Yeah, I found that once I got a good seal not to mess with the straps (however, I still do and end up paying the price.)
If you're just washing it by hand, you don't have to remove any of the velcro'd parts. The bottom part of the strap has clips that you can leave on, and instead of removing the straps on the top you can remove the adjustable plastic forehead part. Of course, you'll have to readjust that setting, but there's only four set angles rather than the seemingly infinite possibilities if you undo both velcro straps.
Edit:
Forgot to mention that you can also disconnect the entire headgear unit from the hose and wash the straps (by hand) while keeping all the headgear parts intact.
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