[Equipment] How to get tobacco smell out of machine

[dickpiche]

Hi, I'm new to this forum.
Picked up a used Respironics REMstarPlus M series to use for traveling.
It's so much smaller than my old Sullivan V Elite which I use every night.
Unfortunately, the Respironics came from a smoking environment, so it has a bit of a smell. I've cleaned the tubing and the filters,
Any ideas on this?
I am willing to open it up if this would help - I am an electronics tech.
There does not seem to be a tech manual for it in the forum's tech manual area.

Thanks for any help!

-Dick

[trish6hundred]

Hi dickpiche,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
One thing you might want to considerdoing is to get new tubing and filters, but hang in there for more ideas and best of luck to you.

[Lukie]

Wipe as much as possible with white vinegar.

[me50]

Hi, I'm new to this forum.
Picked up a used Respironics REMstarPlus M series to use for traveling.
It's so much smaller than my old Sullivan V Elite which I use every night.
Unfortunately, the Respironics came from a smoking environment, so it has a bit of a smell. I've cleaned the tubing and the filters,
Any ideas on this?
I am willing to open it up if this would help - I am an electronics tech.
There does not seem to be a tech manual for it in the forum's tech manual area.

Thanks for any help!

-Dick

I would get a new chamber too and if the mask isn't a new one, I would either really clean them and wash the frame and head gear or better yet, buy a new mask. Basically, I would change everything out that you can. I don't know how the DME does it when machines are returned but my DME said when machines are in a home where people smoke, they have to clean the machines to get the smell out. So, you might ask your DME or a DME what they do.

[archangle]

Don't try any kind of chemicals, gas, etc. into the blower unit. There are delicate electronic sensors inside and anything that can eat up cigarette smell might well eat up the sensors.

Some people put something on a cotton ball and put it near the input, but even that worries me a bit.

Change filters, and clean what you can. If you don't need to use it right away, just waiting for it to air out for a long time might help. Sit it out in the open, and run it for a few minutes several times a day to flush out whatever cigarette vapors have diffused out of the plastic in the inner workings of the machine. Maybe in a few months, it will be better.

If you're using it, and it still has a smell, turn it on and let it run for a minute or two before donning the mask.

Starting with fresh humidifier water every night might help.

[comatose]

Hi, I'm new to this forum.
Picked up a used Respironics REMstarPlus M series to use for traveling.
It's so much smaller than my old Sullivan V Elite which I use every night.
Unfortunately, the Respironics came from a smoking environment, so it has a bit of a smell. I've cleaned the tubing and the filters,
Any ideas on this?
I am willing to open it up if this would help - I am an electronics tech.
There does not seem to be a tech manual for it in the forum's tech manual area.

Thanks for any help!

-Dick

HeY Dick, I think I heard somewhere? Activated oxygen or ozone?

or...........if you can't beat em, join em..

wanna smoke

[mjbearit]

Hi, I'm new to this forum.
Picked up a used Respironics REMstarPlus M series to use for traveling.
It's so much smaller than my old Sullivan V Elite which I use every night.
Unfortunately, the Respironics came from a smoking environment, so it has a bit of a smell. I've cleaned the tubing and the filters,
Any ideas on this?
I am willing to open it up if this would help - I am an electronics tech.
There does not seem to be a tech manual for it in the forum's tech manual area.

Thanks for any help!

-Dick

Dickpiche, Hi, welcome to the forum. I have opened mine up as I had something come lose and I just opened it, reseeated everything and closed it again. I did notice while I was in there that (and I am assuming that most machines are similar) the blower would be very difficult to remove and more so to clean. If you do decide to go that route though, you should consider sanitization afterwards. The machines you can buy to do that are around $300 and then you still have to shell out for couplers for your specific machine! It might be advisable to contact a local DME and ask them about cleaning services. or sanitizing services. Maybe you can find someone with one of those machines that lives near you and you could work with them to use it after you clean it. Just a thought, but anything you do inside that blower has a high possibility of introducing germs and other unsavory items into a clean environment. You might try shooting an email to some of the recommended suppliers listed here: http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...plier-List and explain your predicament. All they can do is ignore you, but one of them may have a good suggestion.
Good luck
Mike