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Eh, no rubbing or lashing intended.

At the risk of being repetitive: We are talking about a washable (as in "should be washed") filter for Respironics and Puritan Bennet.

Respironics:

7.2 Cleaning or Replacing the Filters
Caution: Operating the device with a dirty filter may keep the system from working properly and may damage the device.
Under normal usage, you should clean the gray foam filter at least once every two weeks and replace it with a new one every six months. The white ultra-fine filter is disposable and should be replaced after 30 nights of use or sooner if it appears dirty. DO NOT clean the ultra-fine filter.

Caution: Dirty inlet filters may cause high operating temperatures that may affect device performance. Regularly examine the inlet filters as needed for integrity and cleanliness.

<snip>
4. Wash the gray foam filter in warm water with a mild detergent. Rinse thoroughly to remove all detergent residue. Allow the filter to air dry completely before reinstalling it. If the foam filter is torn, replace it.

That is not an optional "as needed" wash. And if you friend needs better filtering - he should add the white, fine particle filter. He would get cleaner air adding that filter, and changing it as frequently as needed than he will by buying a new gray filter once a month.

O.

Ozji, thanks. Yes, I know about the washable vs. replaceable (though my machine does not have a washable, only replaceable... my buddy's question was in reference to the dme's insistence that he could only get a replaceable filter every 6 months for his Respironics machine).

What's irksome in all this is that the dme most likely confused a Resprionics with a ResMed machine (since ResMed does actually say replace the filter every six months); yet they were the ones who provided him with the Respironics machine in the first place. You would think they would have a record of what they gave him! Certainly, they could bill the insurance company more often on the Respironics schedule than on the ResMed schedule!

He called them today (Apria). They refused to admit the error and continue to insist that he is only eligible for one filter every six months.

He's buying them on line, and contacting the insurance company.

"Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain."

(Friedrich Schiller)... though I first ran into this in Asimov's book.....

O.