Should the reservoir be cleaned routinely?..photos attached

SewTired wrote:The pink slime will ALSO appear in the humidifier tub when using only distilled water.

The bacteria is airborn so those that leave their stuff open to "air dry" are allowing entry. The bacteria feeds on minerals found in tap/well water, etc. So rinsing with those products unwittingly allows a source of food.

Use distilled, top it off, and leave the system closed to the room air all day. No need to dry it the hose when you wash it either cuz it only gets wet again. But then there is no need to wash it.

"Whatever gets ya through the night....it's alright" - John Lennon Since my humidifier already has pretty colored lights incorporated into it, I wonder why a UV light isn't built in to combat bacteria and molds, etc. I have one installed in my drinking/cooking water supply fed from a spring that seems to work well enough. Way too much limestone in the spring water for use in the apap, though.

Gasper62 wrote:"Whatever gets ya through the night....it's alright" - John Lennon Since my humidifier already has pretty colored lights incorporated into it, I wonder why a UV light isn't built in to combat bacteria and molds, etc. I have one installed in my drinking/cooking water supply fed from a spring that seems to work well enough. Way too much limestone in the spring water for use in the apap, though.

it would be expensive, you'd have to change the fluorescent bulbs, and it would degrade the plastics. UV LEDs don't go far enough into the UV to kill things, as I understand it.

Guest wrote:

SewTired wrote: Use distilled, top it off, and leave the system closed to the room air all day. No need to dry it the hose when you wash it either cuz it only gets wet again. But then there is no need to wash it.

Why do people keep insisting that because they have certain home conditions, everybody else MUST have the same conditions? Closed or opened, this is not a sterile system. Doesn't need to be if you keep things reasonably clean.

As to immune system, the first indicator someone has something wrong with their immune system, they usually end up hospitalized. So, unless you realize that you have a wound that won't heal, you won't likely get warning that your immune system is giving fits.

SewTired wrote:As to immune system, the first indicator someone has something wrong with their immune system, they usually end up hospitalized. So, unless you realize that you have a wound that won't heal, you won't likely get warning that your immune system is giving fits.

there's really nothing at all in the above that has basis in reality.

my immune system gives me fits every time the cedar trees bloom.

LSAT wrote:OK...I tried the Q Tip test. My humidifier tank has NEVER been washed in the 2 years I have used it...occasionally, if there is little water left, I dump it and refill with fresh distilled water. Usually I just top it off. I dumped all the water in my tank and wiped the corners of the reservoir with a new Q Tip, It came out pure white...no discoloration. Zack must have a problem with the air in his home.

Wow! Imagine how much mold Zack's breathing on a daily basis without the CPAP filtration and only his warm moist nasal sinuses to filter the mold in his home.