Is cleaning an issue?

[mon]

I can't believe that people don't seem to worry about cleaning their equipment.

Just because you use distilled water to fill the humidifier doesn't mean it remains clean. Mold spores with grow in areas that remain damp and regardless of whether the water is distilled or not, pouring new distilled water on top of used distilled water that has been sitting around for more than 24 hours will not make the old water clean. The chamber must be cleaned thoroughly at least every second day with warm soapy water and dried completely so these spores don't grow and get inhaled into the lungs. Asthmatics often have lung disorders caused through mold growing in their homes. House mould doesn't even need to be directly inhaled to cause lung infections but a CPAP machine is a certain direct pathway into the lungs so can easily cause major lung infection if it is not cleaned often. The hose is another direct pathway. Ideally the hose should be rotated with another hose and washed with warm soapy water and left to hang and totally dry out before being used again. The best way to clean a hose is to use a hose brush.

The filter on a CPAP machine only stops dust particles not particles as small as mold spores. So don't think the filter will stop them.

Check out websites related to mold and lung disorders and keep your CPAP machine ultra clean!

http://biosignlabs.com/Symptoms_Mold_Sickness.html

[DeadlySleep]

Do what you want. I have never cleaned my humidifier tank.

[DreamStalker]

So uhhh ... as a germophobe I guess you use a zoot suit during the day or do you just wear your germ-free CPAP 24/7?

Hopefully you don't eat and you take your nutrition intravenous too ... you do know that all foods eaten by mouth have germs don't you?

[Pugsy]

Cleaning is an issue only if a person wants to make it one.
Different strokes for different folks.

You roll your eyes and cringe when you read about someone who chooses have a rather "lax" (by your standards) cleaning schedule and there are those of us who roll our eyes and laugh at those who choose to go the other opposite and clean everything daily or every other day because something might be growing somewhere.

You feel that your way is right way to do things....well...it is for you.
I feel that my way is also a right way to do things....well.... it is for me.
It's not my place to judge the options that you choose and it's not your place to judge the options that I choose.

I have had 2 minor colds in 4 years of cpap therapy....no lung issues....no asthma...no nothing upper respiratory other than a couple of short lived colds. I guess it works well for me.

[jdm2857]

Interesting to note that the link is not to a medical authority but to a company that has a
monetary interest in spurring people to buy mold testing services.

[knightlite]

I mostly agree with you mon . But everything in moderation . You won't find a consensus here. Just like talking to smokers , its a waste of time . Some people don't wash their hands , why-- because there are bugs everywhere. Typhoid Mary was one of those if you read about her.
I'm from a hot humid climate ----Florida , we know what mold and fungus can do - legionnaires disease for one .
I believe there is a lot of Pro-cleaning type cpap users but they don't argue with people who don't have a cleaning routine . They tend to shout down anyone who does. I'm not a germ a phoebe but I believe on a little bleach here and there. The older you are the more danger there is .
They will go on and on about ,manufactures saying no vinegar or bleach / soap . Its like we expect our masks to last years or something , we don't ,if we get 8 to 12 months out of most of it-we get new ones . Major medical tests prove that you need to get rid of it after 6 months or so .
I will get flamed for this even though I'm not criticizing anyone . Do what you think is best for your health and don't be silenced .

[Sheriff Buford]

This thread is un-believable!

Sheriff

[DreamStalker]

I mostly agree with you mon . But everything in moderation . You won't find a consensus here. Just like talking to smokers , its a waste of time . Some people don't wash their hands , why-- because there are bugs everywhere. Typhoid Mary was one of those if you read about her.
I'm from a hot humid climate ----Florida , we know what mold and fungus can do - legionnaires disease for one .
I believe there is a lot of Pro-cleaning type cpap users but they don't argue with people who don't have a cleaning routine . They tend to shout down anyone who does. I'm not a germ a phoebe but I believe on a little bleach here and there. The older you are the more danger there is .
They will go on and on about ,manufactures saying no vinegar or bleach / soap . Its like we expect our masks to last years or something , we don't ,if we get 8 to 12 months out of most of it-we get new ones . Major medical tests prove that you need to get rid of it after 6 months or so .
I will get flamed for this even though I'm not criticizing anyone . Do what you think is best for your health and don't be silenced .

Yep ... looking at your avatar, you're flaming alright.

And those medical tests you claim as proof, they are funded by the manufacturers ... My Swift FX pillows are going on 6 years and will easily last 6 more.

[chunkyfrog]

Ultra-fastidiousness most benefits those whose immunity is unable to deal with new challenges.
A healthy immune system is made even more so by normal exposure to the mostly benign organisms all around us.
--"Give your leukocytes something to do; and they won't as likely go after you."
Remember, tiny, harmless bugs live in our eyelashes, if they were gone, it could be a disaster.

[DreamDiver]

This topic pops up from time to time.

This is how I see it: If I live in a home with black mold in my bathroom tiles, shower curtain or toilet, I am not cleaning my bathroom often enough. If mold lives in my bathroom, it is a wake-up call for me. If your bathroom is like this, you are not living in an environment fit for human habitation. (I'm not pointing fingers at any particular reader here - I'm just pointing to the rhetorical "You". However, if this reflects your bathroom... well, then I am pointing at you. Directly, with both index fingers.) For me, it makes sense to clean the bathroom just before it starts getting cruddy - about once a week. Any more often seems like overkill. If I cleaned any less often, I might as well be living in a barn. If you aren't capable of doing this, ask a friend or family member to do it for you. You could also pay someone to do it if you have the means.

Attempting to live in a completely germ-free environment is not possible. We each of us carry with us three to five pounds of micro-organisms that our bodies actually need to thrive. Micro-organisms are in a constant balance. Some of them are symbiotic, while others are detrimental. By attempting to rid our bodies of 'bad bugs', it just makes them try harder to thrive in the new antibiotic environment. Any time the balance is tipped, a price is exacted on the rest of the micro-organisms and our bodies. Always keeping everything squeaky clean may in fact breed germs that do better in antibiotic environments. http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... -than-good

Some people bathe every day. Some don't. Some people wash the bathroom every day. Some every week. Some don't. How often we clean our equipment is about as personal.

For myself, I'd put the CPAP hose and tank at 1 week to a month - sometimes more frequently depending on weather. I inspect the tank daily when I'm adding water, but I don't wash it daily. When I do wash the tank, I put the machine-washable parts in the dish washer. The hose and mask parts get washed in mild hand-soap - without antibacterials.

I will add that when I travel, I wash the tank out more often, primarily to dry it before I put it in the travel bag.

[chunkyfrog]

My rule of thumb is if I can see it, smell it, or feel it,
I get rid of it, and wipe the parts I touch every day with a baby wipe.

[DreamStalker]

My rule of thumb is if I can see it, smell it, or feel it,
I get rid of it, and wipe the parts I touch every day with a baby wipe.

I've never once had any babies growing on my CPAP stuff ... never!

[teachcsg]

This topic does seem to crop up every month or so. LOL.

I deal with many patients getting cpap replacements (after 5 years etc.) and IMHO the majority of them seem to smile and yawn when I tell them the manufacturers recommended schedule for cleaning. I then ask them what their "normal" cleaning schedule looks like for their water chamber, filters etc.. and they all seem to say "If I remember, maybe once a month." So it seems like many patients are doing fine without cleaning their equipment every day.

And just FYI - the reason the non cleaners seem to "shout-out" everybody that says they must clean the equipment everyday is because (and this is coming from someone that does NOT wear a cpap machine so I have no bones to pick) is that the people that clean their equipment every day sound almost judgemental or critical to everyone that doesn't. So it makes it hard for the non cleaners to stay quiet.

[knightlite]

Nobody is trying to get people who don't believe in cleaning their equipment to start ! Only those people interested in doing so should share how and why with each other ,I thought sharing info in a positive manner on this site was allowed. I must be wrong again. Continue to attack if you like.

[DreamStalker]

Nobody is trying to get people who don't believe in cleaning their equipment to start ! Only those people interested in doing so should share how and why with each other ,I thought sharing info in a positive manner on this site was allowed. I must be wrong again. Continue to attack if you like.

And "why" should those with different opinions about the why not be allowed to express their why when they are being attacked about the why?