Mask cushions: Control III or boiling with baking soda?

I wash all my CPAP stuff with baby shampoo. It's mild, doesn't cause skin irriation and it smells nice.

The problem with trying to recondition used silicone mask is that boiling/soaking or whatever cannot remove scratches or defects in the silicone. Those defects become natural host for bacteria, mold and fungus, You may think you have restored the mask shape and removed cloudiness but you have not made the mask safe to continue using. Just inspect the surface of a well-used mask closely and you will see many small cracks, crevices and pits. Boiling will not remove these and continued use of mask could expose you to pathogens that grow in small places that do not fully dry out..

VikingGnome wrote:The problem with trying to recondition used silicone mask is that boiling/soaking or whatever cannot remove scratches or defects in the silicone. Those defects become natural host for bacteria, mold and fungus, You may think you have restored the mask shape and removed cloudiness but you have not made the mask safe to continue using. Just inspect the surface of a well-used mask closely and you will see many small cracks, crevices and pits. Boiling will not remove these and continued use of mask could expose you to pathogens that grow in small places that do not fully dry out..

If you haven't tried it...don't comment on it. If bacteria exists, the boiling will kill it. I have 2 cushions that are over a year old. They have been cleaned nightly with baby wipes and boiled about every 2-3 months. I inspected them after reading your post. They show no sign of cracks or pits.

I usually wipe with a baby wipe every night and clean in a non scented dish soap once a month. I was getting a new cushion every six months but I am in a new company and different Insurance so it has been longer then six months. I think i will try the boiling method.

LSAT wrote:
If you haven't tried it...don't comment on it. If bacteria exists, the boiling will kill it. I have 2 cushions that are over a year old. They have been cleaned nightly with baby wipes and boiled about every 2-3 months. I inspected them after reading your post. They show no sign of cracks or pits.

I have tried it. I boiled an older nasal cushion. It did help it seal better, I mentioned it to the NP at my sleep doc's office. He is the one that told me about the problem of uneven surface of the mask. Yes, boiling will sanitize it until the first time you use it. If the pits or crevices are too small for a baby wipe to clean them out, you run the risk of growing biologic pathogens for 3 months until next boiling. Those pits and scratches rarely get totally dry making a perfect incubator for continued growth, If pathogenic, you breathe it 6-8 hours every night with added moisture from humidifier to continue growth.

It is not hypothetical. My sleep doc has seen several cases of fungal sinusitis and pneumonitis directly due to improper care of silicone cushions.