Mold in the micromesh of Airfit P10

I see black bold in the micromesh of my mask. I boiled it for 30 minutes and scrubbed with a toothbrush. Most of it is still there.

How do you all keep that clean? It is such an ultrafine mesh. I wipe it with cpap wipes daily and wash in warm water and baby shampoo periodically, but obviously that has not been enough.

Try one of these tricks that all work:
A denture tablet in a bowl or mug of warm water.
Soak in Dawn and warm water, then hit it with compressed air or a water pic.
For mold, break out the cheap vodka.
Also good for "refreshing" the toothbrush.

Thanks. Hubby suggested bleach, but I did not think that was a good idea since it may damage the mask or at least just end up smelling like bleach. Not what I want on my face all night.

Vodka won't hurt it? That smell should evaporate, right?

Tigerlily wrote:I see black bold in the micromesh of my mask. I boiled it for 30 minutes and scrubbed with a toothbrush. Most of it is still there.

How old is the mask?

If it's time to replace it, that's the first thing that I'd do.

How do you all keep that clean? It is such an ultrafine mesh. I wipe it with cpap wipes daily and wash in warm water and baby shampoo periodically, but obviously that has not been enough.

I've gotten really lazy about cleaning equipment the last year or so. So I can't actually remember when the last time I cleaned my P10 mask. Maybe a month or so ago??? And when I do, I just soak everything in a vinegar-water bath for an hour or so before rinsing thoroughly with hot water. At any rate, with my lazy girl's approach to cleaning the equipment, my two P10 masks' micromesh vents still look pretty pristine and I've been using them for well over a year old now.

My guess is that the mold is caused by the mesh not ever drying completely out. But the question is why doesn't the mesh dry out during the day when you're not using it. When you wipe the mask with the CPAP wipes, do you wipe the micro mesh? And after you wipe the mask what do you do with it?

On thought has occurred to me: As I said, I actually have two P10 short hoses that end with the rigid plastic platform with the microvents. And when I do deign to clean my equipment, I swap the (dirty) short hose out for one that's been lying around my Clean CPAP supplies drawer unused for at least a week or two. And after I clean the short hose I typically hang it on my hose hooks in the bedroom for a week before putting it in the Clean CPAP supplies drawer because I want it to be good and dry before I stick it in the drawer.

How old is the mask?

Oh, I think the frame w/ mesh venting is 2 1/2 years old. I replaced the pillow and headgear.

If it's time to replace it, that's the first thing that I'd do.

True, I was just trying to save $99 bucks. My insurance doesn't pay for cpap parts and we have a lot of expenses right now.

And when I do, I just soak everything in a vinegar-water bath for an hour or so before rinsing thoroughly with hot water. At any rate, with my lazy girl's approach to cleaning the equipment, my two P10 masks' micromesh vents still look pretty pristine and I've been using them for well over a year old now.

Oh, vinegar? I haven't considered that. I guess I thought all I was permitted to do was mild soap and water and on occasion to boil it in plain water.

My guess is that the mold is caused by the mesh not ever drying completely out. But the question is why doesn't the mesh dry out during the day when you're not using it. When you wipe the mask with the CPAP wipes, do you wipe the micro mesh? And after you wipe the mask what do you do with it?

I wipe that a little bit, but primarily the pillows. I wipe it, then put it in a drawer. I didn't think that would prevent it from drying out since it is not wet, per se when I put it in there.

When I do soak and wash everything, I let it dry all day on papertowels, then I hook it up to my cpap machine and blow the air at 20 with no humidity to dry it all out. I would think that would thoroughly dry the vents...

I had the mold show up one time and it was when I had been using the barrel cozy and even though I didn't cover the vent holes I guess the moisture just didn't dry up very well due to the extra insulation of the barrel cozy.
Not to mention I didn't pay a lot of attention to it. I wash the nasal pillow every couple of weeks but wasn't looking at the mesh/frame part because I didn't wash it very much at all. I haven't put the barrel cozy back on yet but if I do I will take extra steps to allow for better drying conditions.

The mold itself is fairly easy to remove but the byproduct of the mold (the gray/black discoloration in the mesh) is REALLY hard to get rid of and make it look like new again. I tried everything I could think of to make look like new but while I did improve it immensely I was never able to get it to look "new" again (had a new one to hold it up to compare to). I tossed it.

Check EBay...I have sometimes seen the frame/hose part for around $30 unless you are also just wanting to get new headgear and pillows too.

Tigerlily wrote:

How old is the mask?

Oh, I think the frame w/ mesh venting is 2 1/2 years old. I replaced the pillow and headgear.

If it's time to replace it, that's the first thing that I'd do.

True, I was just trying to save $99 bucks. My insurance doesn't pay for cpap parts and we have a lot of expenses right now.

How often will your insurance pay for a whole, complete mask? Or are all of your CPAP expenses out of pocket?

At any rate, I think you ought to replace the whole mask as soon as you can. And I'd suggest getting a spare short hose with the pillows platform as soon as you can.

My guess is that the mold is caused by the mesh not ever drying completely out. But the question is why doesn't the mesh dry out during the day when you're not using it. When you wipe the mask with the CPAP wipes, do you wipe the micro mesh? And after you wipe the mask what do you do with it?

I wipe that a little bit, but primarily the pillows. I wipe it, then put it in a drawer. I didn't think that would prevent it from drying out since it is not wet, per se when I put it in there.

My guess is that putting them in the drawer right after wiping the pillows down is the problem: Residual moisture trapped in the mesh probably has a much harder time evaporating in a dark drawer than in the open air of your bedroom.

When I do soak and wash everything, I let it dry all day on papertowels, then I hook it up to my cpap machine and blow the air at 20 with no humidity to dry it all out. I would think that would thoroughly dry the vents...

Yes, using the cpap to blow dry air through the mask would dry it out, but do you do this every day? Or do you take the mask off, wipe it down and stick it in a drawer?

Moisture would get trapped in the mesh each night from your exhalations even if you weren't using any humidity at all, and my guess is there's just enough moisture to cause a problem when you stick the mask in the closed drawer each morning.

Also,
Is there really much a difference between the regular P10 and the ("for her"). I've used only the women's one.

Tigerlily wrote:Also,
Is there really much a difference between the regular P10 and the ("for her"). I've used only the women's one.

the strap is a wee bit longer on the regular one, the frame is exactly the same.

palerider wrote:

Tigerlily wrote:Also,
Is there really much a difference between the regular P10 and the ("for her"). I've used only the women's one.

the strap is a wee bit longer on the regular one, the frame is exactly the same.

Thanks. I was thinking maybe the frame would be bigger on the regular p10. I don't need a longer strap.

Frame and nasal pillow sizes are all universal no matter which package...like PR says it's the headgear that is slightly different between the "for Her" and regular packaging along with a different selection of nasal pillow sizing.
The For Her package comes with 3 pillows...XS, Small and Medium
The regular package comes with 3 pillows ..Small, Medium and Large
All pillows fit all frames to matter the packaging.

Tigerlily wrote:
Oh, vinegar? I haven't considered that. I guess I thought all I was permitted to do was mild soap and water and on occasion to boil it in plain water.

When using vinegar, my practice is to only use white distilled vinegar. AFAIK, many other types of vinegars such as apple cider and wine vinegars have substantial levels of dissolved solids that may precipitate out and attach to the mask mesh.

JimW159 wrote:

Tigerlily wrote:
Oh, vinegar? I haven't considered that. I guess I thought all I was permitted to do was mild soap and water and on occasion to boil it in plain water.

When using vinegar, my practice is to only use white distilled vinegar. AFAIK, many other types of vinegars such as apple cider and wine vinegars have substantial levels of dissolved solids that may precipitate out and attach to the mask mesh.

Yep. I forgot to mention that I use white distilled vinegar.

Thanks for mentioning that JimW159.

If I were to fill up the sink with water, how much vinegar should I use?

Will the vinegar smell go away once rinsed and dried?

Tigerlily wrote:If I were to fill up the sink with water, how much vinegar should I use?

Will the vinegar smell go away once rinsed and dried?

I wouldn't fill up the sink. I would use a medium size bowl, and just make sure the water/vinegar mix covers what you want to clean. I use about 1/3 cup vinegar to a cup of distilled water.

Then I rinse 'thoroughly' in warm water. No vinegar smell that I've noticed.