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The OP question was about cleaning cushions, not masks.

avi123 wrote:The OP question was about cleaning cushions, not masks.

OH MY GOD!!! You're right. I'm so ashamed. I think I'll go kill myself now.

Both my husband and I use Seventh Generation free and clear dish detergent. It suds up like a shampoo because of the sodium lauryl sulfate in it. Then I rinse the cushion or pillow off with the leftover distilled water from the night before because our city water has hard mineral deposits. This morning routine takes only a minute. Recently, I've been rotating between two pillows like Pugsy, which allows more drying time.

archangle wrote:

avi123 wrote:The OP question was about cleaning cushions, not masks.

OH MY GOD!!! You're right. I'm so ashamed. I think I'll go kill myself now.

ArchAngel, please don't do it b/c you're important.

It's interesting what a variety of ideas/suggestions are out there!

I wipe my mask/cushion with a baby wipe daily, to remove the sweat and facial grease from the previous night. Once a week, I soak all my accessories (mask, filters & hoses) in Dawn Direct Foam (Not Palmolive as it has lotion and left a film that caused leaks - for me anyway).

This system works for us. My husband became a hosehead in November and took one of my old masks (had been in service for 2-3 months at that point). We just replaced the cushion a week or so ago as it became too soft and flexible and was leaking. I figure we got almost a year out of it, wiping it daily and soaking it weekly in Dawn Direct Foam.

I AM concerned, however, about how many people are told NOT to use dishwashing soap. I may try baby shampoo one time instead and see if that gives us the same results without any possible harm/damage to the silicone.

So I see a lot of people saying not to use aloe because it puts a film on your cushion. I just bought some cpap therapy face cream and it has aloe. The description says to use it before or after therapy to stop dry skin!? Will that leave a film even thoughit was specifically made for Cpaps?

MaxDarkside wrote:I now wash my Quattro FX silicon seal with Pantene Fine Hair Shampoo, the clear stuff, each AM. That works really well. For a while I washed it in dishwashing soap (Dawn, which the DME said was a no-no) but it would get cloudy. The cloudiness could only be removed by boiling it in water with baking soda, but then would start getting cloudy again soon. Then I tried Dial hand soap. Same. Cloudy. Then I tried the Pantene shampoo... the seal gets clean and it was obvious to me that the cloudiness was much less. I still, from time to time, boil it in water with baking soda, but not as often as I did with the other soaps.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

I started using the Pantene Fine Hair Shampoo a couple of days ago to clean the silicone cushion and have had good results. While 2 days doesn't qualify as a long term test, I'm pleased with the much lower leak rate I've been getting. Thanks for the idea, MaxDarkside. -Chuck-

Madalot wrote:It's interesting what a variety of ideas/suggestions are out there!

I wipe my mask/cushion with a baby wipe daily, to remove the sweat and facial grease from the previous night. Once a week, I soak all my accessories (mask, filters & hoses) in Dawn Direct Foam (Not Palmolive as it has lotion and left a film that caused leaks - for me anyway).

This system works for us. My husband became a hosehead in November and took one of my old masks (had been in service for 2-3 months at that point). We just replaced the cushion a week or so ago as it became too soft and flexible and was leaking. I figure we got almost a year out of it, wiping it daily and soaking it weekly in Dawn Direct Foam.

I AM concerned, however, about how many people are told NOT to use dishwashing soap. I may try baby shampoo one time instead and see if that gives us the same results without any possible harm/damage to the silicone.

I think as long as you use a mild soap you are ok. Dishwashing soap is very harsh. Our family used used it at the kitchen sink to wash hands several times a day. I started using hand soap on my hands and realized how strong the dishwashing soap was. It seemed to also remove oils off the hands. I bought a hand soap dispenser and I have noticed it is much milder on the hands. Of course this has nothin' to do with cpap, but the cpap mask cushions need to smooth and my thoughts are that the dishwashing soap would quickly eat up the smooth surface.

Sheriff

Sheriff Buford wrote:

Madalot wrote:It's interesting what a variety of ideas/suggestions are out there!

I wipe my mask/cushion with a baby wipe daily, to remove the sweat and facial grease from the previous night. Once a week, I soak all my accessories (mask, filters & hoses) in Dawn Direct Foam (Not Palmolive as it has lotion and left a film that caused leaks - for me anyway).

This system works for us. My husband became a hosehead in November and took one of my old masks (had been in service for 2-3 months at that point). We just replaced the cushion a week or so ago as it became too soft and flexible and was leaking. I figure we got almost a year out of it, wiping it daily and soaking it weekly in Dawn Direct Foam.

I AM concerned, however, about how many people are told NOT to use dishwashing soap. I may try baby shampoo one time instead and see if that gives us the same results without any possible harm/damage to the silicone.

I think as long as you use a mild soap you are ok. Dishwashing soap is very harsh. Our family used used it at the kitchen sink to wash hands several times a day. I started using hand soap on my hands and realized how strong the dishwashing soap was. It seemed to also remove oils off the hands. I bought a hand soap dispenser and I have noticed it is much milder on the hands. Of course this has nothin' to do with cpap, but the cpap mask cushions need to smooth and my thoughts are that the dishwashing soap would quickly eat up the smooth surface.

I've had no problems, but I agree that it's worth thinking about. The logic for the Dawn is that it cuts through grease and easily removes facial grease & sweat. I know that washing my hands with dish soap (especially any type of Dawn soap) left my hands rough and dried out.

I'm going to try baby shampoo next weekend and see how that works for my supplies. If I don't like it as well, I can always switch back to Dawn.

I use a baby shampoo soak weekly and CPAP towelettes (from CPAP.COM) daily on the pillows. My dog loves this as he gets his ears cleaned once I am finished with my mask.

-tino

I wipe mine with a wet wipe every morning and once a week soak for 10 minutes in 25% distilled vineger and water solution.

And since I don't want to have to kill myself I won't tell you I do the same for my mask, hose and water tank.

Tino2You wrote:I use a baby shampoo soak weekly and CPAP towelettes (from CPAP.COM) daily on the pillows. My dog loves this as he gets his ears cleaned once I am finished with my mask.

-tino

Never thought about my pooch's ears! Does he/she like it?

chunkyfrog wrote:My brother cleans his profile lite gel nasal mask with Everclear once a month.
The masks last a year for him.

... as in the alcohol???


Cheers,
xena

Why is aloe a problem?

Most weekdays I use baby wipes or CPAP wipes. I find the CPAP wipes far superior in preventing leaks for some reason.
I use Ivory dish soap or Dr. Bronner's when washing at least once a week. I use the same soaps for washing all my CPAP gear.

Cheers,
xena