[Equipment] Is moisture staying in hoses a problem?

[PaulaO2]

If you use only distilled water (as you probably do) it shouldn't cause any problems. If it were me, I'd still disconnect and hang up the hose in the morning so it can dry out completely during the day. Literally a matter of seconds.

Distilled water is not sterile. It will mold just as fast as any other water.

My concern was whether moisture in the tube all day would cause problems, rather than just the appearance. Leaving it hung to dry all day doesn't make any difference.

My RT suggested in an email that I set climate to auto and raise the tube temperature, so I'll try that tonight.

Tomorrow's another day!

You are on the right track. I bought a heated hose and set my machine to auto. I haven't had rain out since.

Yep, it is what I do as well. Set to auto and put the temp on whatever is needed for that night. Usually around 70. Done. I know a lot of people use manual and set both the humidity and temp but I'm lazy.

As long as you clean out the hose and let it air dry at least once a week, it should be fine. I've been bit in the arse by mold in the hose so I'm hyper-alert to keeping mine dry. Not so much that I run a rag through it daily, but I do clean it once a week and get rid of it after 6mos.

[eseedhouse]

Distilled water is not sterile. It will mold just as fast as any other water.

Water is distilled by boiling it which will kill any bacteria in that water. The steam that arises is 100% pure water with nothing in it other than H20. Bacteria need more than water to grow, they need food, and distilled water contains no food. The same is true of molds.

IF the container it is shipped in is not sterile it may be contaminated and able to grow bacteria or molds, but I doubt that it will grow them very fast. Bacteria are actually pretty tricky to grow in the lab in petri dishes which contain a soup of nutrients designed to encourage them to grow.

The distilled water I get from my local drugstore has been further treated with ozone by the way, presumably to keep things sterile since ozone kills bugs.

I think it would be good if you provide some evidence to back your claim.

[sonicboom]

As others have posted - hose cover and set to auto and heat = no rainout and dry hose. But also, when you take your mask off for good in the morning the machine goes to cool down. Let this run its cycle (you will see a blue snowflake icon) and air will blow through your hose and dry out any moisture if there happens to be any.

[OpalRose]

Its a non issue, unless your are washing the hose and storing it.

If you are using it again, as soon as you turn your cpap on, the warm air will dry it in minutes.

I have two hoses, wash one and hang to dry. Use the other for a week, then switch out.