My air smells funny!

And it's not because my DH had beans for dinner... I notice that when I turn my machine off when I get up in the middle of the night, I can smell something after taking my mask off - almost like a faint burning plastic smell. I almost seem to remember smelling it in my mask after turning the machine off last night as well. My machine was new (so I hope it isn't malfunctioning) and I've checked the plate on the humidifier tank - no scorch marks or anything that looks funny.

I do keep my machine on a step stool beside the bed. The stool has a rubber coating on the surface (one of those made for kids so they don't slip off). Is it possible that the machine is getting too hot and making the rubber hot? It hasn't melted or anything.

Anyone experience this?

As an aside, where do you keep your machine? My nightstand is at bed level, and my DME recommended keeping the machine below the level of the bed (to lessen chance that condensation would roll into my mask), but not directly on the floor either.

The top of my machine is even with the bottom of my pillow--but I want to get it about 4" lower.
The excess hose gets hooked on the window sill.
Usually, smells are my cue to get cleaning!

Often new people will smell things AFTER taking off the mask. My theory is that AFTER breathing air which is prob cleaner than any air they have breathed before (it is filtered) the sense of smell get sensitive to airborn particles. Smell is a very complex sense and is part of our memory.

I smelled the dust in the air when I started. Then my nose would run badly. Others here reported smelling things like baby powder, etc.

The next time it happens, take the humidifier tank out. Sniff it. Pick the machine up, feel for heat, give it a sniff. Disconnect the hose, mask, etc., sniffing as you go. Move the machine and sniff the table.

Disassemble the tank and wash in the dishwasher. I wash my mask parts except the headgear there, too. Your Swift FX should be washable there, too. Hook the hose up to the faucet and run hot water through it.

Clean and/or change your filters.

I keep my machine at floor level sitting on a chopping board. Its not all that convenient to get to but is an ideal operational level.

I wonder if the smell has to do more with your breathing the very clean filtered air thru the machine and then removing the mask. In the beginning I smelled a pleasant baby powder smell when I first removed my mask in the morning. It does not happen any longer.

i get this burning plastic smell when my humidifier has run out of water, but the heat settings are still on. try filling it up again, and or turning off the heat.

Thanks for all the suggestions - I'll keep looking for that smell. Perhaps it is that is what the air normally smells like and I just notice after taking off the mask - that's an interesting possibility. I'll have to check out the filter - the only one I'm using is the dark grey one, and my replacement filters (I qualify for them each month apparently) that came were these thin white ones. One of those came w/ my machine, but my DME said they were really only for people with bad allergies. (Not sure I put much stock into what she says.) I'll see if I can find some info on where that filter goes and see if it helps! I clean my equipment on a regular basis (pillows daily, headgear, tank, hose weekly) so I'm hoping that is sufficient.

I guess on a related note...anyone use those aromatherapy products that I've seen on our host's site?

I started getting allergy shots several years back. These tend to work very slowly over a period of months or years. Some time later, I started smelling a burnt oil smell in my car whenever I stopped at a red light. When I'd get home, and open up the hood and try to find the smell on the car, I never smelled it.

I finally figure out that I was smelling the oil on the roadway that cars had leaked when stopped at the red light. My nose was working normally for the first time in years.

I find that if my nose is stuffy, doing CPAP will sometimes unstuff it. Maybe you're just getting you sense of smell back because you're less stuffed up.

I think introducing any kind of scented stuff into the air intake is a bad idea. Sometimes people will develop allergies or reactions to such things, and it can take a LONG time to get the residual smell out of the machines.

beanfruit wrote:I guess on a related note...anyone use those aromatherapy products that I've seen on our host's site?

Yes. Lots of members here use some sort of aromatherapy. I have used the Pur-Sleep oils and they are quite nice. I have also just used some essential oils on a little cotton ball next to the air intake. I find it very enjoyable and relaxing. I am partial to floral...like magnolias.