cleaning my CPAP machine in India

[msherman1000]

Hi,

I'm traveling to India next month and am trying to figure out how to keep CPAP machine clean.  I'll be there for about three weeks.  Normally I clean my nasal cushion and water tank every day, the rest of the stuff, weekly.  I think I can go three weeks without cleaning the tube and most other parts, but I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions about how to clean the nasal mask and water tank.  I could see going a few days without cleaning them, but not three weeks.  And it seems like I'd have to use an awful lot of bottled water to clean it correctly (I generally use just a couple drops of dish soap daily, and it takes quite a bit of water to rinse the soap out).

I'd appreciate any suggestions.

[Nightynite]

Why can’t you clean it the same way in India? What about alcohol wipes if you don’t have any water.

[msherman1000]

Thanks for the response.  Can't use tap water, even in nicer hotels, to rinse it out.  Or so I've been told.  Hadn't thought of alcohol wipes, that should work!

Thanks.

[Sleeprider]

You can buy CPAP cleaning and disinfecting wipes. They are light and travel well. I would prefer these over isopropyl alcohol wipes.

[msherman1000]

Thanks, Sleeprider.  I'm fairly new to using a CPAP,  didn't know those things exist. That's an easy solution!

[WhyMe]

You can buy CPAP cleaning and disinfecting wipes. They are light and travel well. I would prefer these over isopropyl alcohol wipes.

Sleeprider - what leads you to prefer something other than standard alcohol wipes?

[PeaceLoveAndPizza]

When you do travel to certain countries be sure to use only bottled water in the humidifier and to rinse. I learned that the hard way.

Silicone is a very resilient substance, but it is also very absorbent. That is one reason why you should wipe it down often. Long-term alcohol use may cause issues like discoloration or make it brittle. Some use it just fine, but there are other options like CPAP wipes or baby bum wipes that do the trick without risking damage.

In a pinch using an alcohol wipe should be fine. I have done it myself when I travel and forgot CPAP wipes.

[msherman1000]

Thanks.  I'd been worried about finding distilled water in India.  I found out it is available, but I posted here when first planning this trip and people told me bottled (purified) water is just fine.  So I think it's not worth the hassle of lugging distilled water around or trying to find it in each town I'm in.  But yeah, I'd never use tap water in a place like India.

[Sleeprider]

I prefer to use clean water and soap to clean CPAP parts, but wipes can be a convenient, low odor alternative that will safely clean the mask parts and humidifier chamber. Isopropyl alcohol has a fast evaporation rate, high odor, flammable, and typical alcohol swabs are small and it may take several to clean parts. It can be done, but manufacturers fairly consistently recommend against it for disinfection of reusable equipment shared between patients. https://document.resmed.com/en-us/docume...0FINAL.pdf At the same time, they seem to have no problem with using wipes with Clorox (sodium hypochlorite), Lysol and other disinfectants. I think it would be easy to get by in India with bottled water and a small container of dish soap.

[msherman1000]

Hi,

That was my original plan, but I know at home I need a fair amount of water to make sure all of the soap is rinsed out, of the tank more than the nasal cushion) and i was concerned about how much water I'd have to buy every day to make sure it's rinsed out thoroughly.  So the wipes, per your first suggestion, seem easier.  Happy to reconsider though.

Thanks.