CPAPtalk.com

OK, seriously now. One of the best tips I've seen is to get a hose connector, put the water (or water with listerine) into the hose, the connect the two ends into an O and just shake it a lot. I'm waitng to get a hose connector next time I order something big (like a mask) from cpap.com.

I bought a small (just larger then the mask) plastic container with a snap on lid. I then cut a slot on one end that just allows the hose to slide into it.. Every morning I clean the mask and rehook the hose and lay in the plastic box and snap the lid down. Not a air tight seal as I think it migh be good to breath a little in the box but with the slot for the hose there is not enough room to let anythig crawl in.. at night I un-snap the plastic box etc.. keeps it protected during the day from dust, etc

works for me

Listerine, go figure. I had Simple Green on the mind. Looking too deep again, it is the simple solutions that work best.

Hose connector? Part number? Or do I need to measure my current hose? I need to get a couple replacement parts for my mask and may buy that also.

TIA
mb

In nearly 2 years I have not cleaned my hose. I hang it up over a hook during the day and keep it off the floor. Works for me.

When I first got my machine, I obsessively and dutifully cleaned everything regularly.
All it did was add to my to do list and it NEVER completely dried out no matter what I did.

Now I let it blow itself dry every morning while I'm on the treadmill.

One thing I don't need is just one more thing to maintain and clean in my house.

-Bev

I hook mine to the regular vacuum hose, use a piece of gauze over the other end to keep from sucking dust etc and let the air passing through it dry it out. Takes a minute or two.

What an image!

Why wash it? You are introducing more "dirt" during washing than is already in the hose. Any method you use to dry out the hose will leave behind any minerals that were in the rinse water.

That's a very valid point that I've thought about before, since we live in a 50-year-old home with original plumbing. Rust-colored water isn't uncommon. But it doesn't address the heart of the issue. Even if I never cleaned it, there's always condensation. After reading what everybody has said here, I think I'm gonna spring for a second hose.

Doug.

RosemaryB wrote:OK, seriously now. One of the best tips I've seen is to get a hose connector

Why wait? Get a PVC plumbing coupler from home depot. I'm sure it will be much cheaper.

As for cleaning... I don't usually bother. But every once in a while I will. When I do, to dry it, I hold one end and swing the other in a circle for a few seconds. (Makes a nice Whirr sound when doing so). Turn it around and swing the other side. After that, I'll hook it up to the CPAP and let it blow for 15 min or so. (I'll sometimes pull the card so I don't affect any numbers I may be keeping track of.) BTW, the drying method above was recommended to my by my DME.

As a newbie I washed the hose to reduce the new plastic smell. The darn thing would not dry. My solution was to tie a smallish piece of a lint free towel (definitely not paper!!!) to a 7 foot long string and tie a weight (I used a washer) to the other. Stood at the top of the stairs, and dropped the weight in the hose. When the weight fell out the bottom of the hose, I pulled the string and towel through and it dried the inside of the hose. I had to get a larger piece of towel than I started with, but after that it worked.

On an earlier thread on this topic someone pointed out that for mold to grow you need more than water. That relieved my mind because of my allergies to mold. I still try not to think about insects of any variety in the hose to my nose. But then, I am a girl. Maybe it is a girl thing.

This topic resurfaces often and lots of very creative answers are given on how to vlean and dry the hose- tank- etc.

These are , IMHO, elegant answers to non problems.

Why would a person not first ask IF it needed cleaning before asking HOW to clean it.
There is NO risk of bacteria, virus, ets, from the tank or hose.

There is no reason to sterilize the equipment, only to clean it the same you would clean other things. Even the inistructino manuals give instructions for CLEANING, not sterilizing because it is not needed.

I probably clean my mask every 3-6 months and wash my hose in the mild soap, then water + vinegar. I do clean the pillows more oten
I then rinse it with water from my sink faucet and then go on the deck and sling it around likea cowboy roping a calf.
This slinging motion will dry it out enough.
Then the question arises as to why a person would want a dry hose to plug into the humidifier and let more wateer in to condense?

If a person has any reason to obsessively clean the hose/mask/tank, then do so to make you feel better, but do not think it is necessary.

If a person has any reason to obsessively clean the hose/mask/tank, then do so to make you feel better, but do not think it is necessary.

I clean my mask every day, because if i dont, the oils from my skin build up on my cushion and stop it from sealing really well.

I clean my hose every month because I do believe that bacteria and mold can grow in the hot, humid environment inside of the hose. Ive seen mold in nasty places, and I prefer not to breathe it in for 8 hours a day coming from my own hose.

I clean my water tank once a week (give it a good brushing with a tooth brush and some soapy water, because again, i believe from my own personal experience that all mold needs is a damp, warm space to start growing.

Plus, i like to take care of my equipment, and I consider regular cleaning to be part of taking care of it.

To each his own. If you are comfortable never cleaning, I think that works for you.

ok heres what I do. after washing the hose in water/vinegar I hang it up in the shower so the ends are pointing down. @ nite, I go get the hose, and just blow really hard into it, if there is alot of water left, I'll shake it. Usually its just a little bit. I wash my hose on Sat. morn. I do my pillows everyday, it just seems yucky to use dirty pillows lol Did you get a Carrie flashback? lol
That works for me. Hope it helps

My fiance and I tried something very similar to catnapper when she got rainout the first time. She only had the one hose, and vigorous whirling was not a good idea at 2 am. We ran a piece of wire (I had an old phone line cord) which was semi-stiff, and pretty easy to thread thru. We tied the end to a brand new sweat sock, and pulled it thru.

Since then, I've gotten a machine as well, so we each have a never worn sock & a piece of old phone line cord in our CPAP bags. We haven't cleaned our hoses unless of suspected funkiness tho.

As for cleaning the CPAPs -- humidifiers get cleaned out before traveling, or if there is funk. We use distilled water, so not many issues. The masks -- She has a comfort gel, which she washes as needed (every week or 2) & I have a Quattro, which if I don't clean every night, it doesn't seal.

I wash the hose once a month and hang to dry - then I just use it. Sure it's got a little extra humidity for the first 5 or ten minutes but so what?

This does not answer the cleaning question but answers mine about itty bitty critters.

http://www.montagemed.com//Infection_Is ... ation.shtm


The condensation issue for "traveling" does leave some possible doubt but I think it is only minor.

When I wash my hose, I hang it over the shower rod with both ends hanging down, with the curtain open, and then run the heater in the bathroom. If I don't want the heater going all day in order to heat the back half of the duplex, I shut the bathroom door. Usually it's dry in an hour or two. In the winter time, when it's cold, I leave the bathroom heater on all day to heat the back half of the house - it's the only heater for the bathroom and bedroom.

If you don't have a heater in your bathroom, you can bring in a small space heater, and do the same thing. Heater in a small enclosed space should be sufficient.

I can't quite figure out how to hook up the hose to the machine and blow it dry. My hose connection runs into the humidifier chamber, and I was told never to run that without the humidifier tank in place. I suppose if my tank was dry, that would work. But lately I've been using it passover, so the water is just sitting there in the tank until it gets low and then I refill it. I gave up washing it daily a few weeks back, when others reported they lived without daily cleaning.

You really should NOT encourage me to slack on cleaning. I'm already a big enough slacker in this area...

I wash my mask as it requires it. The hybrid required THOROUGH cleaning DAILY, another reason I gave it to someone else. The NAII hasn't required cleaning since I got it on Saturday.

I'm down to once a week or so with washing the tube. And that's just sort of because I occasionally get worried about mold/mildew.

Cheers,
B.