CPAPtalk.com

Tools:
-A sink
-Warm water
-A couple of drops of Dawn dish soap (it just smells the best while cleaning your dried up drool and rainout off of everything)
-A half a capful of your favorite disinfectant . Do not go crazy with this because the smell could be overpowering and knock you out for the night.

Now, go send your Ozone sanitizer back for a refund because Ozone is a dangerous gas, so dangerous that even the FDA has setup warnings about it:
“Exposure to high levels of ozone gas may worsen a patient's' existing chronic respiratory diseases or increase the chance of a respiratory infection." -FDA

Ps.
Your machine itself never ever has to be "cleaned" internally and if you don't believe me, read the manufacturer's manual that came with your machine. The reason for this is that with the fine filter on its suction side, nothing can get into the machine to make it dirty and even if some outside pollutant somehow gets passed the filter, it gets blown out of the machine, right into your lungs, so no worries about "sanitizing" the inside of your machine, like many of these "Ozone" cleaners have you believe.

GearChange wrote: ↑

Sun May 08, 2022 9:01 pm

The reason for this is that with the fine filter on its suction side, nothing can get into the machine to make it dirty

Hmmm...

So curious as to why are you're bothering with the hose washing???

Masks, I understand, ... drool

Rainout in the hose. Occasionally I set the humidifier too high and condensation forms inside the tube. Its not unhygienic but I'd rather give it a rinse.

GearChange wrote: ↑

Sun May 08, 2022 9:30 pm

Rainout in the hose. Occasionally I set the humidifier too high and condensation forms inside the tube. Its not unhygienic but I'd rather give it a rinse.

So you're going to rinse (with tap water) away the pure water vapor (first step in the distillation process)?

The condensation is cleaner than what you're rinsing it with.

Fine. Don't clean your hose:-)

So the 'expert' recommendation is to not follow the manufacturers recommendations?

It takes little time and effort to clean the hose while doing the mask and it will remove oil, salts, and other obnoxious smudge on the exterior of the hose from handling. Cleaning/washing daily or weekly is a bit much, other than a wipe down of the mask with a baby wipe. Once a month wash with Dawn dish liquid of the mask and hose is easy, but each to to his own I suppose.

Excerpts from respective user manuals....

Resmed AirSense 10...
"Cleaning
You should clean the device weekly as described. Refer to the mask user guide for detailed
instructions on cleaning your mask.
1. Wash the water tub and air tubing in warm water using only mild detergent. Do not wash in a
dishwasher or washing machine.
2. Rinse the water tub and air tubing thoroughly and allow to dry out of direct sunlight and/or heat.
3. Wipe the exterior of the device with a dry cloth."

Resperonics Dream Station......
"Cleaning the Tubing
Hand wash the tubing and the mask adapter (if included) before first use and daily.
For daily cleaning, disconnect the tubing from the device and the mask, and, if included, disconnect the mask
adapter from the tubing. For the 12, 15, or 22 mm flexible tubing, gently wash the tubing and mask adapter in a
solution of warm water and a liquid dish soap. Rinse thoroughly. Air dry. Inspect the tubing and mask adapter for
damage or wear. Discard and replace if necessary.
Note: Refer to the humidifier manual for the instructions on how to clean the heated tube.
Caution: Do not clean the tubing and mask adapter with bleach, alcohol, solutions containing bleach or alcohol, or
solutions containing conditioners or moisturizers.
Caution: Any deviation from these instructions may impact the performance of the product."

Resperonics Dream Station Heated Humidifier Manual.....
"Home Cleaning Instructions: Heated Tubing
Clean the heated tubing before first use and weekly.
1. Disconnect the heated tubing from the heated humidifier.
2. Gently wash the heated tubing, including connectors, in a solution of warm water and a mild dish washing detergent
to adequately remove adhering substances from the tube and connectors.
3. Rinse thoroughly to remove all soap residue from the tube and connectors with water and allow to air dry. Make
sure the tube and connectors are dry before next use.
4. Inspect the heated tubing for damage or wear (cracking, crazing, tears, punctures, etc.). Discard and replace if necessary."

Another Ridiculous Cleaning Thread

So the 'expert' recommendation is to not follow the manufacturers recommendations?

Well......the manufacturers also tell us to change nasal pillows or cushions twice a month and full face masks once a month
and hoses every 3 months...yada yada yada Is all that something everyone should do as well????
Most people find that frequency simply isn't needed.
So we should take the manufacturers' word as the gospel for everything???

each to to his own I suppose.

Exactly.

My equipment. My body. My therapy. My money. I get to choose to do or not do whatever I want.
The "don't do much" has worked for me for coming up 13 years in 2 weeks. I am still alive and kicking and what health problems I might have aren't from my "don't do much" attitude towards my cpap cleaning or not cleaning schedule.

You get to roll your eyes at my "don't do much" cleaning schedule and I get to roll my eyes at your "follow the manufacturers' recommendation to a tee" schedule. Each to their own.

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Mon May 09, 2022 7:53 am

Another Ridiculous Cleaning Thread

Yep. Wish I had a dime for every one I have seen in the past 13 years. I could pay cash for a new truck.
Everyone always thinks the way they do anything is the way the rest of the world should also do it because they do the "right" thing. And those of us who choose a different way must be intellectually compromised or something. They look down their noses at those of us who choose some other way.
When they come to my house and clean my house and they put money in my bank account....maybe then will I let them dictate how I do anything. Until then I get to make my own choices in my own house.

Hell....I don't look down my nose at them just because they don't agree with me. I really don't give a rats ass what anyone else does or thinks they should do about anything. I do admit to a bit of eyeball rolling though.

Whatever floats their boat....that's fine by me. Just don't try to force me in their boat because I don't want to go where they are going.

How come it seems like it's always newbies who want to tell the rest of the world how they should do things???

The ResMed cleaning instructions for the F30 Airfit Cushion (silicone) states it requires cleaning in warm water with mild detergent daily.

The ResMed cleaning instructions for the F30 Airtouch Cushion (foam) states it must *NOT* be cleaned with water and and mild detergent, instead wipe with a CPAP wipe or equivalent

It's obvious that water reacts with the foam causing it to degrade and lose its shape, and that's why the Airtouch shouldn't be washed daily.

But this begs the question, if the foam doesn't require daily cleaning with soap and water, then why does the silicone? This is especially odd, given that foam and it's porous quality is not as dirt, oil and pathogen resistant as silicone.

To all the tar-n-feather know-it-all contributors;
You're missing the point. If you use Ozone cleaners, you not only run the risk of denting your own health, you will also definitely damage the foam inside your machine, a material that almost all PAP machine manufacturers use. Ozone helps disintegrate foam molecules which in turn can end up in your lungs.
So whether you like it or not soap-n-water is the only "healthy" way to clean your gear.
As to why this issue comes up every now and then, that too is pretty simple and its only because "NEW" CPAP users keep coming online, so this is not for the "experts".
Enjoy your day.

I wouldn't have one of those ozone "cleaners" in my house much less use it.

BUT...to the OP you might want to alter your subject line a bit because technically "sanitize" doesn't equal " cleaning".
Something could be sanitized but not necessarily clean.
Maybe edit subject line to add "clean"....just a thought.
Like sanitize/clean to cover all bases.

GearChange wrote: ↑

Mon May 09, 2022 9:27 am

To all the tar-n-feather know-it-all contributors;
You're missing the point. If you use Ozone cleaners, you not only run the risk of denting your own health, you will also definitely damage the foam inside your machine, a material that almost all PAP machine manufacturers use. Ozone helps disintegrate foam molecules which in turn can end up in your lungs.

I don't think anybody missed your point. Nobody disputed your claims about ozone.

This forum is probably the most SoClean/Ozone unfriendly CPAP resources I'm aware of.

GearChange wrote: ↑

Mon May 09, 2022 9:27 am

To all the tar-n-feather know-it-all contributors;
You're missing the point.

Who missed the point? You are the one who declared you had developed "the only (HEALTHY) way to sanitize your PAP gear" and led off with a full paragraph of instructions. That's quite know-it-all.

To all the tar-n-feather know-it-all contributors

Considering this thread is titled "The only (healthy) way to sanitize your Pap gear", I've got to say the main "know-it-all contributor" would be the one who created the thread, don't you think ?

Personally I've seen many great recommendations from many different people about how they clean their machines. I personally use alcohol wipes but to each his own. ymmv.