How meticulous R U?

[OMyMyOHellYes]

I guess I'm not very.

I just pulled my S9 apart and dunked it all in the wash bucket. Well, not the hardware, but all the software.

I have been meaning to do this for like the last two months, but never got around to it. Always run fresh distilled H2O every night. Usually leave the tank out to dry between usages.

But just not all that regular at pulling and washing the hose, mask cushion, hum lid seal, headgear straps, and tank. But anyway, it got done today. Replaced filter too. Tank still looks brand new after a year and a half. Never, never dishwashrerized it. Dishwasher detergent and aluminium don't react well.

Not that I think it will make any difference, but it may smell like baby shampoo until I go to sleep.

Oh, last night I had a big AI cluster. But that's another thread.

OMM

[Evpraxia]

Good job on the cleaning.

Though I was confused a bit by the term "software" as I come from a high tech work environment and think of "software" as computer code. Ah well, I am always a bit different.

I use Bert's Bees baby shampoo to wash the hoses, mask, etc.

[herbm]

I think OMy means the "soft parts".

Where are you in Texas? Carol and I are in Austin.

[Doc J]

I hope you meant the H5i humidifier and mask, not much to dunk on the S9. Cleaning is a good idea.

[trish6hundred]

I wash my mask, hose and water chamber in warm, mild, soapy water once a week and
I only wash the lid seal every six months or so. I have the chamber that can go into the dishwasher but I haven't tried that .
I change my filter every six months as I don't have a very dusty environment.

[Ghost1958]

Wife and I wash the masks everyday. Seem to seal better. Tanks on distilled water dump them about every other day and quick wash out. White filters roughly about every 15 days and wash the foam ones. Wipe the lid seals about once a month. Wash the hoses out once a week.

Did it every day for a while guess I got lazy LOL. Stuff still looks and works like new so guess its often enough.

[TorontoCPAPguy]

Here's the word, bird............
From one who has experienced the downside of not keeping things clean. I have not had a cold or chest infection in FIVE YEARS. On May 19 had an accident and fractured my spine. Keeping things clean was a pain (literally). Today I have a whopper cold with chest infection and I blame it on cleanliness to be sure. I used to have four masks/hoses and rotate them weekly, washing the lot at the end of the month in sudsy water with a painbrush to clean the gunk and rinsed well (odourless soap); I then soaked the works in Control III disinfectant made for breathing equipment. MARVELLOUS. And always sealed well to boot. I wiped everything down with Citrus II wipes every morning and used a disinfectant wipe on all exterior areas. Clean as clean could be. FIVE YEARS not even a cold. I could not maintain the regimen this past month or two so did "just so so" and here is my result. I am using oxygen infusion inline. I am using the humidifier cranked way up to clear my chest without heavy drugs. I am on Amoxycillan and inhalers to keep the pipes clear. I am sleeping like crap and am a basket case and at 62 it is taking a wee bit longer to rebound than ten years ago.

My advice? Cleanliness is next to godliness and I don't care what other reports you are getting. Trust me. You don't need to be crazy about it but keep your stuff clean and disinfected and you will be a happier person. Keep in mind that you are not just gently breathing small whiffs of this gunk... You are having it unceremoniously BLOWN INTO YOUR LUNGS. Hope I'm getting the message across.

There is a reason they wash and disinfect before donning surgical gloves prior to surgery. Take a hint from that. It doesn't take much.

Oh, and wash your hands and face with soap before donning your nose hose as well. And brush your teeth (think about it). And lastly, say your prayers before retiring for the night. Your chances of suffering a catastrophic event if you are not taking care of business properly is infinitely higher than a healthy person.

[Whitewabit]

I wipe the mask every morning after taking it off with a CPAP Wipe to remove body oil and then leave the wipe covering the mask for the day to keep out any dust that might be in the air and I wash my face at night before putting it on and going to bed.

Every Wednesday and Sunday I completely wash the mask, hose to mask, and climate hose to machine, and then dump and wash humidifier tank in hot soapy water rinse thoroughly with water and then flush with distilled water for final rinse. Hang them to dry for the day before connecting back to machine and then I run the preheat before retiring for the night .. So everything that the air goes through is washed every 3-4 days.

I think if I were to catch a cold or sinus infection I would then wash everything everyday to insure I wouldn't be reinfecting myself each night !!

I wash the head gear just once per month by hand and let air dry .. I have longer hair and the head gear would pull it till I started wearing a surgeons cap which stopped the hair pulling and also kept it clean of oil from ones hair so doesn't need washed as often (wash the cap instead every 3 days) as the mask and other parts! I use a Wisp Mask and wear it very loosely !

[Galactus]

I used to wash everything every day, sometimes twice a day. That's all I'm going to post here.....

[archangle]

Other than the parts of the mask that touch your skin, I'm skeptical about the need to keep CPAP equipment particularly clean in a germ sense.

Assuming that you don't let anyone else use or handle your equipment, any germs on the equipment are going to be what is living in the air in your house, on your body, or in your tap water. Ignoring the water tank for the moment, there's not much food in or on the equipment for the germs to feed on, so the number of germs leaving the machine should be roughly the same number of germs out as the number of germs in from the air.

The water tank can grow germs, but in theory, they can't get out of the water and into the air. If you use distilled water, there's a lot less food for the germs to grow on.

However, keep it clean anyway. I clean my equipment thoroughly weekly and swap hoses, masks, and water tanks so I can let everything dry for a week.

If you find the cleaning ritual to be burdensome, get a few sets of equipment. Let the "dirty laundry" pile up a little longer then do a thorough cleaning when you run out of clean stuff.

If you're feeling paranoid, replace old stuff and/or find more severe sanitation processes occasionally. I've dropped hard plastic and silicone parts into a large pot of boiling water, turned the heat off, and let it cool slowly. I damaged one of the new style ResMed S9 non-dishwashable tanks, and some of the hoses got a bit "crinkly." You can also buy Control III disinfectant from Supplier #1 or other places. Read the directions, and dilute it properly.

Neither heat nor Control III kills everything, but they help. Or at least they make me feel better.