Can someone with a Resmed Airsense 10 help me with preventing rainout?

[Ihaveapnea]

I use the ResMed AirSense 10 CPAP machine with the ResMed AirFit N20 mask. This is my third mask and I, too, have struggled with adjusting the air pressure, humidity and temperature settings with all three. I've never experienced "rain-out" the way I've heard about it on boards. But with the AirFit N20 I have experienced light condensation with tiny droplets of water in the nasal cushion and water tank. Since I lowered the humidity level to 2, I've had no water droplet problem at all.

Through trial and error and research I have come up with what works best for me regarding everything CPAP therapy. And here is where I stand today and hopefully I'll be okay tomorrow.

RAMP: Off
EPR: Off
Air Pressure: 4-6
Humidity Level: 2
Tube Temperature: 81
Room temperature in bedroom about 62 degrees while sleeping.

My AHI levels are always under 1.0 and usually about 0.5 And although I may use the machine about 6-7 hours each day, I don't sleep most of that time. I probably get about 4 hours sleep on machine and snooze other times off machine.

I'm working on my erratic sleep pattern and I don't mind saying, it's a pain in the royal rump. But it's getting better.

Does anybody really have perfect days with a CPAP machine? Personally, I'd settle for good days with mild sleep challenges cuz that seems to be the norm for me. But in all humility, I'm very thankful that CPAP therapy has eliminated those dragged-out tired days and that's a huge plus for me.

For the rain-out problem? Lower humidity level to (2) and set temperature at 81. Of course this is only a suggestion. But if you try it once, who knows? you're body might like it. Oh, and I forgot to mention, I just bought a ResMed tubing wrap and it sure makes sleeping more comfortable.

Best wishes to all of us for Happy C-Papping

Thanks so much for the suggestions. I also have sleep maintenance insomnia. I haven't been able to sleep more than 4 to 5 hours total a night for about a decade now. I've heard that if your apnea doesn't resolve your sleep maintenance insomnia, that having a septoplasty and a turbinate reduction can be helpful in fixing the remaining sleep disordered breathing that can result in awakenings. I'm having the procedure done in a couple of weeks myself.

[sonicboom]

Thanks very much. Is there anyway to keep the hose temperature at 80 or below and the humidifier at 5 or above and avoid rainout? Increasing the temperature above 80 makes me feel like I'm sort of drowning.

If you choose those settings try it with a hose cover.

[wubisnotanabbreviation]

I have an Airsense 10, and I lately I have been experiencing excess moisture in my tubing. While thinking about why this might be, it occurred to me that it is winter where I am (southern California) and that means that the indoor humidity has gone up, now that we're finally getting some rain.

Like you, I feel that I only get good results with higher humidity settings. I decided that since condensation is increasing that it means the air from the room that is getting sucked into the equipment is already more humid than when it isn't raining, so maybe a lower humidity setting isn't going to change the overall effect too much. Sadly, I only made that change last night, so I can't be sure how well this will work for me.

Just something to consider while you are problem solving. Good luck!

[jspence]

I'm struggling with this too. I was good until last week when I started getting water in my hose. If I use anything below 5 humidity my nose dries out and it gets hard to breathe. I bought the heated hose and let the machine take care of things without any luck I was still drying out. I've tried it in manual at 5 humidity and the temp at 80 and I again got water in the hose. tonight I'm going to try bumping up the temperature to 82. I completely understand where you are coming from when you say the warmer air makes it harder to breathe.

[Crimson Nape]

jspencw,
Try having your sleeping environment around 21C. The temperature differential between the CPAP air and the ambient air plays a big role in rainout.

[Beej]

Air moisture condenses when the surface it encounters is cooler than the air is.

[jspence]

Keeping the house at 21C would bankrupt me unfortunately. We keep the house at 17C the bedrooms are probably closer to 16C. I don't seem to get too much condensation in the mask but it does fill up the hose. If I can't find a setting that works I'll just go back to the regular hose and keep something I can empty it into at night.

[Sleeprider]

Keeping the house at 21C would bankrupt me unfortunately.  We keep the house at 17C the bedrooms are probably closer to 16C.  I don't seem to get too much condensation in the mask but it does fill up the hose.  If I can't find a setting that works I'll just go back to the regular hose and keep something I can empty it into at night.

JSpence was recently spotted on the yard on a warm Ontario afternoon.

[Beej]

The hose will become a bit warmer due to the warmed humidified air.
Wrapping the hose insulates it and reduces heat loss.

Also, if the hose can droop a bit between the machine and the bed, it may prevent it from shutting off the machine or preventing data recording.

[shylock31]

I know this is an older thread, but if you haven't found a solution yet, I wanted to share my experience. On the Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset, I had to NOT use the auto setting because I got terrible rainout. Others on this forum said it's a real issue with this model. After some trial and error, I found that humidity of 2 and temp of 84 was the best setting to avoid any rainout. If a higher temp causes difficulty for you, I had a friend who would freeze her water (in the container) and found that she could tolerate the air because it was cooler. I don't know if that would help in this situation, but thought I'd share. Hope you have found a solution already, though!