I hate this cleaning !@#!!!!! How can it be made easy????

Ambrola wrote:

I hate this cleaning !@#!!!!! How can it be made easy????

How often do you clean ?

I don't think it necessary to do a daily clean.

Daniel


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The untreated Sleep Apnoea sufferer died quietly in his sleep.......
Unlike his three passengers who died screaming !!!!!!

(Anon)

What cleaning? I've had my machine and mask for about 6 weeks I think. Haven't cleaned anything yet. I empty the humidifier each morning and let it air dry. The nasal mask appears to be as clean as new.

I clean the nasal pillows or mask cushion daily with Ivory liquid soap; it takes half a minute in the morning right after I brush my teeth -- I just get my hands all lathery and gently rub the pillows or mask and rinse off.  Other than that, I clean the hoses and filter and the other mask parts once a week or so, again with the ivory liquid.  Usually I do this on either Saturday or Sunday morning, so that they can dry all day long, and every so often I soak my humidifier chamber and hose in 25% vinegar solution (in water) for 10 mins and let air dry.  I probably should do the vinegar thing more often, but none of the stuff seems dirty.

for cleaning I dont bother to take anything apart, the mask, skullcap and airhose all get soaked in a plastic bucket of warm water and mild detergent, then are gently washed with water run thru in the airhose and left to dry

occasionally the mask shows mildew in some areas and is then soaked in chlorine bleach and cold water also

skin oils are said to make the mask wear out faster but my mask only gets occasional washing and lasts OK

Ambrola, I agree with Daniel.  I don't think it's necessary to do a daily cleaning of everything either.

Everyone has their own routine they feel comfortable with.  I use only distilled water in my heated humidifier.  I don't dump the water out in the morning.  I use a funnel to just add more in the evening to get the water back up to the fill line.   Once every couple of months, I dump the water and start over. I don't take the humidifier apart.

Since it's only distilled water vapor going through the main air hose, I don't think the main air hose needs extensive cleaning.  It stays clean, imho.  Perhaps once a month (if I think of it) I'll slosh some soapy water around in the main air hose, rinse it and hang it to dry for the day.

The mask - I never take a mask apart...ever.  I think that just results in wear and tear on the mask.  I also think the parts just might not fit back together as tightly as they came from the manufacturer.   I gently wipe skin oils off the part of the cushion (or nasal pillows) that comes in contact with the face - mild soap, lukewarm water, soft cloth, no scrubbing.  Just a quick swipe, really.   Perhaps once a month, I'll slosh the entire mask (without taking it apart) around in soapy water or a vinegar/water solution, rinse and let it dry for a day.

Main thing is to wash your face each night and pat dry very well, before putting on the mask.

I'm just not going to go through a big ritual of daily (or even weekly) equipment cleaning if I don't think it's necessary.  Being casual about it has been my "routine" for two years now.     If I had a compromised immune system or bad health problems, perhaps I'd look at it differently.

I can understand why the manufacturers and the DME's talk about daily and weekly cleaning, taking things apart to clean them, etc.  As far as I'm concerned, such instructions are mostly a matter of "CYA"....in place because people are so apt to sue over anything/everything.

I have the Respironics BiPAP Pro 2 with the Respironics ComfortFull FFM.  Here is how I clean my equipment.  I dump the water out of the humidifier and put some mild dish soap in it.  I put warm water in it and hold the openings closed with my thumbs.  I shake it for 30 seconds.  I then take the bottom off of it and rinse the soap out and dry it with a towel.  I run warm water through the hose from both ends and dry the outside of the hose with the towel.  I put the humidifier back on the machine with the hose and run it for 5 minutes to dry out the inside of the hose.

I take the forehead piece with the headgear off the mask.  I take the mask into the shower with me and use shower gel on a washcloth to wash all surfaces of the mask.  After the shower, I also dry that with the towel.  After that, I put the mask back together and it's dry enough to assemble everything again.  I do all of this every morning.

Please take this for what it's worth.  I'm very paranoid about becoming sick from dirty equipment or breathing dirty air.  I talked to my DME and they said it works, but it is a bit obsessive.  My view is a bit of obsessiveness to prevent illness is worth it to me.  This is my $.02 worth.

Sleepy Scott

I use the swift nasal mask.  I take the nasal pillows off daily.  I use warm water and Johnson's baby shampoo.  I let is soak for 10 or 15 minutes then air dry.  I clean the entire mask once a week.  Every two weeks I clean the humidifier tank and hose with vinegar and water and or Johnson's baby shampoo.  I have a 10 foot hose brush that I use also to clean the hose.  To dry the hose I hook it up to the machine and hit warm-up.  A low volume of air blows and dries the hose.  

I find if I don't clean the nasal pillows daily I get small leaks around the nostrils.


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