How do you know when a nasal pillow is worn out?

I've been using the same P-10 pillow since starting therapy four months ago. Replacement schedules I've seen say a new one every two weeks. I've got a spare ready but the current one looks fine. Do they start to crack or does the material get less pliable? I've had some higher leak rates the last couple days but I don't know if that's related.

Congratulations on your extended pillow life; please share your secret, if any.
Pillow life varies greatly, depending on many factors; skin chemistry, fit, cleaning regimen, and even manufacturing lot number.
A high leak trend over several days should serve as your best indicator as to when to change.
As long as you are not needing a new pillow before you can afford it, that's good. Aside from keeping spares in case of various
mishaps, --loss, pet bite, etc., you probably don't need a huge stockpile.

I am still using the same nasal pillow with the P10 that I started with back in January when I first got this mask.
In the past with other models of nasal pillow masks I also got months and months of use and most often trashed a pillow because it looked ugly first before it was unusable.

My routine in the past has been to look for patterns of leaks that weren't likely open mouth leaks and 99% of the time it had been a week or so since last washing of the pillow and once I washed it the leaks seemed to reduce so I give the pillow "another try" and it works so no need to replace yet.

I have heard of people saying that the inner cones become unstable and tend to collapse too easily, where they didn't used to collapse, when the pillows were getting tired and needing replaced. I have never had this happen to me though. Not in over 5 years of using various nasal pillow models for months.

So in general when evaluating the wear and tear and fatigue....look for leaks that out of the norm that don't clean up with a good washing. Or look for instability of the silicon inner cones or the pillow in general not wanting to hold its form. Ugly can count if it bugs you. The old boil with baking soda trick can help with ugly but be sure to boil in distilled water if you try it. I boiled my first batch in my regular hard tap water and they came out looking worse than before I boiled them but with distilled water they came out crystal clear.
I don't do the boil thing often though. Haven't needed to as 99% of the time a good hot water wash and rinse does the trick.

I've been using the P10 for about six weeks now. I wipe them down with the free wipes CPAP.com gave me with my order every few days or when they feel like they're not forming a good seal. About once a week I wash the frame and pillows in warm water. I've had virtually no leaks, and my pillows seem pretty much like-new. I don't doubt that I'll get at least several more months out of them -- which is good, because my insurance includes no coverage for supplies.

I think we might be able to commend ResMed for producing a more durable pillow than on the Swift FX.
I really did have to boil those little suckers after 2 weeks!

I've been using the same Tap Pap pillows for several months. No leaks.

chunkyfrog wrote:I think we might be able to commend ResMed for producing a more durable pillow than on the Swift FX.
I really did have to boil those little suckers after 2 weeks!

I dishwash my Swift FX pillows after a week and swap around about 4 sets of pillows. None of my show any signs of being worn out after a year and a half or so.