Cleaning F20/F30 QuietAir Elbow

[70sSanO]

A while back there was a thread on accumulated gunk, for lack of a better word, on the diffuser filter where the holes line up.

Here is the thread...

http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...t=QuietAir

In the thread there was a suggestion to soak the elbow in 100% white vinegar to clean the black spots.

After a year of use, just soaking didn't help enough.

What I did was soak for a day, then I fired up my air compressor and set it to 70psi to blow all the gunk out.  I also blew air along the open slots in the diffusser.

I repeated the process for another day and it has turned out pretty clean, not perfect, but better than I had expected.

John

[car54]

I have never had problems with my elbow. Once I week I soak it in hot water and dish soap for about 15 to 20 minutes along with my hose and water chamber. It is over a year old.

car54

[Big Guy]

No problems here either, with the elbow(s) for my F20 and F30 AirFit masks. 

A good soaking in hot water and some liquid dish soap, and some vigorous swishing around, seems to work.

[Hydrangea]

Did you see the black spots before you cleaned it?

I've not seen anything on the foam/material in there. I've assumed you have to pull out the white material in order to see the black spots.

[SarcasticDave94]

I pulled the glasspack white packing out and did away with it months ago. I don't think it'll be an issue for me anymore. I'm going with F&P as my therapy begins again with a different machine in the works. I got to keep the Simplus after that last sleep study as I suppose the tech didn't want to reclaim the mask.

[Hydrangea]

I pulled the glasspack white packing out and did away with it months ago. 

Good thinking!  I can't figure out how to get it out.

[SarcasticDave94]

I'd went into a rogue I-don't-care what happens to the elbow mode. As is, I think I have 3-4 just laying around, so I'm not going to miss one if I killed it.

I used straight needle nose pliers to dig under the opaque ring if I remember right. The digging around snapped or popped a glued segment and the ring loosened a bit, giving extra space to dig more. I grabbed some whitish packing and ripped it out.

Can do an image again if it's helpful. It should have been on that other thread where I showed those black spots FWIW.

Edit of above: I used a flat screwdriver to pry on the opaque ring where the red arrow points. Snap crackle pop. Then the needle nose pliers used to dig for the packing at the same spot at the red arrow. It is evident I must also have pried on the far left as well.

[attachment=27893]

[kevOzilla]

do you still use the airfit quiet air mask and elbow? also do you still clean it with vinegar and water? im in the same boat opened it saw black spots and stopped using it but i already used it for a month and cleaned it once with warm water and vinegar i was told they dont reccomend using vinegar for the elbow and i hav e had throaght irritation and issues after i cleaned it so wondering if you had irritation also and would you happen to know what the quietair foam is made of? like what material hope it isnt toxic or cancerous

[kevOzilla]

do you happen to know what the quiet air foam in the elbow is made of? is it pe pur foam thats the same inside the machine or its it more like a cotton? wouldnt happen to know exact materials? reason i ask is because i used vinegar and water and soaked the whole elbow in for a few then rinsed and let dry and they dont reccomend doing that only using soap so idk if the vinegar breaks it down fast or diteriates it

[SarcasticDave94]

No, it's not foam. It's somewhat like a fiber filter or packing kinda like synthetic wool or similar. Not certain of the actual material. Best bet is if you're concerned about what the material actually is, then you may want to avoid the elbow.