[Treatment] Got a cold......can i put something in the water ????

[PaulaO2]

Because that moisture sits inside the tube. And grows stuff. And distilled water is not sterile. Once you open the lid, sterility (if it existed) is gone.

The rule of thumb is to empty the humidifier tank daily and let air dry. Then clean the rest as much as your OCD (or lack thereof) commands. I personally wash the entire thing (hose, mask, tank) once a week.

I got ill from crap growing in a hose. We thought it was allergies until it lasted beyond two seasons. Then I went on vacation and was still ill. We never proved exactly what it was but once we had changed out the hose, it cleared up. But back then, hoses were not smooth on the inside and they were darker.

[2Tim215]

I really don't understand why if we are using distilled water, we need to clean the humidifer chamber or the tubing.
I've also noticed bacteria filters for sale that fit between the humidifier and the tubing? Anyone have any experience with these. I bought one but haven't used it yet because I read they might change the pressure.

Hi Kristen, Bacteria, Mold Spores, Viruses etc. can find there way into any non-sterile items. If I remember correctly even Latex gloves have 5-10 micron ratings which allows viruses to pass through them, even HIV according to a former United States Surgeon General easily can pass through vinyl hospital gloves. So the filters we use are meant to protect us but that is only one part of the protection process. Cleaning our equipment is also very important and I would recommend the best filter available for your machine used at the least by the manufacturer recommendations with proper cleaning of your tub, hoses, and masks. The inline filter you are referring to is only usable with the Standard S9 Tubing and I believe are used more in a clinical setting than home use although you can use it. I believe they have to be changed frequently though as they were intended for patient to patient use and are not intended for long term. The S9 Standard Filters have an 88% efficiency at 7 microns which can allow a lot more to pass through to us over using the Hypo-allergenic Filter which has a 89.8% at 0.5 micron, bacterial efficiency of 99.54%. Easy choice for the slight price difference! These filters according to ResMed should be changed every six months. I believe that should be determined on a patient to patient basis depending on each of our home environments. I choose to change mine more often as my house is old and I have several pets! Hope this helps!

[Podd]

Well Ugly,

Ouch, well Aquaman (Fictional Character by the way!) Supposedly had Gills (Info courtesy Wikipedia, not always correct though).

My Humidifier (H5i) has a heated hose anyway, I have never used the S9's Humidifier without it, so I am 'Unsure' why your unit dosn't have one (My S9, has a error message if this hose is not corrected properly).

I would, without a shadow of doubt use Distilled water if I could get it cheap enough in the UK, I can get purified water from the chemists but this is really expensive, I have been looking into making my own as you can buy units on ebay that cost about £80.

So, here's a question, where does all the water go, we obviously breathe some of it out, in practice how much do our lungs absorb (if any?)

[archangle]

I really don't understand why if we are using distilled water, we need to clean the humidifer chamber or the tubing.
I've also noticed bacteria filters for sale that fit between the humidifier and the tubing? Anyone have any experience with these. I bought one but haven't used it yet because I read they might change the pressure.

The bacteria filters are intended for use with lab equipment where one user uses the machine one night and a different user uses it the next day. You usually use them for one night and discard them.

Since they're a wet sponge type of thing, I'd expect them to be a really good place for germs to grow once you're used them, so I'd think they'd make things worse once they've been used and get wet.

[archangle]

I would, without a shadow of doubt use Distilled water if I could get it cheap enough in the UK, I can get purified water from the chemists but this is really expensive, I have been looking into making my own as you can buy units on ebay that cost about £80.

So, here's a question, where does all the water go, we obviously breathe some of it out, in practice how much do our lungs absorb (if any?)

All the water ends up going out into the room in the air that goes out the exhaust vents in the mask. (or other leaks.)

Water flows from your body into the air, not vice versa. Warm humid air feels more comfortable because it doesn't draw it out of your body as quickly. Air would only flow to your body from the air if the relative humidity was 100% and the temp was over 98.6F. This would probably be rather unbearably warm and humid to breathe.

[archangle]

I really don't understand why if we are using distilled water, we need to clean the humidifer chamber or the tubing.

Even with distilled water, there are some particles that make it through the air filter. There are also small amounts of gas/liquid materials such as ammonia and hydrocarbons that won't be stopped by the filters. Think of the greasy films that sometimes seem to collect on windows.

There's also whatever you breathe out when you exhale. When you exhale, not all of the air immediately goes out the exhaust vent in the mask. Part of it goes back up the hose until the airflow flushes it out. That's why you'll see condensation in your mask and hose when you exhale.

All of these contaminants can provide nutrients for germs to feed on and grow.

I'm not really that concerned about this stuff with a reasonable amount of cleaning, but it's theoretically possible. It's also why I swap everything out weekly and let it sit and dry out for a week before using.

[Podd]

Archangle, as far as I understand Respiratory Epithelium Cells can absorb as well as expel moisture?
But the 'Mucocilary Escalator' moves 'Gunk' that gets into our lungs so that it can be expelled or swallowed thereby keeping the lower respiratory tract sterile (Obviously this must contain moisture otherwise we would 'clog' up or too much moisture we would drown?)
Our body's are 'quite' leaky and any 'Moisture' inhaled would find it's way out one way or another, so we are both right.
Sort of??????????????????

[Ugly]

Well Ugly,

Ouch, well Aquaman (Fictional Character by the way!) Supposedly had Gills (Info courtesy Wikipedia, not always correct though).

My Humidifier (H5i) has a heated hose anyway, I have never used the S9's Humidifier without it, so I am 'Unsure' why your unit dosn't have one (My S9, has a error message if this hose is not corrected properly).

I would, without a shadow of doubt use Distilled water if I could get it cheap enough in the UK, I can get purified water from the chemists but this is really expensive, I have been looking into making my own as you can buy units on ebay that cost about £80.

So, here's a question, where does all the water go, we obviously breathe some of it out, in practice how much do our lungs absorb (if any?)

The idea of inhaling some of it to combat dry air is the whole idea.
But yes much of it escapes and/or is exhaled so it goes into the air.
The clinical manuals do more than just look cool in my binder. They actually have information. If I didn't flunk chemistry in high school I'd have a better understanding. But if you're technically minded in that way, read up and make your own conclusion.

[Ugly]

I really don't understand why if we are using distilled water, we need to clean the humidifer chamber or the tubing.

Even with distilled water, there are some particles that make it through the air filter. There are also small amounts of gas/liquid materials such as ammonia and hydrocarbons that won't be stopped by the filters. Think of the greasy films that sometimes seem to collect on windows.

There's also whatever you breathe out when you exhale. When you exhale, not all of the air immediately goes out the exhaust vent in the mask. Part of it goes back up the hose until the airflow flushes it out. That's why you'll see condensation in your mask and hose when you exhale.

All of these contaminants can provide nutrients for germs to feed on and grow.

Marvy. This calls for a Weird Al tune:
http://youtu.be/wqSKqS91UdA

[JJJ]

I wonder what temperature the water in the humidifier gets to. For example, my PRS1 can be set from 0 (off) to 5, and I find it works well for me at 2. I know it is heating the water, but I wonder what the temperature is at each setting. And ditto for the other machines with humidifiers out there.