Has anyone checked to see what chemical(s) resmed masks are off gasing?

[erouting]

Over the last few weeks I've gotten several different resmed masks, all sealed and new, from several different suppliers. They have a bit of a smell to them out of the package. It's faint, but there. It hasn't gone away with time. In order for things to have a smell, something that can be breathed in has to be off gassed from that thing. It is my understanding that silicone intended for things like food, skin contact or used as air lines normally doesn't have a smell after it's fully cured, because it isn't off gasing anything. I have a couple silicone molds used for candies and they have no smell at all, neither do my O2 lines, or the 100% medical grade silicone North brand respirators I used in hazmat work. My best evidence is the ~20 years I spent in those medical grade respirators. They never had a smell to them that I could detect after the first wash out of the package. But these masks do and they all appear to me to have the same smell to them, which likely means they're slowly emitting the same chemical(s.) Chemicals are often added to silicone for a variety of reasons including changing softness, elasticity, durability and other performance factors. 

I'm pretty sure resmed is adding something because, normally, manufacturers will state that a product is made of "100% medical grade silicone" but that's not what resmed says. Instead they say that their products are made of "silicone material." https://www.resmed.my/products/masks/airfit-p30i see the last question in the Q&A section. That just means these masks have silicone in them. And it almost certainly means they have some other additives present as well. 

Given the Phillips carcinogen issue, and the very clear evidence from that recall that these companies do not care about us or our health, I think it's reasonable to be suspicious when materials used in these systems deviate from proven safe materials used in other food, skin and medical applications. With that in mind, has anyone taken one of these masks, put it in a vac chamber for 24 hours, and then subjected the gas pumped out during that process to a mass spectrometer to see what chemicals are being released? If that hasn't been done does anyone have access to the lab equipment needed to run that test? 

If no one has that kind of lab access, well, I'm poor, but I'd still be willing to chip in to the costs of getting a lab test run. At least if other people want to help and also find it concerning that these masks have a smell to them, probably aren't made of medical grade silicone and resmed hasn't disclosed what they're adding to their silicone and what tests (if any) have been run on those additives to confirm their long term safety in a a skin contacting air supply system we use for a significant portion of each day.

Has anyone else noticed the smell I'm talking about or have thoughts about this? 

Thank you for your time.

[aw425]

Yes (a year later). The new resmed N30i and P30i have a distinct smell. Even after full initial washing, they make me congested for a few days with daily wipe downs. I was looking here for ways to remove the smell out of the box. 
Outgassing possibly carcinogens is a whole other issue.

[erouting]

Appreciate the confirmation that you smell it too. 

I called a bunch of labs and was told I needed something forensic if I was looking for unknown compounds in air and they couldn't do it and didn't know who could but gave me the names of some other labs that might. The labs I was directed to only work on contract for the government and big business and refused to do a one-off for me at any price. Was directed to maybe try colleges with research programs, which I did but they all ignored me. So I've been waiting for one of the biotechs in my area to go bankrupt (happens fairly regularly) so I can try to buy a mass spectrometer at auction and do it myself. So far none of the auctions have included one that I could find enough documentation on to be confident I could use. Not really sure what else to do though. Haven't run into a situation where no one would perform a service for money in the US before. 

Open to other ideas if you can think of a better way.

[Big Guy]

I have three different ResMed full-face masks. Yes, they do tend to have a smell when new, but it seems to go away quickly. Either that, or I'm not sensitive to the smell.

[Crimson Nape]

If you are finding the odor obnoxious and nothing else, you could always spray some Pooph Odor Eliminator on it.
- Red

[erouting]

It's more that I want to know what the odor is. Silicone doesn't have an odor. This does. Which means something is off gassing. Is whatever that substance is a health hazard? As users of this product we ought to have access to that information, especially considering the Phillips fiasco. It could be harmless. It could also be a potent carcinogen. Without testing no one, including resmed who I also called and asked about this, has any idea.

[Lucid]

Hi erouting

I'm so glad you posted about this, as I had been wondering the same thing but was too distracted to ask.

I use p30i nasal cushions and noticed a chemical odor starting maybe six or eight months ago.  I've used cushions with different manufacturing dates since then and still find the smell.  Washing with soap and water or cleaning with alcohol didn't remove it.

What I do now is to take out a new p30i cushion a week before I plan to change out the old cushion.  I set it on top of one of my air purifiers to air out.  After a week of ventilation, I no longer notice the smell.  

I guess I'm still breathing some of the chemical during this ventilation period, but at a lower concentration.  Ideally, one would do this in an unused room, I guess   

Perhaps it could be something ResMed uses on the molds, or from the QuietAir vents, which are different plastics, or ????

I've been too busy to search YouTube or other forums or the FDA to see if anyone else has raised this or has information.  Has anyone else here done that?

I haven't tried to ask my DME or ResMed so far.  A year or two ago I contacted ResMed concerning the black mold or whatever it is that develops on the QuietAir vent filters.  I got a reply that recommended following the cleaning directions, which was I'd already done to no avail.  I suppose it's better to contact ResMed anyway to at least document the concern, but I haven't had time yet.

[BuzzaJim]

A lot of things smell when new. I always wash a new mask cushion before using it.  Most folks seem more concerned about keeping their mask sealed.  Have there been any reports of ResMed having any problems with off-gassing masks?  There are a lot more things out there in the world you cannot smell and that are a lot more harmful than anything coming out of a ResMed mask.  F&P also makes masks so maybe one of their masks would be better.  Uncured silicone does have an odor.  As it cures it off-gasses acetic acid (vinegar smell). It’s possible they use some sort of release agent in the manufacturing process.

[Big Guy]

Just a thought! If my wife buys something and she doesn't appreciate the smell, she'll place the item outside in the bright sun. 

We have an upper deck off of our living room. There's been many times that she does what she does. She says that absorbing the direct sunlight for a few hours gets rid of unwanted smells. 

[G. Szabo]

From a chemical perspective, the answer is simple. The reaction never goes to 100% when you manufacture aplastic with polymerization. Hence, some monomer you started the procedure with is left behind and eventually escapes. The only thing you can do is increase the release rate by venting, heating, or applying vacuum. Moreover, thick plastic pieces can release residuals for a long time.

The other issue is with polyurethane foams and C.f. Philips devices. They have been used for thermal and sound insulation in devices and houses as well. They release formaldehyde, a known carcinogen. You cannot prevent this release process, and you cannot stop it because its release never ends. Hence, some building codes were adjusted to allow some manufacturers to use some structural elements containing polyurethanes.