Best Cleaning Procedure

prodigyplace wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 04, 2019 2:56 pm

Actually, that's what my Lin(don't)care DME expert told me to do. ( the bathroom shower rod, not the toilet)

Well....the bathroom (and we assume that's where the shower is but it isn't always the case) is considered the nastiest room in the house...yet we brush our teeth in there and spend lots of quality time doing other stuff in it....and we are still alive and kicking. So I don't have many qualms about hanging something in the bathroom but I did get a bit upset the other day when the damn cat knocked my new package of make up brushes right into the middle of the toilet while it was still flushing.....ewwwwww.

I hang my hose over the towel rack in the bathroom. The toilet is off in its own little closet room away from the tub, shower and sinks.

It was kind of weird getting used to it at first but now I really like the way its set up.

Wulfman... wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 04, 2019 2:34 pm

It's amazing how many people hang their stuff up in the bathroom to dry. You might just as well swirl your equipment around in the toilet and call it "clean".

Just don't take it to dry in:

The kitchen
The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) found that areas where food is stored or prepared had more bacteria and fecal contamination than other places in the home. More than 75 percent of dish sponges and rags had Salmonella, E. coli, and fecal matter compared to the 9 percent on bathroom faucet handles.
https://www.healthline.com/health/germy-places#kitchen

There are NO dish rags or dish sponges in my house! I started using paper towels many years ago.

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 04, 2019 3:14 pm

Wulfman... wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 04, 2019 2:34 pm

It's amazing how many people hang their stuff up in the bathroom to dry. You might just as well swirl your equipment around in the toilet and call it "clean".

Just don't take it to dry in:

The kitchen
The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) found that areas where food is stored or prepared had more bacteria and fecal contamination than other places in the home. More than 75 percent of dish sponges and rags had Salmonella, E. coli, and fecal matter compared to the 9 percent on bathroom faucet handles.
https://www.healthline.com/health/germy-places#kitchen

There are NO dish rags or dish sponges in my house! I started using paper towels many years ago.

Yeah, I was aware of that about the kitchens, too. Kind of scary how contaminated our dwellings are.


Den

.

Why not do it in the evening before bedtime (if you really feel you must)? That way you wouldn't have to try to dry it and any residual moisture in the hose would be added to what is going to be coming from the humidifier anyway.

I have more energy in the morning. When I come home from working all day, I have enough to do.

"DRYING" this stuff.........hose, HH tank, etc..........makes absolutely NO sense whatsoever. You're using unfiltered room air to dry something that has just been "cleaned" and therefore you're making it "dirty" again. SHEESH!
The Hurricane dryer has filters on the air intakes, so it's not making it dirty again.

prodigyplace wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 04, 2019 2:56 pm

Wulfman... wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 04, 2019 2:34 pm

It's amazing how many people hang their stuff up in the bathroom to dry. You might just as well swirl your equipment around in the toilet and call it "clean".


Den

.

Actually, that's what my Lin(don't)care DME expert told me to do. ( the bathroom shower rod, not the toilet)

More evidence that everything a dme tells anybody should be viewed with suspicion.

I'm someone who tends to clean more frequently. More than necessary, definitely, but it's my personal preference... For now. I reserve the right to get more lazy the longer I use CPAP.

80-90% of mornings I wipe down my pillows and the part of my mask that directly touches my face with a wipe and then dump out whatever bit of distilled water is left in my humidifier tank and let it air dry for the day.

Every two weeks or so I wash my mask, hoses, and tank (sans the cloth portion of the headgear) with free and clear mild soap and vinegar. The cloth part of my headgear and pillow cozy get washed probably every 2-3 months. I've yet to wash my hose covers... Probably should sometime soon ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I have them dry in my bedroom, not the bathroom, and push the last bit of water out of the hoses by hooking it up to the CPAP without the humidifier attached and just let the air blow out the remaining droplets. I change out the filter as needed but it's not on a consistent interval (for example when the air quality here in the Bay Area was atrocious during the wild fires I changed it more frequently).

My pillows usually last around 3 months and masks about 6-8+ months. I could probably get more use out of my masks but I think the part that needs replacing most is the cloth part cause it gets stretched out but I'm not cleaning that part that frequently (I don't think) to begin with so I'm not sure. I have yet to replace either the long or short hoses or humidifier but I do alternate between the regular Slimline or Climateline hoses in warm or cold seasons respectively. I'll probably change out my short hose in the next few months cause I feel like it's getting stretched out. It's definitely longer than it used to be. But it still functions perfectly fine so we'll see. I could probably get more mileage out of my pillows and masks if I cleaned least frequently but from what I've read here I don't think I'm doing too shabby in how long they're lasting (veteran CPAP users - please tell me if I'm sorely mistaken).

Berks wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:00 pm

My pillows usually last around 3 months and masks about 6-8+ months. I could probably get more I could probably get more mileage out of my pillows and masks if I cleaned least frequently but from what I've read here I don't think I'm doing too shabby in how long they're lasting (veteran CPAP users - please tell me if I'm sorely mistaken).

you do you and i don't mean that in any sarcastic sense or snide sense. you mentioned(and i forgot to quote) something along the lines of maybe not cleaning so much once you get more used to it or something like that.

all i know is that i have been on one pair of p 10 pillows for over 2 years. i wipe them off every morning with unscented baby wipes. i clean them by hand in dawn dish washing whenever i happen to think about it. surely a month or two goes by in between washing.

i believe my pillows have lasted as long as they have because i don't scrub them on any particular schedule.

but then, i'm a lazy sod.....

zonker wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:09 pm

you do you and i don't mean that in any sarcastic sense or snide sense. you mentioned(and i forgot to quote) something along the lines of maybe not cleaning so much once you get more used to it or something like that.

all i know is that i have been on one pair of p 10 pillows for over 2 years. i wipe them off every morning with unscented baby wipes. i clean them by hand in dawn dish washing whenever i happen to think about it. surely a month or two goes by in between washing.

i believe my pillows have lasted as long as they have because i don't scrub them on any particular schedule.

but then, i'm a lazy sod.....

Wow same pillows for 2 years?? Ok I clearly still have a lot to learn. In other threads I've read I've seen frequencies matching my own.

So when I've replaced my mask it's mostly cause the headgear gets so stretched out it leads to more leaks. But I'm not really washing the headgear frequently - so what else can I do about that?

zonker wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:09 pm

i believe my pillows have lasted as long as they have because i don't scrub them on any particular schedule.

I've had several people (who clean stuff every day) say that the P10 pillows 'quit working' after a week or two... and then I'd show them the Resmed P10 video (that someone was bitching about the other day) where it says "if the inner cones get inverted, pop them back out" and every one of those people came back with "WOW! IT'S FIXED! THANKS!"

interesting, I thought.

Berks wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:31 pm

zonker wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:09 pm

all i know is that i have been on one pair of p 10 pillows for over 2 years.

Wow same pillows for 2 years?? Ok I clearly still have a lot to learn. In other threads I've read I've seen frequencies matching my own.

I got a year and a half or two on my first set of p10 pillows. Every few months, I'd swap in a new spare pillow... and check my data, leaks were the same as the night before, so I'd go back to the old pillow, just to see how long it'd last. I regret buying so many spares, because people were talking about how "delicate" they are... (what are they cleaning 'em with, an angle grinder???)

Berks wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:31 pm

So when I've replaced my mask it's mostly cause the headgear gets so stretched out it leads to more leaks. But I'm not really washing the headgear frequently - so what else can I do about that?

There's no reason to replace your *mask* because the headgear is stretched, just replace the *headgear*.

Headgear, especially the P10, needs to be washed regularly, it shrinks it and makes it last longer. I just throw mine in the wash with the other clothes.

Not having any velcro on it is a plus at that point. for regular headgear in the washer, a lingerie bag is often suggested, plus, leave the velcro stuck where it should go.

I feel silly having replaced a whole mask cause the headgear was stretched. Hmm - can I put headgear (that has Velcro) in the dryer or does it need to air dry?

When I've replaced my pillows it's never been for leaks or malfunction or poor therapy. It's been cause they start to feel different (the part that sticks inside my nose specifically) - kinda floppier for lack of a better description - and it bugs me. I assumed that was more from use than from cleaning... You all think it's from cleaning though...?

Berks wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 04, 2019 11:11 pm

I feel silly having replaced a whole mask cause the headgear was stretched. Hmm - can I put headgear (that has Velcro) in the dryer or does it need to air dry?

I'd go with the delicate setting, or experiment with a spare headgear...

Berks wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 04, 2019 11:11 pm

When I've replaced my pillows it's never been for leaks or malfunction or poor therapy. It's been cause they start to feel different (the part that sticks inside my nose specifically) - kinda floppier for lack of a better description - and it bugs me. I assumed that was more from use than from cleaning... You all think it's from cleaning though...?

I usually just wipe my nasal pillows with a bit of purell and a tissue, not because of germs, but because it does an excellent job of removing any facial oils. I'll wash 'em now and then, and give the diffuser on the p10 a scrubbing.

When I had a FFM, I'd do the same thing, nightly, and wash it weekly, just a quick rub with a bit of unscented dishwashing liquid. I bought a spare cushion right away, cuz I'd read about how 'fragile' and 'delicate' they were, and how they'd tear... 5 years later, I hadn't opened the spare cushion.... hehe.

Another trick you could try is boiling the cushions in baking soda water.

viewtopic/t74686/Boiling-Stuff-Part-2.html Supposed to make 'em clear and 'tacky' again.

Thanks for the tips!

I've been told boiling won't work / isn't a good idea on mine since they're the gel kind... Is that incorrect?

Berks wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 05, 2019 9:10 am

I've been told boiling won't work / isn't a good idea on mine since they're the gel kind... Is that incorrect?

I have done the boiling and baking soda trick with regular nasal pillows but I have never tried it with the gel pillows.
I have my own misgivings about the gel part holding up.
BUT.....if the gel pillows are destined for the trash can anyway...don't have anything to lose and worth an experiment.

A little hint from someone whose tap water is "hard"....don't use it for the boiling and don't use it for the final rinse.
The silicone was way too cloudy from minerals after it was all over. I was disappointed but then decided to try it using distilled water for the boiling part and the final rinse and the pillows came out sparkling clear and feeling great.
Now if your tap water isn't particularly mineral laden it probably won't matter but if it's like mine...the silicone might end up more cloudy.