Sterilising with UV sterilizer

elaineyh · Post by **elaineyh** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 1:46 am

Hi,

My husband is on cpap therapy. Well, I am the one who is cleaning the machine, mask, tube and etc. I am wondering:
1. How important is it to sterilise the mask and tube? How often?
2. Can I use the baby's UV milk bottle steriliser to sterilise the mask and tube? I do not want to have another machine cluttering my house

grayghost4 · Post by **grayghost4** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 8:08 am

I am very diligent with my mask cleaning .... I wash it in warm water at least every three months. I have never washed my hose.

Bookit · Post by **Bookit** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 8:12 am

I follow something similar to grayghost... Wash mask every few months. Never wash the hose.

I know that seems unsanitary, but rather common by users on this forum.

Dog Slobber · Post by **Dog Slobber** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 8:31 am

elaineyh wrote: ↑
Tue Apr 30, 2019 1:46 am

1. How important is it to sterilise the mask and tube? How often?

Resmed's user guide doesn't even mention sterilization, nor does it recommend any of the ozone disinfecting machines.

Don't waste your money.

2. Can I use the baby's UV milk bottle steriliser to sterilise the mask and tube? I do not want to have another machine cluttering my house

You don't need to, but if you're unsure, ask the baby.

zonker · Post by **zonker** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 10:55 am

elaineyh wrote: ↑
Tue Apr 30, 2019 1:46 am
Hi,

My husband is on cpap therapy. Well, I am the one who is cleaning the machine, mask, tube and etc. I am wondering:
1. How important is it to sterilise the mask and tube? How often?
2. Can I use the baby's UV milk bottle steriliser to sterilise the mask and tube? I do not want to have another machine cluttering my house

welcome to the forum! when your done cleaning your husband's rig, can you come clean mine? my wife won't touch it.

as you can see, we don't seem to lean towards fanatical cleaning here. i can't speak for others, but i'm just too darned lazy. as long as i keep it somewhat clean, i'm happy. if you are using UNSCENTED baby wipes with that baby, use that on your husband's mask. every morning upon wake up, just wipe it down.

i give my mask a good cleaning in dawn dish washing liquid whenever i think of it. which reminds me, i should prolly do that today!

if his machine has a humidifier, you'll want to clean that out when it starts to have some mineral buildup in it.using distilled water can help stave that off and make it longer between cleanings.

others will be along shortly to advise as this is sort of a low key, hot button topic here.

good luck!

chunkyfrog · Post by **chunkyfrog** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 11:17 am

FACT: Most environmental bacteria is HARMLESS.
FACT: Much of them even help keep your immunity active.
FACT: Soap and water gets 99.9% of microbes on what you clean.
FACT: Home sterilizers/sanitizers do little to nothing beyond ordinary cleaning.
FACT: Scare tactics and lies are used to sell these useless devices.
FACT: It is your money--also your phobia (don't let them give you a phobia)
FACT: If you have already drank the Kool-Aid, people will mock you.

zonker · Post by **zonker** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 11:20 am

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑
Tue Apr 30, 2019 11:17 am
FACT: Most environmental bacteria is HARMLESS.
FACT: Much of them even help keep your immunity active.
FACT: Soap and water gets 99.9% of microbes on what you clean.
FACT: Home sterilizers/sanitizers do little to nothing beyond ordinary cleaning.
FACT: Scare tactics and lies are used to sell these useless devices.
FACT: It is your money--also your phobia (don't let them give you a phobia)
FACT: If you have already drank the Kool-Aid, people will mock you.

well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

chunkyfrog · Post by **chunkyfrog** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 11:21 am

Of course, I'm right.
Especially about the mocking.

palerider · Post by **palerider** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 12:36 pm

elaineyh wrote: ↑
Tue Apr 30, 2019 1:46 am
Hi,

My husband is on cpap therapy. Well, I am the one who is cleaning the machine, mask, tube and etc. I am wondering:
1. How important is it to sterilise the mask and tube? How often?

It's absolutely *NOT* important to sterilize anything, ever.
Anybody that tells you that anything cpap related needs to be sterilized is trying to scare you into spending money.

Some papers to back up my remarks:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5611769/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3716664/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16236866

elaineyh wrote: ↑
Tue Apr 30, 2019 1:46 am
2. Can I use the baby's UV milk bottle steriliser to sterilise the mask and tube? I do not want to have another machine cluttering my house

You'd have to get something INSIDE the tube to sterilize it...
I've never even washed my new tube, and I've had it for about 5 years now.

palerider · Post by **palerider** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 12:38 pm

zonker wrote: ↑
Tue Apr 30, 2019 11:20 am
well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

I can also attest, having seen photographic evidence, that our favorite frog is *not* a man.

palerider · Post by **palerider** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 12:40 pm

palerider wrote: ↑
Tue Apr 30, 2019 12:36 pm

elaineyh wrote: ↑
Tue Apr 30, 2019 1:46 am
Hi,

My husband is on cpap therapy. Well, I am the one who is cleaning the machine, mask, tube and etc. I am wondering:
1. How important is it to sterilise the mask and tube? How often?
It's absolutely *NOT* important to sterilize anything, ever.
Anybody that tells you that anything cpap related needs to be sterilized is trying to scare you into spending money.

Some papers to back up my remarks:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5611769/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3716664/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16236866

elaineyh wrote: ↑
Tue Apr 30, 2019 1:46 am
2. Can I use the baby's UV milk bottle steriliser to sterilise the mask and tube? I do not want to have another machine cluttering my house
You'd have to get something INSIDE the tube to sterilize it...
I've never even washed my new tube, and I've had it for about 5 years now.
I wash my mask maybe once a week... but I *DO* wipe the cushion nightly (I use a squirt of purell and a kleenex) to remove facial oils, so the mask seals better. I don't use the purell because of germs or anything, just that the alcohol removes oils very easily.

zonker · Post by **zonker** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 1:40 pm

palerider wrote: ↑
Tue Apr 30, 2019 12:38 pm

zonker wrote: ↑
Tue Apr 30, 2019 11:20 am
well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
I can also attest, having seen photographic evidence, that our favorite frog is *not* a man.

working on a joke including "sexing" and "frog", but i just can't seem to get it to gel.

TropicalDiver · Post by **TropicalDiver** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 9:17 pm

There is cleaning and then there is sterilizing.

First, masks need a certain amount of cleaning to remove facial oil, snot, drool, etc. For me, that is a wipe each day with a goal of washing every few weeks (soap and water). (As I now use the airtouch F20, my regime is different).

Second, I avoid mold like the plague. For me, this means removing the humidifier each day, emptying any residual, and letting it air dry. I wash the hose and humidifier every few months (or three) and dry it out well.

Finally, are you dealing with any particular medical issues? Allergies to molds/mildew? Compromised immune system (certain meds or certain illnesses)? Pulmonary diseases? If any of those were the case, I might be more aggressive in the cleaning.

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