Humidifiers not safe - seriously?

[MitchS]

I've pulled my machine to the floor 4 times so far. 3 times were not at home. On the Airsense, my empirical evidence indicates that the humidifer hits the floor first, so any water spillage is AWAY from the machine.

I'm thinking of buying a Hose Buddy.

I love my Hose Buddy. It has probably kept me from pulling my machine off a couple of times when I woke up in the middle of the night and forgot I had my mask on.

[sdb7802]

I'll talk about the two modern machines I own and have taken apart and examined pretty thoroughly: the A10 Autoset and the DreamStation Auto.

I should have mentioned that IMHO you have work pretty hard to get water from the tank onto the internal circuit boards and it probably would take an intentional effort to accomplish that.

However, the power jacks are potentially vulnerable to standing or splashed water from any source, including a tank leak or spillage that soaks that area while the unit is powered.

So check that area for signs of moisture.

[FrankNichols]

However, the power jacks are potentially vulnerable to standing or splashed water from any source, including a tank leak or spillage that soaks that area while the unit is powered.

So check that area for signs of moisture.

Yup, power jacks are always vulnerable. The only one that comes to mind that would seem to not be is Apple magnetic power connection, but it has it's own issues.

I was thinking a magnetic air hose connection might be a good idea, maybe, so if you get up and walk away it would just disconnect rather than dragging the machine along behind you. Either end could be magnetic, probably safest if it is the end at the mask that disconnects so you are not dragging a long hose to trip over.

[sdb7802]

I'm thinking of buying a Hose Buddy.

If have a situation where an off-the-shelf unit won't work, you can build your own using pvc pipe.

I used this: google "formufit"

[MitchS]

I'm thinking of buying a Hose Buddy.

If have a situation where an off-the-shelf unit won't work, you can build your own using pvc pipe.

I used this: google "formufit"

I'm thinking of modifying my Hose Buddy. Because of the way it works, it does limit how much you can move while using it. It would be nice to have extra hose held up out of the way until you need it, possibly a reel of some sort. In order to do that, the Hose Buddy would need to be taller to give room to get the extra hose up and out of the way. It should be a fairly simple mod.

[Sleeprider]

We need PollCat to start a poll to ask, "Have you ever had a machine failure due to water"?

It's pretty rare, and it's really easy to prevent with ordinary care. Philips machines use a dry box arrangement to mitigate against accidents. I'm not sure the Resmed design works, but there are baffles in the humidifier to prevent flow-back to the machine. I think this thread is much to do about nothing. Put your unit in a nightstand drawer, or on the floor if you're worried. If you're a night stand user, secure the hose against pulling the unit off.

[PoolQ]

Sleeprider +1. Since I was washing my chamber tonight anyway, I filled it to the max line and turned it sideways, holes down and not a drop came out. The air ports inside the chamber are above water line when it is tipped over,

[Mosquitobait]

Put your unit in a nightstand drawer, or on the floor if you're worried. If you're a night stand user, secure the hose against pulling the unit off.

Note: if putting into nightstand drawer, make sure that you add something inside the drawer so that your device stays level when you have water in it. This was advise from the hospital RT.

Sleeprider, my problem is mostly away from home as I have no control over how wide or how far away a nightstand is from the bed. Hence the Hose Buddy thing. At home though, I added a tray with high sides and those rubbery things on the bottom and that has secured the Airsense from being yanked off.

[robysue]

We need PollCat to start a poll to ask, "Have you ever had a machine failure due to water"?

It's pretty rare, and it's really easy to prevent with ordinary care. Philips machines use a dry box arrangement to mitigate against accidents.

I'd like to add: In the 5 years I've been PAPing with my current PR System One BiPAP Auto 750 machine, I have pulled the machine completely off my bedside table about 4 or 5 times. At least twice, the machine has landed upside down. With no damage to the machine and no water spilled on the floor.

That said, if I were pulling the machine off the table more frequently, I'd certainly be looking for ways to prevent pulling it off.

[Sleeprider]

Put your unit in a nightstand drawer, or on the floor if you're worried. If you're a night stand user, secure the hose against pulling the unit off.

Note: if putting into nightstand drawer, make sure that you add something inside the drawer so that your device stays level when you have water in it. This was advise from the hospital RT.

Sleeprider, my problem is mostly away from home as I have no control over how wide or how far away a nightstand is from the bed. Hence the Hose Buddy thing. At home though, I added a tray with high sides and those rubbery things on the bottom and that has secured the Airsense from being yanked off.

I have been doing a ton of travel recently. My first consideration is proximity to a power plug. After that, I just set the machine on the floor if nothing better is available (put it on a clean towel if the floors are questionable). At a hotel, I use the drawer or top of a nightstand. I have never pulled a machine off a surface, but I keep a couple lanyards (like you use around your neck for I.D. cards), and fasten the hose above my head, or to the side of the headboard so no matter how I move, the machine is not affected.

A lanyard is very easy and inexpensive (free) to use to secure the hose and prevent the kinds of accidents being reported here.