Hose Cleaning

[justMongo]

I do the same as Trish, but use Palmolive.

You're soaking in it. -- Madge

[Shastzi]

I mostly hand wash everything with Dawn (non-concentrated) dish soap.

If I really want to disinfect now and then I use an extra long gun cleaning cable and haul one of the
Thymol (oil of Thyme) saturated wipes through it then let it air dry.

They make good disinfecting mask wipes too.

for small jobs a 20ga-12ga barrel mop works well in places that nothing else can reach

[TyroneShoes]

My DME suggests just taking the hose with you in the shower, put a drop of baby shampoo in, and let 'er rip. The shower head is also a convenient place to hang the hose for drying. That is about as maintenance free as you can get.

But I am not even sure you need to wash the hose. The only thing going through it (hopefully) is air and pure water vapor. But then the only thing going through a table fan is air, supposedly, and the back of one of those gets a little crusty after a year or so.

I would also assume that any kind of movement or vigorous manipulation of the hose contributes to pinholes over time, so maybe the frequency should not be all that often. I get a new hose sent every 90 days, because they can and do wear out.

So since the hardest part is getting it out of the cozy and back in, I don't wash it as often as many would probably like to see me do that.

[Shastzi]

My Hybernite hose is over two years old and the only damage is where the cat gnaws on it.
She knows I hate that!

I make sure it dries out completely after every use and wash/disinfect a few times a month.
I also keep building humidity below 50% at all times.
If your humidity is 50% or more and you put things away wet, you have mold in 24 hrs.

not a nice thing..

Just my 4 cents worth.

[truetopath]

I use the Palmolive dye free stuff, when I think of it. Fill sink, stir stuff around, rinse and dry...I used to do it daily, but I developed a case of lazyitis.

[stanleydean]

Thanks guys for all the informative input. Looks like the hose cleaning task is pretty flexible across the board, that's good information. Not sure which approach will work best for me so I'll probably try a few before deciding.

[HDK Anchorage]

So how are fellow forum members cleaning their heated hoses? The instructions that came with my Respironics heated hose (and the advice from my DME supplier) say not to let the end with the electrical connections get wet. I've been following this advice but that precludes me from submerging the entire hose in the Ivory liquid soap and water solution.

I'm guessing the supply to the black cap is less than 18 volts so I'm not worried about getting shocked but I'm wondering if the caution is to prevent shorting out the heater somehow.

Is anyone here just ignoring the warning, any problems? Any thoughts on using a hair dryer (low or no heat) to dry the machine end of the hose before connecting back to the machine?

Thanks in advance

[PaytonA]

Thanks guys for all the informative input. Looks like the hose cleaning task is pretty flexible across the board, that's good information. Not sure which approach will work best for me so I'll probably try a few before deciding.

I have been PAPing for 4 or 5 years and I cleaned my hose once. I alternate between 2 standard hoses and since last winter use a climateline hose in the winter.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

[DariaVader]

I have been PAPing for 4 or 5 years and I cleaned my hose once. I alternate between 2 standard hoses and since last winter use a climateline hose in the winter.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

yucky..... if i go too long everything smells like sneeze.

[WSHenry]

I'm nearly two years into PAP therapy, and have found the electrical contacts don't seem to be particularly affected by water. I'm now just putting a couple of drops of dishwashing detergent in the hose, adding hot water, sloshing in around a bit and the, rinsing with hot tap water for a couple of minutes. I typically shake as much water as possible from the contact cavity. So far, no problems.