[CPAP] CPAP Rainout question(s)

[BB63]

After reading posts about CPAP Rainout on this forum, I find myself revisiting this issue and would like some input from those with CPAP Rainout experience-since the info on the forum appears to head the user towards the complicated and expensive/time consuming fix while ignoring the most basic fixes, thus putting the user through Hell unnecessarily (IMHO). I will share my own fix after getting some info from the users in this thread.

I have had CPAP Rainout, perhaps 8 or 10 times in the last 25 years, it has always happened when I had a bad cold, resulting in nasal congestion (I'm a nose breather) and I had to resort to the use of Long Acting Afrin and the onboard humidifier-I don't use the humidifier normally. I am an EE (retired), so the physics of the root cause of CPAP Rainout is well known to me. My bedroom ambient temp varies with the season, but ranges between 76 degrees and 51 degrees F. I don't use heated hose or insulating jackets to keep the air tubing warmer than the ambient temp of the room. Until recently, I've never used any elevation of the hose or the CPAP machine.

So, I'm curious......

Does CPAP Rainout happen only when the CPAP's humidifier is used?

Do most users have dry mouth and other related 'dry' issues unless they use the CPAP's humidifier? I don't have these issues, but I am curious regarding whether those who need the humidifier do have 'dry' issues if the humidifier isn't used?

Are dry mouth and related 'dry' problems more prevalent in mouth breathers or in nose breathers?

[Big Guy]

I'm a mouth breather and I use a humidifier all the time. I still wake up at times with a dry mouth. For me, it's not all that much of an issue. 

It wasn't but a month or so into my SA Therapy, that I decided to use a hose hanger. I got real tired of trying to manage the hose just lying on me. Seems like I spent a good portion of the night making sure I wasn't becoming entangled in it, or avoiding the possibility of pulling my CPAP machine off it's bedside stand. 

I've never experienced rain-out as far as I know. Even prior to using a hose hanger. I do tend to drool a bit. Sounds gross admitting that, but it is what it is. But once again, not so much that it's an issue. 

Anyways, I made my own hose holder and the difference is night & day. No more hose entanglements at all. Much easier hose management. The hose from my machine runs uphill at almost a 90 degree angle. My hose holder sits atop our bed's headboard. It then drops back down to my mask, which is a ResMed AirFit F20 or F30. The hose is suspended by two rubber coiled car key thingeys that go around your wrist. They provide enough support, but not so much that the hose can't give & take. 

I can't address your dry mouth question in regards to mouth and nose breathers experiencing the same thing. I don't have a clue. I thought a dry mouth was just part & parcel of SA Therapy. Apparently it isn't for all. 

Just a note to add. I did try using my CPAP machine a couple of nights some time ago, w/o the humidity option. I didn't like that at all. It really surprised me as well. I was sure that having humidity added to the therapy wasn't that big of a deal. For me.....it was a big deal.

[OpalRose]

One time I tried to sleep through the night without the humidifier.  I figured it would be less hassle if I didn't use a humidifier.  Big mistake!  When I woke in the morning , I was certain I spent the night on a desert. I am a nose breather.

I can understand that some don't care to use humidity, but for myself, I know I need some humidity.  

I've never experienced rainout.  I route the hose upward from the machine to a hose hanger and then down to me.  Also use a heated hose and hose cover.  All of these things can prevent rainout.

[SarcasticDave94]

I've only encountered rainout with a DreamStation and the humidifier but no heated hose. My ASV was issued with heated hose as I demanded it. High humidity is the way I feel most comfortable; ResMed humidity on Manual and 4-8. It requires high heated hose settings as well, typically 80-86 degrees F. I am a mouth breather, was trying nasal and pillows masks, but that didn't go well. Full face is how I have to do this mostly. Humidity needs to be high or I get dry mouth and my COPD seems to like it better this way. I will get the hose hanger and a hose cover sometime this year if I get switched to a new machine.

[sheepless]

never had rainout, knock on wood. I generally keep my tank full with no heat applied. in the past I've tried a variety of humidifier settings and I can't make it work for me. can't discern any consistent differences in it's effect. sometimes I spend the morning sneezing and blowing my nose whether humidity is set high or low. humidity has never affected my dry mouth one way or the other. for me, with a nasal pillow mask, dry mouth is always a lip and/or mouth leaking problem that I've struggled with forever.