Cleaning CPAP Equipment

Just to post from the other side of the spectrum...

3 years October and I've probably cleaned my Swift (yes, the original one I got 3 years ago) and tubing 4 times. Before you get all icked out...even my clean freak wife looked at it and said it looks spotless.

I thought the guys on my BMW motorcycle forum were anal about cleaning!!!!

Under normal circumstances I clean the nasal interfaces I'm using about every 3-4 days in a mixture of vinegar and water with a drop of dish soap. I do not have oily skin, so I don't have that issue to deal with.
I'll run some vinegar water through the hose every few months if I remember, but I've had no issues with anything in either masks, hoses, machine -- nada!!

Every 6 months or so I'll disinfect both the hose and the mask interfaces with some Control III - again, if I remember....

In the beginning I washed the Humidifier tank regularly. After having to replace 3 of them because as you undo them and put them back together the seal compresses, shrinks and then leaks.....Now, I never open it up, rarely ever rinse it out and haven't had to replace one since (I have 2 new ones still in the box that I keep as spares) (Oh it's the integrated M-Series HH....I have an HC-150 but don't have space on my table to put it yet.....workin' on it!!

Just 2 cents more......

cheers
goose

Oh ya... use distilled water in the HH to keep it from getting mineral deposits.

In the beginning I did what was suggested by the sleep centre & the machine DVD, and took apart the mask (way, way, way) too frequently.

After joining this forum & catching up on the advice, I soon changed that routine.

I do wash out my hose at least weekly, quite often daily - depends on my schedule & memory I guess - in the shower. I never take apart my mask (Activa Mirage), just rinse it out daily, sometimes with fingers & baby shampoo. I find I get a much better seal - slightly oily skin around the nose area I guess, and I do have to have a very squeaky clean face. I do wash the strapping weekly or so.

Humidifier I'm with RG - mine empties every 2 days on minimum setting of 1, so I don't have any issues, and I just refill. Crystal clear.

I feel it all comes down to, why complicate a fairly simple issue? Whatever floats your boat.

grandmma wrote: ....... Whatever floats your boat.

Three years and seven months. Grandmma, maybe yours should be the final word on this long lived thread.

Mayberry wrote:This is exactly why I am so glad I don't have to use the CPAP anymore.

I started taking a nutritional supplement about 5 months ago. After being on it for about 2-3 weeks, my sleep apnea was gone.

The CPAP worked for me, but I struggled with leaks, breathing through my mouth, CLEANING it, traveling with it...

I'd be taking those supplements too, if I could fit them into one of Aunt Bee's Apple Pies, however I would still be using my XPAP, until I had Scientific proof of a cure by a certified Sleep Lab. Without a clean bill of Sleep Health, i'd say you are neck deep in De-Nile. Remember when in De-Nile you can drown in ten inches of water, then you are pronounced Cured... In the meantime, stop by Gomer's service station, and pick up a old inter-tube to help you with De-Nile problem. Jim

A buddy had gastric bypass and lost 140 pounds. He stopped using his machine. When I ask him if he's been back to the sleep lab to be sure it's gone, he frowns at me and says he feels fine.

Ok...not my problem I guess.

Goofproof wrote:

Mayberry wrote:This is exactly why I am so glad I don't have to use the CPAP anymore.

I started taking a nutritional supplement about 5 months ago. After being on it for about 2-3 weeks, my sleep apnea was gone.

The CPAP worked for me, but I struggled with leaks, breathing through my mouth, CLEANING it, traveling with it...

I'd be taking those supplements too, if I could fit them into one of Aunt Bee's Apple Pies, however I would still be using my XPAP, until I had Scientific proof of a cure by a certified Sleep Lab. Without a clean bill of Sleep Health, i'd say you are neck deep in De-Nile. Remember when in De-Nile you can drown in ten inches of water, then you are pronounced Cured... In the meantime, stop by Gomer's service station, and pick up a old inter-tube to help you with De-Nile problem. Jim

congahands wrote:Don Fowler, I don't mean to doubt your service, but I have to ask a couple of questions?
I haven't looked inside a CPAP machine, but I've spent a fair amount of time looking inside PC's with air intake fans and no filtering. I find lots of dust and dirt, but there isn't Bacteria, Viruses, or mold. No moisture gets pulled through the CPAP machine itself. The moisture gets added after the CPAP machine and before the mask.

So where do the nastys come from?

Second, the User manual for the Respironics machines says this....

7.4 Service
_____________________________
The Remstar M Series device does not require routine servicing.

Can you explain how this is different from changing the air in my tires?

To answer the question about moisture, There is always moisture around, in your tubing after it is used, especially if you leave it on your machine during the day while you are off the machine and no air flow going through it as well as the moisture in the air, especially if your bathroom with a shower is next to your bedroom. Unless you have taken your machine apart and cultured it for viruses and bacteria, you are only assuming there is no problem. If you were to use a petri dish and leave it open for two hours to the air in your home, then cap it and let it set for 3 to 5 days. You would see more bacteria, mold, and viruses then you would care to know about. Couple this with moisture, even in states with high humidity, and you have a pretty good breeding ground, even on plastic devices of which most CPAP machines are made of.
If you think I am wrong, then just email me and I will send you a free test kit to check out what is really growing in your home. If a person smokes in the house, the nicotene and Tar usually find there way to the inside of a CPAP machine. I clean several each week just for this purpose. I hope you donlt suck the air out of your tires, as this can be unhealthy as well.
Not really sure what the term routine woud mean. If it is daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or per decade. I agree that routine monthly maintenance is probably not necessary as manufactures are pretty good about making their products, some lasting as long as 20 years in service. And to compare your CPAP to a PC is not really fair. One is keeping a processor cool, the other is blowing air, clean or otherwise, into your lungs. Have a Good day.

Okay. I have an M Series with a humidifier. I'm pretty good about rinsing out my humidifier tank, but it's usually just before I refill it. Tonight I noticed red deposits in the tank which I assume are algae. This is the first time I've ever seen this. I scrubbed off most of it with my fingers under hot water. After reading the user's manual I performed one of the disinfecting procedures listed, which was soaking in 194F water for 1 minute. Actually, I soaked it and rinsed/scrubbed it and soaked it some more. I guess my question is, is it likely some of the red stuff is in the machine that I should or can clean out?

Coincidentally, I have a cold that has progressed to a sinus and upper respiratory infection. I imagine my un-clean machine has contributed to this?

I used to clean the hose and mask parts every day, but now it's usually once or twice a week that I wash them with a little Softsoap and rinse them off. Guess I'll be cleaning them more often now, too.

OMG, Rested Gal you are sooooooooo right! I just recieved my new mask, Swift LT for Women, after 3 days, I foolishly took the cushion off the mask and cleaned it with the PEARS soap I always use on myself and equipment. Well ever since I did that my AHI's are up and I can't get the mask to seal well, I will never. never take a mask apart again, this is the only mask that has worked right out of the package for me in all the years of CPAP, of course the DME will not answer my messages. I thought maybe I was becoming allergic to the PEARS soap, you have OPENED my EYES for sure.
Thanks and take care RG,
Ellen

Shark Bait wrote:Okay. I have an M Series with a humidifier. I'm pretty good about rinsing out my humidifier tank, but it's usually just before I refill it. Tonight I noticed red deposits in the tank which I assume are algae. This is the first time I've ever seen this. I scrubbed off most of it with my fingers under hot water. After reading the user's manual I performed one of the disinfecting procedures listed, which was soaking in 194F water for 1 minute. Actually, I soaked it and rinsed/scrubbed it and soaked it some more. I guess my question is, is it likely some of the red stuff is in the machine that I should or can clean out?

Coincidentally, I have a cold that has progressed to a sinus and upper respiratory infection. I imagine my un-clean machine has contributed to this?

I used to clean the hose and mask parts every day, but now it's usually once or twice a week that I wash them with a little Softsoap and rinse them off. Guess I'll be cleaning them more often now, too.

That red stuff IS algae...it's the kind we get here in the high desert in our showers and around sinks.

Shark Bait wrote:Okay. I have an M Series with a humidifier. I'm pretty good about rinsing out my humidifier tank, but it's usually just before I refill it. Tonight I noticed red deposits in the tank which I assume are algae. This is the first time I've ever seen this. I scrubbed off most of it with my fingers under hot water. After reading the user's manual I performed one of the disinfecting procedures listed, which was soaking in 194F water for 1 minute. Actually, I soaked it and rinsed/scrubbed it and soaked it some more. I guess my question is, is it likely some of the red stuff is in the machine that I should or can clean out?

Coincidentally, I have a cold that has progressed to a sinus and upper respiratory infection. I imagine my un-clean machine has contributed to this?

I used to clean the hose and mask parts every day, but now it's usually once or twice a week that I wash them with a little Softsoap and rinse them off. Guess I'll be cleaning them more often now, too.

A question
-Do you use distilled water exclusively?

Some comments
-Colds are caused by rhinoviruses which grow in humans. Rhinoviruses will not grow in standing water.
-I do not clean my humidifier. I top it off with distilled water every night and rinse it out with distilled water maybe every six months. Before CPAP I had two or three colds per year. In three years using CPAP I had one cold and I think I know what caused it and it was not CPAP related.

bill2 wrote:I hate to disagree with a guru, but alcohol should never be used on your mask. The cushion is silicone and alcohol will break it down. The Resmed guy I talked to said baby shampoo is the best and warned me about alcohol. The silicone gets too soft too soon and won't seal well. Also, vinegar is good for mineral buildup, but what protects against mold?

I agree with the alcohol. I also watched the DVD that came with my Resmed nasal pillows telling me to use "pure soap". So, I just squirt some Dr. Bronner's pure castile soap in my sink and swish stuff around in it, then rinse straight from the faucet and let them air dry on a towel next to the sink. Seems to work pretty well for me.

As for mold. The stuff only grows on organic material in moist environment. It's relatively safe in a normal cpap environment.

This is my cleaning regime, for what it's worth.

Every morning I empty the humidifer (we're in a drought here, so it goes on my herbs) and rinse it with tapwater. I remove the nasal pillows things, and rinse them with soft soap and tap water. then I put the system back together, and leave the machine running in its warmup mode with temperature set to 0. This removes all the moisture in about 10 minutes (shower time!) at this time of year, which is warmish. 100 degrees yesterday. Then I switch off. each night I refill the HH with tapwater.
Each weekend i do the same, but I flush everything including the hose with vinegar and soapy water, then a clean rinse. I hang the hose to dry.

And that's it. After 4 months of this, everything is still sparkling, and i have had no colds etc.

I put it down to the benefits of tapwater (grin)

K

kopoloff wrote:This is my cleaning regime, for what it's worth.

Every morning I empty the humidifer (we're in a drought here, so it goes on my herbs) and rinse it with tapwater. I remove the nasal pillows things, and rinse them with soft soap and tap water. then I put the system back together, and leave the machine running in its warmup mode with temperature set to 0. This removes all the moisture in about 10 minutes (shower time!) at this time of year, which is warmish. 100 degrees yesterday. Then I switch off. each night I refill the HH with tapwater.
Each weekend i do the same, but I flush everything including the hose with vinegar and soapy water, then a clean rinse. I hang the hose to dry.

And that's it. After 4 months of this, everything is still sparkling, and i have had no colds etc.

I put it down to the benefits of tapwater (grin)

K

ewww! tapwater? i hope thats a joke, lol. i know that somebody died from legionnaires disease using tapwater in their humidifier at some hospital. i think i read that here a while back. you should only use distilled in your humidifiers, the manufactures state that in the manual for a reason.