CPAP Basics - 19 - Cleaning and Disinfecting

Perhaps this is a good place to mention boiling; which many have found to renew the appearance
and feel of silicone parts enough to extend their usable life appreciably.

jazzer4 wrote:Mollete you said WE recommend plain liquid soap.
Who are the WE?

If WE recommend not using vinegar anymore I would want to know that.
But would want to know who was telling me not to use it anymore.

Is it Resmed saying not to use vinegar?

I use the Philips Respronics mask and they recogmend no vinegar on the masks. Go to the manufacture's website of your mask... under the cleaning tips-section.

That being said, I suspect a little... as in the 1 to 10 solution referred earlier, will not hurt. Thats just me... Sheriff

jazzer4 wrote: Who are the WE?

If WE recommend not using vinegar anymore I would want to know that.
But would want to know who was telling me not to use it anymore.

Is it Resmed saying not to use vinegar?

Si.

http://www.resmed.com/epn/service_and_s ... -faqs.html#

wonder why no vinegar. i thought i just found my solution to my stuffed up nose and watery eyes. darn!

I clean my headgear and cushions in Dawn.

Sorry I didn't know you we're just referring to cushions.
I was referring to water tank and hose.
My bad, as I thought something had changed and I didn't know it.

oak wrote:wonder why no vinegar. i thought i just found my solution to my stuffed up nose and watery eyes. darn!

Oak,

If washing in vinegar-water helped the stuffed up nose and the watery eyes, I'd suggest sticking with the vinegar-water solution for washing regardless of what anybody says.

After all, the mask parts can be replaced if they age a bit faster than normal. Keeping the nose and eyes comfortable is really important to establishing the PAPing habit and if they're not happy it will be much more difficult to become a happy PAPer.

jazzer4 wrote:I clean my headgear and cushions in Dawn.

Sorry I didn't know you we're just referring to cushions.
I was referring to water tank and hose.
My bad, as I thought something had changed and I didn't know it.

Jazzer,

I do clean my pillows in the same 1-10 vinegar solution that I use for the hoses. And that is what the RT at the DME recommended three years ago.

I've read the owner's manual and it says not to do it. But I really don't like even the smell of Dawn all that much and I just don't want to have any soap residue trapped between the two cones of the FX pillows. I just don't see how I could make sure all the detergent or soap was properly washed off those dang inner cones upper surfaces and the outer cone's inner surfaces.

What are your thoughts on the Control III disinfectant product? I was pretty jazzed when I found this stuff based on the recommendations from numerous CPAP sites, but when my order arrived the warning label scared me a bit. Particularly the warnings about irreversible eye damage and skin burns and the need to wear protective gloves and goggles/face shield.

I recognize that bleach is also dangerous and I use that frequently for other cleaning purposes, so do I need to be that concerned?

Oh DJS, please don't use control II or bleach for cleaning your mask. you dont want any residue of either in your nose. some people will say they wash and rinse really really carefully, but i don't believe its a good practice. I now use only hot water and will boil about 1 time per month. I replace pillows after 1.5-2 months.

I'm with you, JamesW6175. I wouldn't dare put bleach or any of these other powerful substances on my CPAP equipment.

Gently scrubbing the humidifier with a soft tooth brush and some mild dish detergent, rinsing out the hose with warm water, and swabbing the mask with a baby-wipe has been A-OK for me.

We live in a society that is ridiculously germaphobic. Everywhere some people look they see microbes that will kill all 7,000,000,000 members of the human race. I'm surprised that all these Felix Ungers have dared to grasp doorknobs, hold a bowling ball, kiss one another, and- oh my - make love to one's partner.

We've become a nation of wusses and pussies.

DEXSUZ wrote:I'm with you, JamesW6175. I wouldn't dare put bleach or any of these other powerful substances on my CPAP equipment.

Gently scrubbing the humidifier with a soft tooth brush and some mild dish detergent, rinsing out the hose with warm water, and swabbing the mask with a baby-wipe has been A-OK for me.

We live in a society that is ridiculously germaphobic. Everywhere some people look they see microbes that will kill all 7,000,000,000 members of the human race. I'm surprised that all these Felix Ungers have dared to grasp doorknobs, hold a bowling ball, kiss one another, and- oh my - make love to one's partner.

We've become a nation of wusses and pussies.

I don't see where JamesW6175 said anything about bleach????

James didn't. Someone else did. Read more carefully.

I replace pillows after 1.5-2 months.

Apria tells me the replacement schedule for nasal pillows is 2 per month. Are they telling me what they want to sell, or what my insurance co (UHC, who refers me to the medical grp, who refers me to Apria) will pay for?

Pretty nervous about dealing with Apria after all the terrible press about them. Picking up my APAP and supplies tomorrow.

Thanks for any advice, Jean

Most US insurance follows Medicare guidelines.
Resmed has the 2012 schedule and prices: (this from their website)

Trying to figure out what soap to use to clean my mask, probably should've read this before going out and buying something.

The manufacturer says to use "pure soap", but it's hard to figure out what that means when reading the ingredients in a soap.
Same thing applies to the description "plain dish soap".

I figured "pure soap" means Ivory.
I looked at Ivory's dish soap and it doesn't make the same claims about purity as their bar soap and reading the ingredients didn't help.

I ended up buying Ivory liquid hand soap as the ingredients were almost identical to the bar soap.

Don't know if anyone will be able to answer this, but I'm going to list the ingredients and ask if this stuff is ok to use:
Water
Sodium Laureth Sulfate
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Sodium Sulfate
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Citric Acid
Sodium Chloride
Fragrance
DMDM Hydrantoin
Tetrasodium EDTA

IIRC, the one ingredient that is different from the bar soap is the DMDM Hydrantoin.

Also - if this Ivory liquid hand soap is not safe to wash my mask with, can someone recommend a specific brand of liquid soap (dish or hand) that is safe?
I see someone mentioned using dawn, but it's ingredients don't seem any more "pure" or "plain" than any other soap.


BTW - my DME also suggested a water:vinegar 10:1 solution for washing the tank and tubes, and I have used it a couple of times on the silicone masks I've had.