I was so wrong....yes I said it! lol

Ok I never told anyone NOT to use vinegar (I dont think I did). But I was not about to use it myself as I had heard it could cause problems.

No matter how much I cleaned my mask cushion it seemed to still have a perma film going on from all my face oil. It wasnt shiny anymore and not nearly as comfortable as when I got it. So last night in desperation I decided to try the vinegar. I only put it in for about 30 seconds then cleaned with baby shampoo. I figured that I get a new cushion next week anyway....so if I did any harm it wouldnt be the end of the world.

My cushion looked like new again....and for the first time in a week I slept all night without waking up to leaks or pain.

So yes.....I was wrong. I now have a big bottle of vinegar in my bathroom cupboard.

jennmary, did you use just plain white distilled vinegar?

I've been putting off using it, too, but my old ones are just like yours were--dull looking and not sealing as well.

Thanks!

Pam

I have used a solution of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water for almost a year now. I clean the mask first, then soak in the vinegar solution for 15 minutes, then rinse very well. Works great for me.

Brenda

jennmary wrote:
So yes.....I was wrong. I now have a big bottle of vinegar in my bathroom cupboard.

What until you try using it for cleaning other stuff too- its amazing what you can do with vinegar! My everyday kitchen & bathroom cleaner is 1 TBSP dish soap + 1 tsp washing soda + 1 tsp borax + 1/4 cup vinegar + enough water to fill 12-14oz spray bottle- I can't believe how well it works to get gunk off & how much stuff shines long after I clean with it (and you can make it whatever scent you want with a few drops of essential oil).

But you not wanting to try vinegar sounds like me when I first heard about using using castor oil as part of the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM) for your face. I got over the idea that putting oil on my skin was bad, but I couldn't fathom using castor oil until I started looking at all the labels of commercial skin care & hair care products and 75%+ contained castor oil-lol. Now I use castor in my OCM mix, followed by a quick spray with diluted apple cider vinegar for face and my skin is better then its ever been.

If I was going to soak I would likely do a 3/1 mix like others. But I was in a hurry. It was about half plain white vinegar and half hot water. swished it around for about 30 secs....maybe a minute. Then washed with baby shampoo and hot water to make sure all the vinegar was off.

Yeah. I dont use much on my face. I stick with a soap that the derm recomended. I just wash, and put on a moisturizer that was prescribed. Cuts down on the chances that my dermatitis will go crazy.

I dumped the left over vinegar into the toilet and left it over night. Guess I can hold off until tommorow to actually scrub the toilet. lol

Could be maybe some hard water build up on the mask from washing in tap water and air-drying. Very interesting. If the problem were oil, it would seem that a detergent (like baby shampoo or other soaps) would remove it. Vinegar is commonly used as a hard water stain cleaner. I use it to clean my coffee pot.

Christine, I'm going to give your cleaning recipe a try. I've been using Method brand cleaner and have been very happy with it. I wonder if your cleaner would be safe for marble, ever tried it on a marble vanity?

jen

Castile with lavendar scent is working great - no film build up and plastic is clear as new. Granted I've only used it on a mask for two weeks (being the noob I am) so not a recommendation based on long-term use : )

socknitster wrote:Could be maybe some hard water build up on the mask from washing in tap water and air-drying. Very interesting. If the problem were oil, it would seem that a detergent (like baby shampoo or other soaps) would remove it. Vinegar is commonly used as a hard water stain cleaner. I use it to clean my coffee pot.

Vinegar is also used a lot in 'green' cleaning to cut through any detergent or soap residue, especially in laundry. Jen didn't mention what she's been using to wash her mask with, but some soaps and/or detergents can leave a residue, which is why mask manufactures recommend pure, simple soaps.

Problem is in the cleaning directions for their masks stated from the Resmed web site says to NOT use vinegar:

Caution:
• Do not use solutions containing vinegar, bleach, chlorine, alcohol, aromatics, moisturizers, antibacterial agents or scented oils to clean any part of the system or air tubing. These solutions may cause damage and reduce the life of the product.

Hummm gets worse.. This is from the Quattro owner's manual.. :

WARNING
• Do not use aromatic-based solutions or scented oils (eg, eucalyptus or
essential oils), bleach, alcohol or products that smell strongly (eg,
citrus) to clean any of the mask components. Residual vapours from
these solutions can be inhaled if not rinsed thoroughly. They may also
damage the mask, causing cracks.

Yeah....I wont wash anything else with the vinegar. But since I get a new Cushion every month I figure that If I have to use vinegar once or twice it isnt going to make much difference.
I use baby shampoo to clean every thing with. The mask cushion is the ONLY thing that has developed this nasty crusty greasy feeling. So I dont think it is the soap or the water. I think it is just the fact that I have nasty oily face at night.
I wake up with it sometimes literally running down my face. It is gross and has ony gotten worse since starting cpap. But either way.....I dont use vinegar on any other equipment.

jennmary,
First.. YUCK!!! Your description

Seriously what I have done the past couple weeks and really seems to help. I do my normal washing of the cushion in the Ivory dish soap.. get it good and clean and then rinse with a bunch of tap water..

THEN .. i empty the sink and pour a little distilled water.. enough to allow me to rinse the cushion real well then let it air dry. Seems that with the distilled rinse it air drys nice and clear and zero water spots.. Just an idea but since DW is so cheap does not take much..

I too learned to use the vinegar solution -- read this thread if you have doubts:

viewtopic.php?t=4401&postdays=0&postord ... cs&start=0

especially page 2.

O.

Christine,

I use a non-detergent soap from trader joes called "next to godliness" lavender and chamomile hand soap. I don't use any traditional detergent-soaps in my home any more, my skin is too sensitive. I use a lot of dr. bronners soaps and whenever I buy anything I make sure it doesn't have sodium laurel (or laureth) sulfate in it because that is just a diluted industrial detergent. I'd rather pay a little more for soaps than have itchy dry skin and eczema.

I find I have to wash my nasal pillows about every day or suffer from minor leaks that sound like far away train whistles or birds twittering with each exhale!

Last night I googled your oil cleaning method (I see I have a pm, I hope it is from you) and I found lots of cool info. I have lots of oils around because the mad scientist in me likes to experiment with making my own hand lotions--so much fun! I don't like to use petroleum products on my skin. Who wants to have dead dinosaurs on their skin?

Anyway, I have moderately oily skin and still suffer from breakouts so I was really intrigued that cleaning my skin with oil instead of soap and water could possibly alieviate that. Well, I did it last night and my skin looks dewy fresh and not oily this morning, so I'm going to keep with it. I made up a mixture of about 1/2 jojoba oil, some sweet almond, some grapeseed, some olive oil with a couple of drops of tea tree and vitamin e oils to fight bacteria and add antioxidants and keep it fresh. I know most people use 50% castor oil, but I didn't have any so I may go to the health food store this morning.

This is something you may want to look into, jenmary, if your skin is oily. As someone trained in biology/chemistry, it makes a lot of sense. I know that when I wash my face more often my skin gets oilier and oilier to compensate--your skin needs oil and when you keep washing it off it just makes more and more. When I wash my face less often, my skin looks and feels visibly less oily but I still have the blemish trouble. Cleaning the face with an oil makes a lot of sense (although modern lotion and potion gurus may blanch because they think less oil is better). Jojoba oil is actually very similar to sebum and grapeseed, sweet almond and apricot kernal oil are all very quickly absorbed. They say that castor oil has healing properties and that could very well be true. If you add tea tree oil, only add a drop or two because it is exceedingly potent but is a very effective antimicrobial.

Sorry kinda off topic, but that is just me!

Jen

socknitster wrote:Anyway, I have moderately oily skin and still suffer from breakouts so I was really intrigued that cleaning my skin with oil instead of soap and water could possibly alieviate that. Well, I did it last night and my skin looks dewy fresh and not oily this morning, so I'm going to keep with it. I made up a mixture of about 1/2 jojoba oil, some sweet almond, some grapeseed, some olive oil with a couple of drops of tea tree and vitamin e oils to fight bacteria and add antioxidants and keep it fresh. I know most people use 50% castor oil, but I didn't have any so I may go to the health food store this morning.

Not off topic to me as keeping our skin from looking like it was attacked by a CPAP mask all night is of utmost importance : ) Clean mask - clean skin - or is it the other way around . . .

Anyway, too strange that you use almost the formula I did until I found Dr. Hauschka's holistic normalizing day oil and other products. Way more expensive though : 0
http://www.drhauschka.com/holistic-prod ... ature+skin