Is it OK to put drops in water of the humidifier?

My allergies are worse with CPAP. It creates these awful fluid-filled bags under my eyes. If I sleep without CPAP the bags diminish or go away. I just cannot keep up with this constant cleaning of the machine. My life is busy. Isn't it possible that my lungs could take a drop or two of hydrogen peroxide or vinegar or even bleach in the water without harm? Maybe the peroxide would keep the water cleaner longer so I wouldn't have to clean so often and could keep those bags at bay. Please help. I need an answer! Thanks, Dewy

Please do not do that. Do use only distilled water in the tank.
Clean as often as needed-- more if you get sick. (Sorry, no substitute for clean)
A cotton ball with essential oil behind the machine is better.
You can move the ball to adjust intensity of the scent.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/cpap-a ... aster.html

I wouldn't put anything in the humidifier, as some liquids could wreck it, and it might not prevent mold or grimy surface, which can happen with constant water in it.
My cleaning routine is very simple; maybe you are working too hard at it. What I do is take the humidifier out when I get up, dump any remaining water, then swish with a drop of liquid Joy, fill halfway with water, swish the water around, then dump the water, rinse well and lay the tank on a dishtowel to dry until bedtime. Do same with the lid. Takes but a couple minutes, and then once a week I do a little more thorough cleaning... soak tank, lid, mask and hose in a tub of warm soapy water with a little white vinegar for a couple hours, then rinse and leave them to dry.

Some people take equipment into the shower and use baby shampoo. If you take a shower when you get up, or soon after you get up, you could do it then. Just be sure to use only a mild soap such as liquid Joy or baby shampoo.

I use only super fine air filters in my machine, which helps my allergies.
Fluid pouches below your eyes could be a sign your mask is way too tight!

Dewyeyes wrote:My allergies are worse with CPAP. It creates these awful fluid-filled bags under my eyes. If I sleep without CPAP the bags diminish or go away. I just cannot keep up with this constant cleaning of the machine. My life is busy. Isn't it possible that my lungs could take a drop or two of hydrogen peroxide or vinegar or even bleach in the water without harm? Maybe the peroxide would keep the water cleaner longer so I wouldn't have to clean so often and could keep those bags at bay. Please help. I need an answer! Thanks, Dewy

I had terrible issues with allergies. I use these inline filters: https://www.cpap.com/productpage/Respir ... -pack.html
They really help. I change them out about every 3 weeks. During the Ragweed season I changed them out weekly.
I

I wish you well...

Please fill in the equipment on your profile and we can give you better information about cleaning your CPAP. There are some instructions in my signature line.

Bill44133 wrote:

Dewyeyes wrote:My allergies are worse with CPAP. It creates these awful fluid-filled bags under my eyes. If I sleep without CPAP the bags diminish or go away. I just cannot keep up with this constant cleaning of the machine. My life is busy. Isn't it possible that my lungs could take a drop or two of hydrogen peroxide or vinegar or even bleach in the water without harm? Maybe the peroxide would keep the water cleaner longer so I wouldn't have to clean so often and could keep those bags at bay. Please help. I need an answer! Thanks, Dewy

I had terrible issues with allergies. I use these inline filters: https://www.cpap.com/productpage/Respir ... -pack.html
They really help. I change them out about every 3 weeks. During the Ragweed season I changed them out weekly.
I

I wish you well...

Anyone have any experience using those with the Airsense 10 with heated hose? I see it's not listed as one of the compatible machines.

Isn't it possible that my lungs could take a drop or two of hydrogen peroxide or vinegar or even bleach in the water without harm? Maybe the peroxide would keep the water cleaner longer so I wouldn't have to clean so often

A drop of bleach directly in the humidifier would be WAY too much bleach; I'd guess you'd find the smell extremely unpleasant (or worse!).

A single drop of bleach in a GALLON of distilled water is about the right amount so that the humidifier tank doesn't get slimy, which will happen if you don't wash the tank frequently with soap and warm water. I can't think of any reason to add more than that . . . .

Tap water is disinfected and I have used it for years. The fine filter on the machine should eliminate most allergens. How high is your humidity set? That can really cause congestion if set too high.

calusa wrote:

Isn't it possible that my lungs could take a drop or two of hydrogen peroxide or vinegar or even bleach in the water without harm? Maybe the peroxide would keep the water cleaner longer so I wouldn't have to clean so often

A drop of bleach directly in the humidifier would be WAY too much bleach; I'd guess you'd find the smell extremely unpleasant (or worse!).

A single drop of bleach in a GALLON of distilled water is about the right amount so that the humidifier tank doesn't get slimy, which will happen if you don't wash the tank frequently with soap and warm water. I can't think of any reason to add more than that . . . .

!!!DO NOT!!!! add any bleach at all to your humidifier tank water.

It's unnecessary. Use distilled water. If you can't use distilled, dump the water and rinse every morning, and don't fill back up till that evening. If you're worried about your tap water, boil it first. Clean the tank as needed.

Remember, you're not drinking the humidifier water. In theory, any germs will be left behind when the water evaporates anyway, but keep it clean just to be safe.

Dewyeyes wrote:My allergies are worse with CPAP. It creates these awful fluid-filled bags under my eyes. If I sleep without CPAP the bags diminish or go away. I just cannot keep up with this constant cleaning of the machine. My life is busy. Isn't it possible that my lungs could take a drop or two of hydrogen peroxide or vinegar or even bleach in the water without harm? Maybe the peroxide would keep the water cleaner longer so I wouldn't have to clean so often and could keep those bags at bay. Please help. I need an answer! Thanks, Dewy

I feel sorry for you that you do not even have 5 minutes to wash your mask and humidifier daily. It's your health your messing with. DO NOT! REPEAT DO NOT PUT ANYTHING IN YOUR HUMIDIFIER WATER EVER!

Dewyeyes wrote:My allergies are worse with CPAP. It creates these awful fluid-filled bags under my eyes. If I sleep without CPAP the bags diminish or go away. I just cannot keep up with this constant cleaning of the machine. My life is busy. Isn't it possible that my lungs could take a drop or two of hydrogen peroxide or vinegar or even bleach in the water without harm? Maybe the peroxide would keep the water cleaner longer so I wouldn't have to clean so often and could keep those bags at bay. Please help. I need an answer! Thanks, Dewy

You must be using something other than distilled water. Using distilled you probably won't need to do this extra cleaning.

Bill44133 wrote: I had terrible issues with allergies. I use these inline filters: https://www.cpap.com/productpage/Respir ... -pack.html
They really help. I change them out about every 3 weeks. During the Ragweed season I changed them out weekly.
I

I wish you well...

Anyone using this filter prob doesn't realize they do in fact reduce the treatment pressure received at the mask. Prob bc the machine no longer detects apneas and other events so they think their AHI data looks good.

These filters are not recommend for use on any cpap/bipap machine after the humidifier bc the moisture clogs these filters right up seriously reducing the flow and pressure at the mask.

Use the fine filters recommended for use on your specific machine and you should be fine.

Dewyeyes wrote:Isn't it possible that my lungs could take a drop or two of hydrogen peroxide or vinegar or even bleach in the water without harm?

btw I do believe that breathing hydrogen peroxide can cause cancer. Bleach and vinegar are both irritants. Stick with distilled water and you can't go wrong.

GoneFishin wrote:

Bill44133 wrote: I had terrible issues with allergies. I use these inline filters: https://www.cpap.com/productpage/Respir ... -pack.html
They really help. I change them out about every 3 weeks. During the Ragweed season I changed them out weekly.
I

I wish you well...

These filters are not recommend for use on any cpap/bipap machine after the humidifier bc the moisture clogs these filters right up seriously reducing the flow and pressure at the mask.

you should probably call up resmed and tell them this, so they can remove the settings in the machines that compensate for those filters.