odd smell from mask/machine--help!

[hegel]

Hi: so there's an odd, never before sensed smell in my mask when I put it on at night. I don't notice anything while using it, but it's there when I first put it on. I changed the pillows on my mask but the smell was there the next night. It's a subtle, almost machine oil smell. 

I do use a So-clean, but this is not the ozone smell that I'm familiar with. I wonder however if I need a new filter. Or, if the So clean has reached the end of its useful life. I do smell the ozone smell however when I take the mask from the Soclean and when the latter is running as well, so it is working.


So that leaves my Respironiics resmed machine as the source. this is not that old--maybe 4 years? 

any advice would be welcome. I've contacted both Resmed and So clean and am waiting to hear back, but I thought that I'd reach out to the excellent and smart members here as well.

--Jeff

edit: it just occurred to me that I forgot to put water in my humidifier recently and it ran all night on empty. this smell started after that incident. It is a slightly 'burned' smell, that's also metallic. I wonder if the scent from that might have worked its way into the hose and that"s what I'm smelling? But that was some weeks ago. But the smell would match those circumstances.

[Walla Walla]

Change hoses and see.

[hegel]

good thought. I'll need to send off for a new hose though. 

any other insights are still welcome!

[PaulaO2]

Soak the humidifier tub in a mild vinegar/water solution. Or baking soda and water. Rinse well several times and let it air dry.

For me, when it runs out of water, it smells like ammonia. I'll wake up stuffy and will sneeze my head off for most of the day.

While you are at it, rinse out the hose, too. And change the filter. Look around the machine to see if something else is stinking your machine up.

[SarcasticDave94]

My guess is humidifier tub. Try cleaning it and see what happens. I just ran mine out first time last week, and got a smell that woke me from the tub. I rinsed mine out and haven't looked back.

[Ron AKA]

I would suggest citric acid to clean your humidifier reservoir. You can buy it at home wine and beer brewing supply places. It is also used in baking and you might find it at some grocery stores. A baking soda and water solution may be helpful in taking some of the odour out of the hose.

[hegel]

yeah, the few times that I stupidly ran my humidifier at night with no water in it, I paid dearly the next day with a runny nose and worse. But come to think of it, I never had the kind of smell I have now, which is a slight burnt plastic smell, maybe.

I changed the external filters already and cleaned the tub long ago. It has no discernable smell. There's nothing around the cpap machine that might cause this smell, but maybe the rubbery mats beneath the machine heated up when the humidifier was dry...not likely, but I'll get rid of them next. I cleaned the hose after this began.

I just ordered a new hose. I'll try an old machine tonight.

[SarcasticDave94]

Just a wild idea, and one that I think someone had mentioned here on Apnea Board: Remind me first, is this a new machine?

If so, where is your filter intake in relation to the power brick? Are they close to each other, or not? If yes, relocate one of these. Power bricks may warm and smell at times.

[hegel]

Thanks, Dave--the brick is on the floor, well away from the machine. But that's an excellent suggestion, not applicable here.

[SarcasticDave94]

Welcome. Your case certainly eliminates that.