unless you want gel goo all over your kitchen.

[squid13]

I boil my Swift FX pillows all the time and it gives them new life so boiling the Swift LT pillows should do the same.

[chunkyfrog]

The older cushions have lost their shape; so I've nothing to lose.
The silicone skins around the gel capsules were heat sealed at probably around 300-350 degrees F (my guess)
So boiling should not be a problem as long as I stay clear of the bottom of the pan.
It will be interesting to see if the gel changes consistency so I can reshape it.
I'm pretty sure it's not thermoplastic.
And I will use a pan hubs doesn't use for pasta.

[squid13]

chunkyfrog be sure to let us know how they turn out.

[bemused]

Silly question perhaps, but what part does the baking soda play?

[squid13]

It acts as a detergent on the oil that is on the silicone.

[allen476]

That is a good question.......

The OP on the thread "Boiling Stuff" used it for absorbing the oils that came off during the boiling process.

My take though goes a little beyond that.

First I didn't want to use tap water. With all of the stuff in tap water, I would liken it to sandblasting my seals if I were to use it. Distilled water would be like giving it a hot bath with no soap. So my compromise would have to be a small amount of something that would be strong enough not only to survive the boiling process, but gentle enough not to be abrasive and something that if a residue was left, wouldn't harm me. The only thing that I could see working was baking soda as well.

I really couldn't tell if it did absorb the oils or not. It seems logical that it might though.