humidifier cleaning

xyz wrote:...Do not use bleach under any circumstances....

Why?

It was salt and ice at my very first job!!! Coffee pots were always nice and clean and we would all get one and clean it at the same time with a little rythmn.....what carefree days those were!!

It works!

audreycat wrote:I will switch to distilled water. Should that take care of the cause or am I just doomed to this type of slimy cleaning every few months?

After you've cleaned the chamber thoroughly -- you've seen a lot of good suggestions for that -- then using ONLY distilled water from now on should prevent the "slimy" problem from happening again. That's all I ever use - distilled water - and the chamber stays crystal clear.

I don't even dump out the unused distilled water in the mornings. I just add more each night. About twice a year I dump the water and give the chamber a quick soak with vinegar/water, rinse well, and start over just adding distilled water as needed.

> Why?

wikipedia:
"Chlorine is a respiratory irritant that attacks mucous membranes and burns the skin. As little as 3.5 ppm can be detected as an odor, and 1000 ppm is likely to be fatal after a few deep breaths. Exposure to chlorine has been limited to 0.5 ppm ..."

Take, for example, the kind of humidifier that can't be taken apart for cleaning.
Or _rinsing_.

If you rinse the humidifier a few times, the bleach is gone. You don't have to take it apart to rinse it completely

audreycat wrote:I am responsible for cleaning my husband's CPAP equipment.

I showed this to my wife with the idea that she should take over cleaning my equipment. She said "It ain't gonna happen. If you want it cleaned guess who is going to clean it!"

Jerry

6PtStar wrote:

audreycat wrote:I am responsible for cleaning my husband's CPAP equipment.

I showed this to my wife with the idea that she should take over cleaning my equipment. She said "It ain't gonna happen. If you want it cleaned guess who is going to clean it!"

Jerry

Sounds like we should try a little beer in our cleaning regime. Use vinegar in the tank and drink the beer!

OldLincoln wrote:Sounds like we should try a little beer in our cleaning regime. Use vinegar in the tank and drink the beer!

Here's one to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jerry

rested gal wrote:

audreycat wrote:I will switch to distilled water. Should that take care of the cause or am I just doomed to this type of slimy cleaning every few months?

After you've cleaned the chamber thoroughly -- you've seen a lot of good suggestions for that -- then using ONLY distilled water from now on should prevent the "slimy" problem from happening again. That's all I ever use - distilled water - and the chamber stays crystal clear.

I don't even dump out the unused distilled water in the mornings. I just add more each night. About twice a year I dump the water and give the chamber a quick soak with vinegar/water, rinse well, and start over just adding distilled water as needed.

About every 1-2 weeks, I clean my Respironics M series tank by letting it soak in warm water and baby shampoo. Tonight I noticed that the walls of the chamber were slimy (but there was no film and its crystal clear ). I always use distilled water and refill the chamber each night without dumping any remaining water.

Is it dangerous to use the cpap with slime in the chamber?

Didn't know I was supposed to dilute the vinegar. I just pour white vinegar in the hose and shake it a lot from end to end then rinse with water. It has a smells for a few minutes but it didn’t bother me. Had to clean my tank with a toothbrush one time when it got some yellow stain. I worried about the chlorine in the tap water but thinks that helps kill some of the bugs since I’m laze about cleaning every other month. This is what I do but don’t consider this advise.

rested gal wrote:About twice a year I dump the water and give the chamber a quick soak with vinegar/water, rinse well, and start over just adding distilled water as needed.

You people do NOT want to to know how long it has been since I have cleaned my humidifier tank! I only use distilled water (except when traveling), so I don't notice any slime build up. HOWEVER, I definitely see some vinegar in my immediate future.

Your answer is right here at CPAP! I use Control III...it's a perfect cleaner and disinfectant:
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/Contro ... eaner.html