some cleaning questions

Hi all,

Ok so I have done a search on this forum to see how people clean their equipment. There is a lot of good info, but there is also a lot of info and I am a bit confused as to what is really necessary and what is over the top. I have an S9 and a ff mask.

If I use ff liners do I still need to clean the mask every day?
Do baby wipes really work for the mask? If so I have a 11 month old and plenty of tushy wipes:)
How often do you really have to clean the hose and tank?

Also, I have a sore throat. Usually I wouldn't mention anything, but I have heard things here about throat infections and so forth and I heard the word death thrown in a couple of times. So I figured mentioning it couldn't hurt. I should also mention that it is freaking cold in N.J. so it could be from that.

Can I clean the tank with baby shampoo?

Thanks again for all info!

If you have a strong immune system, you probably don't have to clean anything... ever.

From there it is a sliding scale ending up with cleaning mask, hose, and humidifier tank daily. Through trial and error you can generally figure out what works for you.

The equipment manufacturers recommend daily to weekly cleaning.

I clean my mask daily, and my hoses and humidifier tank weekly. When I had a nasal mask I simply wiped the inside of the mask with a citrus wipe and let it dry. Once a wek I would clean it with some soap and water. Now that I'm using Nasal pillows I wash them out with Johnson's baby shampoo and warm water first thing each morning. I then put it on a towel and let it dry. I rotate two of them. One is cleaned and the other is drying. I also clean the outside CPAP filter every week with some soap and water and let air dry. I change the micro filter monthly.

IMO the hose does not have to be cleaned but weekly unless you are getting a lot of moisture in it. I don't get any as I only run the humidifier on the lowest setting. Cleaning the hose once a week is actually probably overkill. The humidifier tank is pretty much sealed on my machine so I don't see why the water would get contaminated. I clean it weekly just to be on the safe side. Otherwise I just top it off every couple of days with distilled water.

I hope this helps.

I never clean the tank and it looks brand new (8 months old). The mask I have cleaned a few times in the past eight months with a couple drops of baby shampoo when I happen to think about it. If you want to clean the tank or mask with the babies tushy wipes, I don't see a problem as long as you don't use the same one you used on the baby.

I am new to CPAP (it will be a month tomorrow night), and this is what I do with my equipment:

Daily: Wash the mask by agitating it gently for a minute or so in warm water with an "earth friendly" dish soap... rinse in warm, give it a good shake in the shower (to get rid of as much excess water as possible) and then set out to dry. I am a knitter and use that same soap to wash my knitted items... I figure if it's mild enough to use on 100% wool, it's safe to use on my mask.

Weekly (Sundays): Wipe down hose with Caviwipes and hang to dry. While the hose doesn't leave my room, I feel better giving the outside of the hose a quick wipe down, just to make sure that there isn't anything untowards living on my hose (I am using a Climate Line hose at the moment and I don't have rain out, so I don't have a need to hang it to dry on a daily basis).
Canadian Hosers: A can of 160 Caviwipes are available at Shoppers Home Health Care for 18$ +HST... they may have to order it in for you, but it's available.

Monthly (Second Sunday of the month): Wash in warm water with aforementioned soap then demineralise the humidifier water tank in a 1:10 water:white household vinegar soak for 30-45 minutes (I have a rubbermaid container that has a sealed lid, so mask gets soaked as well), then rinse well in warm water and set out to dry. I only use distilled water in the tank but I feel better soaking the tank once a month.