Cleaning the inside of a machine?

nelsonmay · Post by **nelsonmay** » Sat Dec 03, 2022 9:10 am

I don't think they want you to know this, but am trying to find out if you can sterilize the guts, or air generating portion of a CPAP.

I am a woodworker and use an old CPAP to blow air into a hood when I use my lathe. It keeps out fine dust. Anyway, it has been in a damp basement for years now. I want to use it again. I am afraid that there may be mold and spores in the machine. I can clean the hose, etc., but I am afraid there may be residual spores in the machine.

Is there anything I can blow through the machine to sterilize the tube and fan that blows the air?

Thanks.

jsmit86 · Post by **jsmit86** » Sat Dec 03, 2022 9:35 am

If I had a CPAP machine that had spent years blowing air in a wood shop, I’d buy a different machine to blow air into my lungs.

LSAT · Post by **LSAT** » Sat Dec 03, 2022 9:47 am

Door Stop or Boat Anchor

chunkyfrog · Post by **chunkyfrog** » Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:29 am

Why would anyone ruin a cpap this way when a better job could be done
by a used vacuum cleaner, or a computer fan--at a fraction of the cost.
EDIT: Oops! I misunderstood.

ChicagoGranny · Post by **ChicagoGranny** » Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:46 am

I'm sure the OP is putting us on.

ChicagoGranny · Post by **ChicagoGranny** » Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:52 am

On the other hand, from 2011:

justbreathe wrote: ↑
Mon Aug 08, 2011 7:34 am
Has anyone ever used an old brick CPAP rigged with a HEPA filter and an oxygen mask to supply clean air for woodworking.

I do some art work with my scrollsaw and use a dust mask but it fogs up my glasses and is hot. I am wondering if I got an old CPAP on craigslist to use in this way would be a solution. They make this type of helmet filter that runs on battery but being the jerry-rig kind of guy I bet this would work for less money.

Any ideas?

viewtopic.php?t=66930

chunkyfrog · Post by **chunkyfrog** » Sat Dec 03, 2022 4:40 pm

Ah, so the cpap was not used to move sawdust, but as an
independent air supply for the woodworker.
(Look up independent air supply devices.)
---And now you want to use it for its original purpose.
If it were me, I'd give it a shot, but if it smells moldy, toss it.

palerider · Post by **palerider** » Sat Dec 03, 2022 5:11 pm

nelsonmay wrote: ↑
Sat Dec 03, 2022 9:10 am
I am afraid that there may be mold and spores in the machine.

There's nothing in the machine for mold "and spores" to grow on.

But, sure, you can take machines apart, to some extent. Whether you can get it back together depends.

Since you didn't tell us anything *useful*, that's about the best anybody can offer.

I will say that if you WERE using it the way you claimed, then you've already been breathing whatever is in the machine.

Think about it.

Oh, and if it's just been sitting there, do you think mold has just been crawling in through the filter and setting up housekeeping inside the thing?

palerider · Post by **palerider** » Sat Dec 03, 2022 5:13 pm

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑
Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:52 am
On the other hand, from 2011:

justbreathe wrote: ↑
Mon Aug 08, 2011 7:34 am
Has anyone ever used an old brick CPAP rigged with a HEPA filter and an oxygen mask to supply clean air for woodworking.

I do some art work with my scrollsaw and use a dust mask but it fogs up my glasses and is hot. I am wondering if I got an old CPAP on craigslist to use in this way would be a solution. They make this type of helmet filter that runs on battery but being the jerry-rig kind of guy I bet this would work for less money.

Any ideas?

viewtopic.php?t=66930

Funnily enough, I sold an old machine (M series) to a guy that was going to use it for almost that exact purpose, he smelted lead, and wanted clean air to breathe while doing it, so he got the machine, and a long hose, and put the intake outside where it could pull in fresh air while he was working.

Conrad · Post by **Conrad** » Sun Dec 04, 2022 8:19 am

nelsonmay wrote: ↑
Sat Dec 03, 2022 9:10 am
I don't think they want you to know this, but am trying to find out if you can sterilize the guts, or air generating portion of a CPAP.

I am a woodworker and use an old CPAP to blow air into a hood when I use my lathe. It keeps out fine dust. Anyway, it has been in a damp basement for years now. I want to use it again. I am afraid that there may be mold and spores in the machine. I can clean the hose, etc., but I am afraid there may be residual spores in the machine.

Is there anything I can blow through the machine to sterilize the tube and fan that blows the air?

Thanks.

Why in the world do you think that THEY don't want us to know that you're trying to find out if you can sterilize the guts of your CPAP? THEY don't care what you do with your old machine.

"Is there anything I can blow through the machine to sterilize the tube and fan that blows the air?"

Yes, fire!

Cleaning the inside of a machine?

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