Humidifier cleaning

I do drain and dry my humidifier every day, but do I need to wash it out with detergent daily? The DME said weekly, but the user guide says daily, so I'm unsure.

I usually wash mine about once a month with Classic Ivory Dishwashing Liquid (it's what I use for all my cpap equipment) and let it air dry.

I use ONLY distilled water in it though.

In my opinion you're wasting time and money.
But, do what you feel comfortable with.

And, check out this link:

viewtopic.php?p=567264#p567264

You'll find the spectrum here as far as how the users feel about some of these "chores".

I'm in the "occasionally" category. I've never actually "washed" my HH tank, I just use distilled water, NO heat and dump it out three or four times a year (when I let the water level get low) and rinse with hot tap water......shake as much out as possible and refill with distilled. I've never seen anything growing in the tank (it still looks brand new).......and, if there was, it's not possible for "stuff" to get carried to me anyway......that "stuff" is too heavy to be carried by water vapor molecules. The air is filtered as it comes into the machine. If anything should happen to get past the filters, it's going to drop into the water and stay there. Whatever air you're breathing during the day has much more nasty "stuff" in it than what you're breathing during the night, hooked to these machines.

I DO rinse my filter out on a fairly regular basis.......either every two weeks or no less than once a month.


Den

My opinion used to be in line with Den's, but after running some tests

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=58490&st=0&sk=t&sd

my opinion has changed. I would suggest that you wash your humidifier tank often enough to prevent "stuff" from growing in it.

I will leave the definition of "stuff" to you. It can range from looking at the tank from a distance of several feet away to actually taking a sample of water from the humidifier and having a laboratory look at it under a microscope and test it for "stuff."

If you start to become congested or sick, I would recommend daily cleaning.

That's why there's a bolded line in my post.

If there's "stuff" in the HH tank, then it came from the bedroom air.......which means you need to have THAT air tested for "stuff" (and/or wear a filtering mask in your house at all times).


Den

Den, some "stuff" is better that other "stuff." For example a "bunch of coconuts" is "good stuff."





but it may be a challenge to get them to grow in the humidifier tank...

HoseCrusher wrote:Den, some "stuff" is better that other "stuff." For example a "bunch of coconuts" is "good stuff."





but it may be a challenge to get them to grow in the humidifier tank...

Yeah, no kiddin'. I LOVE coconut.


Den

I top off with distilled water every morning and clean everything once a month - if I remember to. The only time I do daily cleaning is when I have a sinus infection.

Just use common sense, taking your environment into account, and you should be fine.

BernieRay wrote: Just use common sense, taking your environment into account, and you should be fine.

that's why I dry it out every day, as I live in a basement apartment, and therefore don't want it to get musty.

That makes sense to me. I'd probably just clean it once a week then. I still use a 1:10 vinegar solution with a few drops of blue Dawn, which was recommended to me in 97. The vinegar kills any cooties and the Dawn removes the oils from my face.

I check the water every morning; and if I see anything that doesn't belong there, I wash it with Dawn, rinse with tap water, and leave it disassembled on a towel across my pillow to dry. Love the washable tank. The co-pay/balance billing from the DME was over $40!
Hubby's is coming from cpap.com.
Pain teaches.

I'm seriously considering the "washable" tank. It looks quite handy.

I rinse it with lemon juice every day then change water. + every week I put it in the dishwasher.

I just bumped the "tank" poll for you so it would show up near this thread.

DD