sickness and cleaning

I'm a tightwad; I'd rather wash/boil something that still has use, than toss it out.

Disinfected and washed everything today. Will repeat in 2 days. Better safe than sorry, right?!

chunkyfrog wrote:I'm a tightwad; I'd rather wash/boil something that still has use, than toss it out.

How long should I boil my pillows?

chunkyfrog wrote:I'm a tightwad; I'd rather wash/boil something that still has use, than toss it out.

Me too frog. I'm going to wash/disinfect all my stuff after this flu that my entire family has had. Boiling sounds much more economical.

Boiling is not recommended by the manufacturer, and not everything will survive boiling. Check the manufacturer's cleaning instructions, and experiment carefully on spare parts.

archangle wrote:Boiling is not recommended by the manufacturer, and not everything will survive boiling. Check the manufacturer's cleaning instructions, and experiment carefully on spare parts.

Would just putting the cushion in the dishwasher with the humidifier & other mask parts be a better alternative?

StuUnderPressure wrote:

archangle wrote:Boiling is not recommended by the manufacturer, and not everything will survive boiling. Check the manufacturer's cleaning instructions, and experiment carefully on spare parts.

Would just putting the cushion in the dishwasher with the humidifier & other mask parts be a better alternative?

That's what I do for my regular cleaning. I wouldn't put any mask parts with foam in the dishwasher.

Most manufacturers don't recommend dishwashing masks, either, but I've been doing mine for 8 years now, with no obvious problems.

I wouldn't put the hose there because dirty water will tend to sit inside, and the inside doesn't get clean.

I think having two sets of mask, hose, and tank and letting them dry for a week between weekly cleanings probably helps keep germs down.

archangle wrote:I think having two sets of mask, hose, and tank and letting them dry for a week between weekly cleanings probably helps keep germs down.

I understand your theory & would NOT try to convince you otherwise.
Everybody has to do what they think is best.

I do have two sets of everything, but I do not alternate them as you do.

The mask parts can be dried off.
But, I don't even do that.
I just put them on a hand towel to air dry. They do dry quite a bit that way.
I wash the mask & cushion every AM, but the Humidifier tank & hose only weekly.
The mask, cushion, & Humidifier tank go through the dishwasher only once a week.

A you know, the hose takes quite a while to dry completely.
When I clean my hose (weekly - in the AM), I just hang it to drip dry for the day.
It doesn't get dry by night time of course. But that is just extra humidity for the 1st few minutes.

I have an old CPAP machine that I air dry my hose with.

I clean things only once a week.