Can't control rain out and blocked nose

I'm having nightly problems with rain out and/or nasal congestion blockages. I'm not having nasal blockages during the daytime.

I read Pugsy's suggestions and had some luck for a few weeks by increasing tube heat and room temperature a bit, but now I'm having nightly trouble again despite increasing temps again. My room temperature is at 70-71 degrees and have my ClimateLineAir tube set to 85 degrees. I'm keeping my humidity constant at 4 which has been good for me for about 3 years.

I'd appreciate any suggestions. I live in Southern California.

Is the condensation mainly just in the nasal pillow....assuming you are using the mask shown in your profile?
Or is it also happening in the long hose?
Getting a cold shower out the vent holes?

If not using the mask in your profile...which mask?

If your mask has a short hose from the heated hose to the mask....have you tried putting a cozy of some sort on the short hose?
If not...try it...use an old sock with the toe cut out and slid over the short hose and anchored with tape or rubber band or some sort of wire tie (like we might use on trash bags).
If it's mainly in the pillow itself...have you tried one of Padacheek's barrel cozies?

I'm noticing a lot of wetness in the nasal pillow, yes the one in my profile. I don't know if it's in the heated hose. My mask has about 16" hose.

Would a barrel cozy help with condensation in the pillows? Thank you.

Guess what? When I bought cheek liners I apparently also bought a barrel cozy to keep on hand just in case someday. Totally didn't remember that I'd done that until I tried to look up their website on their card just now. I'll give it a try tonight! Thanks for the reminder!

Add the barrel cozy...it may just add enough insulation to keep the air in the pillow from condensing.
It's probably mainly the moisture in your exhaled breath in the pillow that is tipping the scales and with the short unheated hose the air can't stay warm enough to retain the moisture.
If that doesn't help enough...add a sock over that short hose.

I am sort of in the same boat...getting some moisture in the pillows of a new mask I am trying and it has a short hose but no cozy available for it. It's not a lot...just a little snorting of a few drops of water. Going to do the sock thing tonight and see if that helps enough or not.

The whole idea is to keep that warm air coming from the heated hose to not cool off so much in that short hose and pillows to the point it can't hold onto the moisture. Warm air will retain more moisture than cold air.

I'm also noticing that my mask hose is not becoming dry inside from air-drying it after washing it in the morning. There's still a lot of water droplets in it even now at bedtime. I'm certain that must be contributing to this, but I'm not having luck blowing or shaking the droplets out.

Good luck with yours!

There no urgent need to wash the hose daily...but that's your choice.
Once much moisture gets in any hose it can take forever to dry out unless we add some heat and moving air.

Hubby just found an old sock of his with a hole in the toe already. So I have it taped on for right now. I probably need to cut off some length but for right now just bound up the excess since it was a last minute fix.
Tomorrow I will see if I have a similar sock of mine but it will be a lot smaller than his and less bulk to tighten up.
He has huge feet and wears big tube socks...I have tiny feet and use much smaller socks.

Have you placed the machine a bit lower than your bed - water will run back to it, rather than to your nose.

I have had issues from long time with sinus blockage. Each morning I wake up with the two entries blocked. I don't have sensitivities. I was determined to have apnea and have begun utilizing a rest veil from ResMed. It has a gigantic effect. You have the alternative of utilizing a dampness tank with it and that levels more.

Another less expensive item is to utilize a Neti pot before going to bed and after that again toward the beginning of the day. It fundamentally washes your sinuses with a saline arrangement.

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 02, 2019 11:02 pm

There no urgent need to wash the hose daily...but that's your choice.
Once much moisture gets in any hose it can take forever to dry out unless we add some heat and moving air.

The barrel cozy seems to have done the trick. At least it worked last night. As for washing the hose attached to the mask, every two days I wash everything except the ClimateLineAir hose in mild detergent. Daily for pillows, and once a week for all parts including the heated hose, with mild detergent and vinegar soak. I do feel like a slave to my CPAP though.

As for congestion, it's a particular type of congestion that only occurs when something's off with condensation.
@Mindrasect: I just want to mention that it is never advisable to lie down soon after using a neti pot. Water pools deep in sinuses and can cause infection. That water needs to be expelled and being vertical is necessary.
@Julie: I cannot place my CPAP lower.

The placement of the machine lower to help with rain out is really old news and was useful years ago when things were different with both masks and how the hoses attached to the machines but pretty much useless now.
It really only helps if the water can drown down into the humidifier and not pool anywhere but with the way masks have areas that can pool and people using hose management that routes the hose upwards (water can't go uphill no matter how low the machine is) as well as the way some hoses connect to the humidifier...doesn't really help all that much and I don't even bother mentioning it anymore.
10 years ago...yeah but not much help today.

A while back I accidentally went down in hose air temp instead of upwards. I got some MAJOR condensation in the mask and the long hose.
So bad it woke hubby up.
I got up and held the hose totally vertical in an effort to get the water to drain out of the hose and it still wasn't enough to stop the racket. Wouldn't have made a difference if I had placed the machine 12 feet under the bed...that water still wouldn't drain out well enough to shut the noise off.

I think it's just better to prevent it from happening in the first place since gravity can't really do much with the way masks and connections are.
If you look at the holes in the mask and how the hose is routed....the water has to have a clear shot totally downhill with no uphill trek to have any chance of gravity helping much....and if totally vertical hose with the AirSense 10 connection can't get the job done...can't do much more than that. Nasal pillows...the water will pool in those pillow rims and never be able to make it up to the hole in the mask/hose connection. Just can't be done unless someone lays totally with face completely down and even then a maybe.

Best to just prevent it from happening in the first place and not worry about gravity maybe helping because most of the time it can't help much.

Glad to hear the barrel cozy helped.

I had some luck with hubby's sock but the bulk was annoying and the vent kept hitting the sock and causing noise...so that was annoying.
The plan today is find a less annoying short hose cozy of some sort. Shorter sock...thinner sock...and attach it a little further down the hose away from the vent so that I don't get bounce back noise.
The mask is silent unless the vented air is bouncing off something.

brightcrow wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 03, 2019 10:30 am

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 02, 2019 11:02 pm

There no urgent need to wash the hose daily...but that's your choice.
Once much moisture gets in any hose it can take forever to dry out unless we add some heat and moving air.

The barrel cozy seems to have done the trick. At least it worked last night. As for washing the hose attached to the mask, every two days I wash everything except the ClimateLineAir hose in mild detergent. Daily for pillows, and once a week for all parts including the heated hose, with mild detergent and vinegar soak. I do feel like a slave to my CPAP though.

As for congestion, it's a particular type of congestion that only occurs when something's off with condensation.
@Mindrasect: I just want to mention that it is never advisable to lie down soon after using a neti pot. Water pools deep in sinuses and can cause infection. That water needs to be expelled and being vertical is necessary.
@Julie: I cannot place my CPAP lower.

Disconnecting your mask from the hose that often will cause premature stretching of the host connector, leading to replacing the hose. The hose can last years otherwise.

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 03, 2019 10:45 am

Glad to hear the barrel cozy helped.

I had some luck with hubby's sock but the bulk was annoying and the vent kept hitting the sock and causing noise...so that was annoying.
The plan today is find a less annoying short hose cozy of some sort. Shorter sock...thinner sock...and attach it a little further down the hose away from the vent so that I don't get bounce back noise.
The mask is silent unless the vented air is bouncing off something.

pad-a-cheek have short hose covers too.

prodigyplace wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 03, 2019 10:59 am

pad-a-cheek have short hose covers too.

I know...but that doesn't help me right now. She can't hand deliver one to me for me to use it last night and tonight.
Not to mention the short hose I am wanting to cover is quite a bit shorter than her short hose cozies and the extra bulk will likely be a problem.
She makes really nice hose cozies...and I have a couple of the longer ones. Just never needed a short one until now.

Edit...I do see she has an 8 inch cozy...that's almost short enough (6 inches would be more ideal) but I would have to move it down a bit because of the vent blow back...or either diffuse the venting first. The venting is very silent unless it bounces off something and I am used to silent venting...

A diffuser plan is in the works also...so for now I would just rather do a DIY project to save money and time and get immediate relief.

Remains to be seen just how badly or how often I need to add a hose cozy...and I am a tight wad until the need is proven and consistent and then I don't mind paying.
Not to mention I really, really want to keep the added weight of any cozy to an absolute minimum. You will understand later.