Airfit P10 mold in vent, does it mean mold in the cpap?

Tonythetigger · Post by **Tonythetigger** » Sun Nov 20, 2022 1:20 am

So awhile ago I traveled with my CPAP and to bring everything on the plane, I packed it in zip lock bags. When I came back and was using my cpap, I noticed that there was mold on the vents of my airfit p10. I had been using them for about a year or so and I haven't had any issues until this point.

I switched out the masks, tube, and humidifer, and began using a new mask. I noticed after a month however there is now mold on the vent of the new mask. Is this just a general issue with the vents or could it be that there's actual mold somehow in the machine body that's being transferred to every mask I use? Is there any way to clean it or do I just need to wash my mask vents more regularly.

I also noticed that after cleaning, there's some black spots left over that don't look like mold. I remember reading somewhere that as the mask wears down the black base can show up but is this true or are those just mold spots I failed to clean?

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks for the help!

palerider · Post by **palerider** » Sun Nov 20, 2022 2:16 am

Tonythetigger wrote: ↑
Sun Nov 20, 2022 1:20 am
So awhile ago I traveled with my CPAP and to bring everything on the plane, I packed it in zip lock bags. When I came back and was using my cpap, I noticed that there was mold on the vents of my airfit p10. I had been using them for about a year or so and I haven't had any issues until this point.

I switched out the masks, tube, and humidifer, and began using a new mask. I noticed after a month however there is now mold on the vent of the new mask. Is this just a general issue with the vents or could it be that there's actual mold somehow in the machine body that's being transferred to every mask I use? Is there any way to clean it or do I just need to wash my mask vents more regularly.

I also noticed that after cleaning, there's some black spots left over that don't look like mold. I remember reading somewhere that as the mask wears down the black base can show up but is this true or are those just mold spots I failed to clean?

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks for the help!

Just because it's black, or dark, doesn't mean it's mold.

The stuff that comes out of your lungs will darken all the diffusers on masks, that's why you're supposed to clean the P10 with a toothbrush and dish soap on a regular basis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MylY6a6KXMY

One forum member takes hers into the shower and uses a portable waterpic on it ... (you can do it in your sink, but water's likely to go *everywhere*.)

RNeil · Post by **RNeil** » Sun Nov 20, 2022 7:57 am

If the mask is damp and you put it in a zip lock bag, you could get mold. If you don't dump the water when you turn off the machine you could get heavy condensation, which could lead to mold. Resmed mitigates this with a cool down cycle.

chunkyfrog · Post by **chunkyfrog** » Sun Nov 20, 2022 1:16 pm

I use a mask without cleaning for 3 months, then swap out to a clean one.
If a waterpic misses a spot, a denture tablet will get the rest.
A dip in "cheap" vodka keeps the spores away until this one has its turn.

Tonythetigger · Post by **Tonythetigger** » Sun Nov 20, 2022 7:44 pm

palerider wrote: ↑
Sun Nov 20, 2022 2:16 am

Tonythetigger wrote: ↑
Sun Nov 20, 2022 1:20 am
So awhile ago I traveled with my CPAP and to bring everything on the plane, I packed it in zip lock bags. When I came back and was using my cpap, I noticed that there was mold on the vents of my airfit p10. I had been using them for about a year or so and I haven't had any issues until this point.

I switched out the masks, tube, and humidifer, and began using a new mask. I noticed after a month however there is now mold on the vent of the new mask. Is this just a general issue with the vents or could it be that there's actual mold somehow in the machine body that's being transferred to every mask I use? Is there any way to clean it or do I just need to wash my mask vents more regularly.

I also noticed that after cleaning, there's some black spots left over that don't look like mold. I remember reading somewhere that as the mask wears down the black base can show up but is this true or are those just mold spots I failed to clean?

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks for the help!
Just because it's black, or dark, doesn't mean it's mold.

The stuff that comes out of your lungs will darken all the diffusers on masks, that's why you're supposed to clean the P10 with a toothbrush and dish soap on a regular basis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MylY6a6KXMY

One forum member takes hers into the shower and uses a portable waterpic on it ... (you can do it in your sink, but water's likely to go *everywhere*.)

Do you mean that I'm naturally breathing out stuff that could darken a mask? What would that be?

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Sun Nov 20, 2022 9:22 pm

Tonythetigger wrote: ↑
Sun Nov 20, 2022 7:44 pm
Do you mean that I'm naturally breathing out stuff that could darken a mask? What would that be?

All masks have an "intentional leak".
Much of the air blowing out of the mask at night is not necessarily coming out of your lungs:
The xPAP machines take in filtered air and blow it, under pressure.
You breathe some of it in, you then breathe some of it out.
The air you breathe out, and the air the machines "send out into the world" on their own passes through the mask - and some of the particles in it get trapped in the P10's vent.

When using xPAP, you're breathing in filtered air and as a matter of fact, many people on xPAP find out that breathing filtered xPAP air is very good for their allergies.

Assuming you take care of your filters regularly, the air you're breathing in and out when on xPAP is probably cleaner than the air you breath in and out without it. Normally, you have nothing like the P10 vent sieving that air, so you don't see the particles in it.

Ever had to blow your nose after sitting at a campfire?

The above is true of any machine - and I have no idea at all whether you do or don't have mold in your system.

palerider · Post by **palerider** » Sun Nov 20, 2022 10:44 pm

Tonythetigger wrote: ↑
Sun Nov 20, 2022 7:44 pm
Do you mean that I'm naturally breathing out stuff that could darken a mask? What would that be?

It *could* be a lot of things, bacteria, sputum, viruses.

Without culturing what's on your mask, there's no way to know, but yes, that's what I mean.

In addition, the air that you're getting from your CPAP isn't pure, it's got a lot of what's in your room, and that darkens filters, and mask diffusers.

palerider · Post by **palerider** » Sun Nov 20, 2022 10:51 pm

ozij wrote: ↑
Sun Nov 20, 2022 9:22 pm
When using xPAP, you're breathing in filtered air and as a matter of fact, many people on xPAP find out that breathing filtered xPAP air is very good for their allergies.

Additionally, the filters on CPAPs let a lot through, the main filter is mainly to cut down on dust buildup in side the machine so that your CPAP doesn't end up looking like a computer on the inside:

Even with a hypo allergenic filter on the machine, it still passes a lot of crud, I also use a AB filter to filter out even more allergens, and over time those end up getting quite dark (something that someone might freak out and say "EWWW, MOLD", but it's not.

ozij wrote: ↑
Sun Nov 20, 2022 9:22 pm
Assuming you take care of your filters regularly, the air you're breathing in and out when on xPAP is probably cleaner than the air you breath in and out without it. Normally, you have nothing like the P10 vent sieving that air, so you don't see the particles in it.

If you want to be technical about it, a filter that hasn't been changed, and is more clogged, will actually filter out finer particles than a brand new one. Filters don't get changed because they aren't filtering anymore, they get changed because they're not passing enough air anymore.

In [some] commercial systems, the 'change filter' indicator is triggered when the current draw on the blowers DROPS because they're starting to pull a partial vacuum, and thus not 'biting into' the air as much. Weird, but true.

chunkyfrog · Post by **chunkyfrog** » Sun Nov 20, 2022 11:15 pm

Smoke blackens things because it is full of elemental carbon.
That stuff is BLACK!
Carbon is in a lot of things--not just smoke.
I had a hose that had a weird black mark inside, that could not be removed.
I tried, gave up, and threw it out. (I already had a spare)

tyrinryan · Post by **tyrinryan** » Mon Nov 21, 2022 1:37 pm

palerider: in the past, when all the resperonics problems started, I have rigged up a standard filter, then a "hepa" labelled" filter (pre CPAP) and then an AB filter after the CPAP; It seemed to take about a month before any grey coloring of consequence showed up on the AB filter. (I didn't change the AB filter for 3 months.) What is/was your experience? I guessed that the grey colored material came from the CPAP---possibly oil or carbon from the blower. Do you have any thoughts on this?

loggerhead12 · Post by **loggerhead12** » Mon Nov 21, 2022 6:31 pm

Tonythetigger wrote: ↑
Sun Nov 20, 2022 7:44 pm
Do you mean that I'm naturally breathing out stuff that could darken a mask? What would that be?

And that's only after a year and a half of use!

billbolton · Post by **billbolton** » Mon Nov 21, 2022 9:05 pm

The "black" that slowly builds up on mask exhaust filters is just the fine particulate matter that is in all ambient air. It is not visible under normal circumstances until quite a lot of it has accumulated in one spot.

The short-term standard for PM2.5 (24-hour or daily average) is 35 micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m3)

Airfit P10 mold in vent, does it mean mold in the cpap?

Airfit P10 mold in vent, does it mean mold in the cpap?

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Re: Airfit P10 mold in vent, does it mean mold in the cpap?

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Re: Airfit P10 mold in vent, does it mean mold in the cpap?

Re: Airfit P10 mold in vent, does it mean mold in the cpap?

Re: Airfit P10 mold in vent, does it mean mold in the cpap?

Re: Airfit P10 mold in vent, does it mean mold in the cpap?

Re: Airfit P10 mold in vent, does it mean mold in the cpap?

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