Leaving your FF mask a little loose-does it work for you?
It seems everywhere I turn there is advice to leave your straps loose so the cushion will inflate properly. I see this in mask manufacturer's videos, blogs, helpful hints-you name it.
Well I've tried it with an incredible array of FF masks for only four months in, and I'm here to tell you that it just does not work for me. The only way I can get any FF mask to come close to not leaking is to crank it down to the point where it leaves the bridge of my nose looking pretty beat up the next morning.
I just wondered if anyone else has had a similar experience. I've gone through seven FF masks in four months and I'm right back where I started with the Mirage Quattro. It's by no means ideal, but I can at least get it to kinda work.
RE: Leaving your FF mask a little loose-does it work for you?
Well, you are running some rather higher-than-average pressures, and from personal experience I know that keeping mask leaks under control at those higher pressures is a close balancing act.
I forget if it was you in another thread, but one thing that does help me keep a good seal is to wash the mask cushion and flap as well as washing your face right before bed. Before too many nights, skin oil makes keeping a seal harder and harder for me.
Does your mask have a flap as well as a cushion? The flap is sort of like a hovercraft skirt, and helps create the seal when it inflates. It should smooth out any places where the mask cushion does not exactly match the contour of your face. If all you have is a cushion, then you are going to have to make sure that there is contact with your skin along the entire perimeter of the mask.
RE: Leaving your FF mask a little loose-does it work for you?
Old dude, it is so hard to get that tension just right, it took me probably about a year or so preserving with the mirage Quattro and I still get some leaks each night. I'm going to try the Quattro Air when it finally gets to Australia. The only things I can suggest to help are mask liners and have the hose coming from above your head that pulls the mask up rather than getting tangled and pulling it down.
RE: Leaving your FF mask a little loose-does it work for you?
(08-09-2013, 04:20 PM)RonWessels Wrote: Well, you are running some rather higher-than-average pressures, and from personal experience I know that keeping mask leaks under control at those higher pressures is a close balancing act.
I forget if it was you in another thread, but one thing that does help me keep a good seal is to wash the mask cushion and flap as well as washing your face right before bed. Before too many nights, skin oil makes keeping a seal harder and harder for me.
Does your mask have a flap as well as a cushion? The flap is sort of like a hovercraft skirt, and helps create the seal when it inflates. It should smooth out any places where the mask cushion does not exactly match the contour of your face. If all you have is a cushion, then you are going to have to make sure that there is contact with your skin along the entire perimeter of the mask.
Ron, it likely was me given that it's sort of an ongoing lament in my case. I had been wiping my face down with a very hot washcloth before bed but for the last couple of nights I've done a full wash. For the last couple days I'm also taking the seal completely off the Quattro every morning and washing it with baby shampoo, drying and reassembling it. Kind of a PITA really, but if it helps I'll do it.
RE: Leaving your FF mask a little loose-does it work for you?
(08-09-2013, 04:24 PM)Tez62 Wrote: Old dude, it is so hard to get that tension just right, it took me probably about a year or so preserving with the mirage Quattro and I still get some leaks each night. I'm going to try the Quattro Air when it finally gets to Australia. The only things I can suggest to help are mask liners and have the hose coming from above your head that pulls the mask up rather than getting tangled and pulling it down.
I hope you have better luck with the Air than I did. I really wanted to love that mask. It's very simple, very light and oh so easy to hook up the headgear. But alas, the mask seems to run small (I need an XL which they don't make) and the headgear is too short across the top strap. They don't make a large headgear either. As a result, I couldn't keep my lower lip from falling out from under the mask after a short time. I think the strained top strap was pulling the mask up.
Having said that, I'm still trying to make it work. Just today I pirated a nice headgear with an adjustable top strap from an F&P Eson and grafted it on to the Air. We'll see if that works...
08-09-2013, 04:51 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-09-2013, 04:54 PM by RonWessels.)
RE: Leaving your FF mask a little loose-does it work for you?
(08-09-2013, 04:38 PM)old dude Wrote: Ron, it likely was me given that it's sort of an ongoing lament in my case. I had been wiping my face down with a very hot washcloth before bed but for the last couple of nights I've done a full wash. For the last couple days I'm also taking the seal completely off the Quattro every morning and washing it with baby shampoo, drying and reassembling it. Kind of a PITA really, but if it helps I'll do it.
I would recommend continuing to fully wash your face with soap. Getting rid of face oil with just a hot washcloth is not as effective. By the way, I wash my mask parts at the same time that I wash my face. I lather up with soap, wash the mask parts, then wash my face while I'm still lathered up. Leaving the mask parts in the sink, I then rinse my face and dry it with a towel. Then I rinse the mask parts thoroughly and dry them with a towel as well. Any kind of reasonably mild not-overly-scented soap should work.
With regards to mask headgear, as you have discovered, they tend to be interchangeable. Almost all non-pillow masks have two straps around the forehead and two more straps attaching the lower part of the mask. Various vendors also sell different headgear (just the headgear) that you might consider trying.
RE: Leaving your FF mask a little loose-does it work for you?
Make sure you have been fitted with the correct size of mask. There are four or more sizes to deal with and your friendly tech where you got the original machine should have fitted you with the right size but they don't always. So pays to check.
Lee
RE: Leaving your FF mask a little loose-does it work for you?
(08-10-2013, 09:49 AM)Sevensox Wrote: Make sure you have been fitted with the correct size of mask. There are four or more sizes to deal with and your friendly tech where you got the original machine should have fitted you with the right size but they don't always. So pays to check.
Lee
Given that I have a head somewhere in size and shape between a basketball and a five gallon bucket, I just always default to "the biggest they make". Even my RT has caught on. I tried a F-P Forma out yesterday and the large cushion would barely reach my nose when the mask was properly placed under my chin. He had fortunately seen fit to order the XL cushion. Turns out it didn't work for me anyway.
RE: Leaving your FF mask a little loose-does it work for you?
(08-09-2013, 04:44 PM)old dude Wrote: (08-09-2013, 04:24 PM)Tez62 Wrote: Old dude, it is so hard to get that tension just right, it took me probably about a year or so preserving with the mirage Quattro and I still get some leaks each night. I'm going to try the Quattro Air when it finally gets to Australia. The only things I can suggest to help are mask liners and have the hose coming from above your head that pulls the mask up rather than getting tangled and pulling it down.
I hope you have better luck with the Air than I did. I really wanted to love that mask. It's very simple, very light and oh so easy to hook up the headgear. But alas, the mask seems to run small (I need an XL which they don't make) and the headgear is too short across the top strap. They don't make a large headgear either. As a result, I couldn't keep my lower lip from falling out from under the mask after a short time. I think the strained top strap was pulling the mask up.
Having said that, I'm still trying to make it work. Just today I pirated a nice headgear with an adjustable top strap from an F&P Eson and grafted it on to the Air. We'll see if that works...
Thanks for the advice, old dude, I will also need a large, we can all learn from each others experiences, keep us updated on your progress.
RE: Leaving your FF mask a little loose-does it work for you?
Hello,
My first post here. I used to use the Mirage Quattro and had to tighten it quite a bit because I tend to turn a lot in my sleep and my mask jams into the pillow and leaks unless it is tight. I just got a Quattro Air and it has made quite a difference. There is much more cushion so I can keep it form without it leaving lines on my face, etc. It also doesn't blow air into my spouse's face.
BTW, I find the best thing for removing facial oils before I go to bed is Witch Hazel. It is also good for cleansing all parts of the body, itches, scrapes, etc. And it is very inexpensive. The only trick is to ask your drug store which shelve it is on because it is so versatile, every drug store has a different idea where it should go.
Paul
BTW, I just upgraded from an S8 auto to an S9 auto and am working on "dialing it in." You'll hear from me if I have issues doing so.
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