RE: Cleaning?
I just now changed headgear for the first time. The headgear I got rid of was over six months old. I'm kinda "frugal" so I tried everything to shrink it back down and used it longer than I should have. I put the new headgear on and couldn't believe the difference it made in easily maintaining a good mask seal.
I won't wait as long to change to new headgear this time. When you look at the price, headgear really isn't as expensive as most of the other stuff. I've pretty much decided that I'll use mask frames, hoses and humidifier water chambers as long as I possibly can; but, it just doesn't seem to be worth it to try to squeeze too much use out of filters, mask cushions and headgear.
RE: Cleaning?
Still haven't changed gear or hose, and it is now 9 months, no problem. Cleaning? Hot water and dish soap. Tube is soaked in and out for around ten minutes, then hung to dry for a while before using a hair dryer to get the inside nice and dry. If the hair dryer is not available, I just hook it up to CPAP, turn of the auto off and remove the card, then let the CPAP run for 20 minutes, and viola, dry as a bone (same for the nose piece). Took some bac swabs of before and after and had the lab run them - clean and cleaner.
Small trick in the morning - if you do turn auto off to off permanently, then after you take off the mask in the morning and hang it up, leaving the machine running, it will dry the hose and mask as well, in about four minutes, reducing bacterial growth factors. Best if your tank is empty for that....
03-14-2013, 01:16 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-14-2013, 01:18 PM by DocWils.)
RE: Cleaning?
I was just in the Sleep Clinic at the Unispital in Zurich, and discussed the cleaning of headgear amongst other things. The consensus from the technicians who must ensure the cleanliness of the gear for patients is that dish soap is usually sufficient for home needs. The main hose rarely needs to be replaced and only seriously needs to be washed out once every few months at most, so long as you keep your water tank clean. The connecting hose should be left on the nose piece (I use a nasal pillow) and either chuck the whole thing in the dish washer or clean with hot water and dish soap. Outside of that, give the nasal insert or mask a regular wipe with either water and dish soap or a disinfectant that won't damage the silicon and clean it off. That's all you need to do - you rarely need to be more vigilant than that.
As for all the attachments for the headgear, it doesn't need to be cleaned all that often, and can be tossed, intact, with the Velcro on, etc, in the cloths washer for a quick clean - just spin it well and make sure it is dry.
