Humidifer questions.. Resmed 10 Airsense

[beetee]

Hello all,

Been using CPAP for three months now, last night i tried humidifer for the first time to see how it is, and i found it more comfortable to use. Ive started on manual mode (with climateair line heated tubing) and on humidity setting 3, though i intend to increase that level.

A few Questions.

1. I bought some distilled water from amazon (which wasn't particually cheap) i watched videos and read instructions which all say to fill the water to 'just under the max line'. When i woke up in the morning it had barely used more than a quarter of the water, Is there any risk to the machine or the therapy of filling the water less (for example just under the second fill line or even in between the first and second line). Is doing that ok, or must you always fill to under the max line?

2. Im thinking about just rinsing the water tank out each morning with some distilled water, emptying in out and leaving it to dry. Is that perfectly fine to do or do you have to wash it fully everyday to avoid bateria and germs etc?

3. Can the water tank just be washed properly once a week, and must you use soap or can you just wash it with hot water?
I prefer to just use water if i can, as i have found with my mask, even when i use unscented soap that meets there criteria i can still smell it after cleaning it and rinsing it, I very much have a sensitive sense of smell.

4. I don't understand, as they put such an emphasis on using the correct water in the tank, but surely it not a good idea to wash the tank in tap water, couldn't that leave mineral desposits or something when its drying or does wahing it in tap water not matter so long as your not using tap water during its operation?

Thanks

[PeaceLoveAndPizza]

In order…

1. You do not need to use distilled water, tap water is fine you just need to clean it more often. How much water you use is dependent on the humidity in your home and how much you feel you need to use. I would just fill it to the middle line for now until you learn over time how much you need to use. I do use distilled water and have my own home distiller as I use it for coffee and tea, but would not hesitate to use tap water.

2. Rinsing daily when using tap water is a good habit to get into. With distilled water doing it once a week is fine. I only clean mine with dish soap and water every few months. I am still on my original water chamber and hose.

3. Only use dish soap like Dawn or equivalent. Cold or hot water is fine, but not too hot as it may warp the seals. One common mistake newbies make is over-washing, find what works for you.

4. Don’t overthink things. If you can drink the tap water it is fine to rinse the water chamber. Now, I would not use tap water in a Neti Pot, but for rinsing it is not an issue. If you are concerned just use distilled water to rinse.

[Big Guy]

I started out using distilled water, but gave up on that within a few months. I now just use tap water and empty the tank every morning and wipe dry with a paper towel. I leave the lid up to let it air dry completely. 

If I do see some mineral deposits in the tank, some White Vinegar takes care of that easily enough. I pour in just enough to cover the deposits, let soak for 20 min. or so, dump it out and rinse with tap water. Then wipe dry with a paper towel. 

I always fill the tank to the max. line. I rarely have much water left over after a night's use. Once in a great while, I'll actually take the water chamber and submerge it in a bathroom sink full of hot water and some dish soap and clean it. That doesn't happen very often though, as the tank doesn't get dirty.

[beetee]

Is it wise to dry with a paper towel? i was told not to as it can leave behind tiny micro fibers which you then can breathe into your lungs, or is that more overthinking?

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Do these home water distillers use alot of electricity to run them, do you know?

Im glad you said that you only wash your humidifer with soap every few months. This is what i intend to do, im hoping that just a morning water rinse and dry will be fine and there is no need to worry about germs or bateria, but i dont want to be breathing in bateria but surely the tank will not be dirty and need soap washing every week?

[Big Guy]

No issues using paper towels. Even after wiping the chamber dry, I leave the lid open to insure complete air drying. It doesn't go back into my machine until later when I'm ready for bed. 

You're over thinking some of this.   Just have a gallon of White Vinegar on hand for when you need it. It works wonders on mineral build-up. A little goes a long ways. 

[Deborah K.]

I use distilled water and never empty, wash or even rinse my water chamber.  It is always clean and fresh.  When I used tap water I put white vinegar in, let it soak,  then used a brush to scrub it a little once or twice a month.

[Rickyricardo]

My AS 10 is on its 7th year and has hit the magic 22,000 hours.

It has the same tank as original. I never use distilled water, just tap which is a little hard where I am. So if minerals are harmful to the machine, they haven't been for 7 years and 22,000 hours. I doubt minerals can accumulate on the blower at the blower's speed. I doubt the water that evaporates into the airflow is all that mineral rich.

I clean it, as it were, when I refill it, which is about 3 days. I use my finger to swirl around on the metal plate to dislodge minerals, and anything on the sides of the tank. I do not use soap. I would not rinse it out daily due to minerals or partially fill it, but there is no harm in doing so.

My reason for no soap is that unless you can find a truly unscented soap, it is more difficult than you think to get the soap perfume smell out. Maybe you like soap smell but it can be there. Hoses also.

If and when there are excess minerals built up, I use cleaning vinegar (this is 10% vs. 5% cooking vinegar). Leave it for an hour or so and the minerals dissolve. The vinegar smell rinses out faster and more completely than soap smell does. I have also used CLR a few times and it removes everything more quickly than vinegar does, but it is expensive. It also rinses out quite well.

[eok361]

can someone please explain how using tap water in a neti pot is universally condemned, but it would be ok for a heated humidifying CPAP tank? 

i don't use humidification on my machine, but i do use a navage pretty regularly. i only use distilled water with that. the water in our municipality is extremely hard. at least once a month i have to soak my stainless steel cookware in a solution of water and vinegar to get the deposits out. 

i know i'm dense, but the water vapor would travel the same route from the CPAP tank as it does from the navage. i'm curious why tap water would be ok in the tank.

thanks

[beetee]

So is it fair to say that if you do choose to rinse out your humidifer water tank daily with distilled water and only used distilled water when using it, then on that basis there would not ever be a need to ever use soap or vinegar, as it will be clean enough and not have any deposits or build up, is that a fair assumption?

[SarcasticDave94]

You'd still probably want to rinse with vinegar on occasion. Distilled water is not at all necessary. If you make your own, then OK. But why add to the expense of using CPAP?