CPAPtalk.com

Mikebear wrote:

grybeard77 wrote:My daughter took my clogged vent and with some CLR and a toothbrush, gave me back a very new looking vent that I can't wait to try out tonight.

Well, she just ruined that mask for you. You'd be nuts to ever use it again, and take a chance on breathing in all the poisons and carcinogens in CLR.

It's your life, BUT, you'd do well to throw it in the trash and buy a new one, than to end up at the Emergency room with nasal passages and throat chemical burns.

oy vey.

jnk... wrote:

palerider wrote:dish soap and a toothbrush seems to be great

Thanks for that. I'll try it. In fact, if you don't mind, could you make some noise to distract my wife so I can go use her toothbrush instead of mine?

Absolutely! Not having a wife, I just keep an old one around for non-tooth cleaning purposes

Wife? Or toothbrush?

What is the reason for rotating masks? I keep three on hand; the one I'm currently using, an "old" one for "parts" and an unopened one. Of course if I've met my max out of pocket for insurance late in the year, I stockpile.

Intuitively, it seems like a product like this would either wear out from the wear and tear of use or dry up and crack. Rotating would seem to postpone the wear and tear by spreading it; three masks last three times as long, but that's a zero sum game. Drying up or age related deterioration would seem more likely by rotating masks,

What am I missing?

Bubba in NC wrote:What is the reason for rotating masks? I keep three on hand; the one I'm currently using, an "old" one for "parts" and an unopened one. Of course if I've met my max out of pocket for insurance late in the year, I stockpile.

Intuitively, it seems like a product like this would either wear out from the wear and tear of use or dry up and crack. Rotating would seem to postpone the wear and tear by spreading it; three masks last three times as long, but that's a zero sum game. Drying up or age related deterioration would seem more likely by rotating masks,

What am I missing?

Silicone doesn't 'dry out', in any reasonable time (years).

The silicone cushions last far longer than the minimum replacement times that insurance allows.

I've gotten years of use from the cushions I've used.

palerider wrote:Silicone doesn't 'dry out', in any reasonable time (years).

The silicone cushions last far longer than the minimum replacement times that insurance allows.

I've gotten years of use from the cushions I've used.

+1

I only replaced my first P10 because my senior cat used the short hose as a chew toy and I was tired of hearing air whistle around the duct tape I'd used to repair it. In the 3.5 years I've used cpap, I've only had 2 masks and I think 4 cushions, the majority of which were damaged by my furry companions rather than "worn out." I wash the cushion once a week or so (my face isn't very oily) and scrub the vents on the mask frame once a month or so, when I replace the air filter in the machine. I don't have frequent respiratory issues, in fact I rarely have a short-lived cold more than twice a year. Frequent washing will fatigue any wear part.