Procedure for sanitizing a used machine

Ozium on a cloth or cotton ball nearby, but not touching.
Dissipates in a few hours. Inexpensive.

grayghost4 wrote:Why did you ask ... if you allready knew ?

No, I did not know about it. I was going to ask 2nd. wind cpap how they do it. I Googled Sanitizing Cigarette Smell and came across this stuff named Vamoose.

It needs to go through the flow generator.

avi123 wrote:

grayghost4 wrote:Why did you ask ... if you allready knew ?

No, I did not know about it. I was going to ask 2nd. wind cpap how they do it. I Googled Sanitizing Cigarette Smell and came across this stuff named Vamoose.

It needs to go through the flow generator.

I don't know if that's a good idea.

avi123 wrote:So, how do you sanitize a cpap from smell of smoking. Please reply only this question.

According to the repair guy, you have to replace the insulation and likely the seals as well. You'd be better off sending it to one of the cpap fix-it places, BUT if you have a Torq driver and access to machine quality insulation, then you are set if only that needs to be replaced. There are many places to buy machine insulation, but to get the small quantities, you might check a local machine fix-it shop.

SewTired wrote:

avi123 wrote:So, how do you sanitize a cpap from smell of smoking. Please reply only this question.

According to the repair guy, you have to replace the insulation and likely the seals as well. You'd be better off sending it to one of the cpap fix-it places, BUT if you have a Torq driver and access to machine quality insulation, then you are set if only that needs to be replaced. There are many places to buy machine insulation, but to get the small quantities, you might check a local machine fix-it shop.

there's foam inside for sound deadening, but in my experience desmoking a couple cpaps, the foam doesn't absorb stink, and washes out easily with soap and water. it's the hard to find silicone parts that absorb and hold onto the cigarette smell.

palerider wrote:

SewTired wrote:

avi123 wrote:So, how do you sanitize a cpap from smell of smoking. Please reply only this question.

According to the repair guy, you have to replace the insulation and likely the seals as well. You'd be better off sending it to one of the cpap fix-it places, BUT if you have a Torq driver and access to machine quality insulation, then you are set if only that needs to be replaced. There are many places to buy machine insulation, but to get the small quantities, you might check a local machine fix-it shop.

there's foam inside for sound deadening, but in my experience desmoking a couple cpaps, the foam doesn't absorb stink, and washes out easily with soap and water. it's the hard to find silicone parts that absorb and hold onto the cigarette smell.

I agree on this. I guess Resmed and Respironics restrict parts to authorized repair persons. To get new seals otherwise, you'd probably have to advertise on Craigslist for a non-working model for parts. I wonder if soaking the silicone parts in vinegar would remove the cigarette smoke odor? Seemed to work on a lot of stuff when my aunt and uncle had a fire. That way, you would not need new parts unless you tore the seals during removal, right?

edited due to word left out.

SewTired wrote: I wonder if soaking the silicone parts in vinegar would remove the cigarette smoke odor?

no. tried it, just gave the silicone vinegary stale cigarette smoke smell.

I did have an S9 that I purchased cheap on CL. I mistakenly did not try it when I bought it...just plugged it in to be sure that bit worked. When I discovered the smoke smell, I ran it next to an open window 3 days in a row for about 6 hours. That took out about 75% of the smell. Then I sprayed Frebreze about 12" from the air intake while it was running without a filter. I did this twice and all the smell was gone. I guess it may depend on the amount of time the machine was subjected to the smoke.

LSAT wrote:I did have an S9 that I purchased cheap on CL. I mistakenly did not try it when I bought it...just plugged it in to be sure that bit worked. When I discovered the smoke smell, I ran it next to an open window 3 days in a row for about 6 hours. That took out about 75% of the smell. Then I sprayed Frebreze about 12" from the air intake while it was running without a filter. I did this twice and all the smell was gone. I guess it may depend on the amount of time the machine was subjected to the smoke.

Well, that is certainly cheaper to try before sending it in.

Also thanks PR. I didn't know it was foam in there. Lots of odd stuff they stuff into motors, let me tell you!

SewTired wrote:Also thanks PR. I didn't know it was foam in there. Lots of odd stuff they stuff into motors, let me tell you!

there's pics of the inside posted in other threads. the foam isn't in the motor, it's in some of the spaces in the air chamber to deaden sound.

A machine which was used in a tobacco using household is not suitable for re-use, period!

D.H. wrote:A machine which was used in a tobacco using household is not suitable for re-use, period!

Really? It might not be welcome in your house but that is only your house. Last I heard you don't have say so for other people's houses. Period.

There are any number of reasons why it might be welcome in someone else's house. Obvious first one...maybe they smoke too and don't care about the odor.
There are other reasons besides that one.
Do you ever really stop and think about what you say before you say it?

Pugsy wrote:

noise wrote:A machine which was used in a tobacco using household is not suitable for re-use, period!

Really? It might not be welcome in your house but that is only your house. Last I heard you don't have say so for other people's houses. Period.

There are any number of reasons why it might be welcome in someone else's house. Obvious first one...maybe they smoke too and don't care about the odor.
There are other reasons besides that one.
Do you ever really stop and think about what you say before you say it?

+1 absolutely, and with a little work, you can desmoke them to the point where even people who are sensitive to the smoke find them acceptable, I've done it twice now.