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+--- Thread: What is the best way to clean my machine and mask? (/Thread-What-is-the-best-way-to-clean-my-machine-and-mask)
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What is the best way to clean my machine and mask? - Darkpunchedstars - 07-01-2021
Hey everyone. I hope you are good.
I'm just looking for a bit of help with a cleaning routine.
I usually use one of the cpap wipes for my mask over a day.
I also wash the water chamber with warm water and fairy washing up liquid 2-3 x a week.
I'm looking to clean the breathing tube but it's thermosmart and I don't want to ruin it with washing up liquid.
As for the other components such as the fabric of the mask, I'm not sure what to do with those.
Thanks!
RE: What is the best way to clean my machine and mask? - WakeUpTime - 07-01-2021
Dawn (or equivalent) dishwashing soap for the mask, tubes, and humidifier components for me. For the machine, I just wipe around the unit with a gentle cleaner. I wash the whole mask (and attached short hose), and humidifier components, every day as part of my daily shower routine. The long hose I wash every 3-5 days. If I can't remember if I washed something recently, I now just ask myself: Is it possible that the part will be too-clean? That's my motivation to wash them more frequently. I thought it would be important to dry the components in a non-humid environment, so I air dry everything beside a room air cleaner that is continuously blowing air through and around the components.
(I used to just use liquid hand soap as I saw that in a PAP manufacturer's video, but then I realized there maybe cream or other fillers in body soaps.)
*It's so ironic that the manufacturers have pushed the importance of regularly changing the one or two air filters, when it turns out that Philips Respironics may have been later contaminating the clean filtered air with disintegrating cancer-causing defective foam particles inside the blower unit for more than a decade. Philips enjoyed some terrific profit margins on those filters all these years while there was something potentially far more harmful going on to our lungs than simply "room dust".
RE: What is the best way to clean my machine and mask? - SarcasticDave94 - 07-01-2021
I would typically soak humidifier tub, mask cushion, hose in very warm water and Dawn then rinse. At first I did this daily, but then I did this every other day, with rinsing out the humidifier tub still a daily thing. No other cleaners for me.
RE: What is the best way to clean my machine and mask? - GuyScharf - 07-01-2021
I am not known for following the manufacturer's instructions!
I wipe the mask with a baby wipe daily. I rinse the humidifier tank daily and usually let it dry out before refilling it.
Mask and tank get washed with soap and water once every month or so. I almost never wash the hose--it has a hose cover so washing the hose is a nuisance.
RE: What is the best way to clean my machine and mask? - Big Guy - 07-01-2021
Just buy a So-Clean machine!
Just kidding! I use a Clorox wet wipe on my mask and cushion. Easy peasy! The water tank gets emptied each morning, and then wiped dry with a paper towel and allowed to air dry for an hour or so.
My headgear gets a good soaking / swishing around in HOT water and Dawn dish soap. The hot water also tightens the elastic straps back up. This gets done about every two weeks or so.
The hose and swivel joint gets the same treatment as the mask / cushion does, only not as often.
When I first started sleep apnea therapy, I was pretty dedicated to keeping on a fixed schedule. Now, closing in on three years, I don't stress all that much if I happen to stray some.
RE: What is the best way to clean my machine and mask? - Geer1 - 07-01-2021
No need to worry about washing the hose all the important electrical is sealed, just give it time to dry fully before use. I usually hang it up to dry/drain and once the outside is dry you can speed up inside drying by hooking it up to CPAP and letting it blow air through it for a while.
I have gotten worse and worse over time.
I wash the cushion as I feel needed based on oil etc. Usually ends up being every 2-3 days. I just rinse with soapy water.
I usually top up water tank with distilled water and then give it a rinse/quick wash every few days and that hasn't been an issue for me. I noticed with tap water I got mineral buildup and it even felt a little slimy inside if I didn't drain/dry regularly. I only use distilled water now and don't notice either of these issues, sometimes I even push my luck and go 1-2 weeks without cleaning properly.
Every 1-4 weeks I pull things apart and do a good soak/wash in warm soapy water. This really is simple and I should do it more often. I usually only wash the mask plastic parts since I end up doing it too late to let mask headgear to dry properly but I make sure to wash headgear every once in a while as well since it can start to get nasty and as big guy mentioned washing it shrinks the elastic back down so it fits better again.
RE: What is the best way to clean my machine and mask? - Mrzocor - 07-01-2021
(07-01-2021, 12:57 PM)SarcasticDave94 Wrote: I would typically soak humidifier tub, mask cushion, hose in very warm water and Dawn then rinse. At first I did this daily, but then I did this every other day, with rinsing out the humidifier tub still a daily thing. No other cleaners for me.
Wouldn't taking the long hose, and washing it a couple a times a week eventually loosen the rubber end, so it would start to cause leaks?
RE: What is the best way to clean my machine and mask? - Geer1 - 07-01-2021
(07-01-2021, 06:13 PM)Mrzocor Wrote: Wouldn't taking the long hose, and washing it a couple a times a week eventually loosen the rubber end, so it would start to cause leaks?
Why would washing the hose loosen the rubber end?
I do think a couple times a week is overkill for the hose but every week or two is a good practice.
RE: What is the best way to clean my machine and mask? - Rice95 - 07-02-2021
Good morning everyone
For me, and I welcome criticism too:
Mask everyday in warm water and J/J baby shampoo
Headgear once a week J/J baby shampoo
Hose once a week J/J baby shampoo
Sterilizing in white vinegar once a month for all parts excluding the headgear strap.
RE: What is the best way to clean my machine and mask? - mesenteria - 07-02-2021
I would be very hesitant about using vinegar on the contacts that electrify the hose. Otherwise, whatever works, whatever you're convinced is efficacious, whatever lets you sleep feeling secure, do that. Just remember to keep an open mind and be willing to lay aside methods that get challenged and are beginning to look demonstrably wrong, unnecessarily complex, or costly.
Generally:
You're not going to do any harm by assiduously cleaning each day. At worst you'll wear something out or break it due to handling, but that could also happen rolling over in your sleep.
It probably isn't necessary to clean anything daily, but in my case the mask takes on a funky odor inside it, which my wife will eventually object to, and that's my cue to clean it.
Hot-ish water and any dish detergent. Rinse well. Let it air dry on the kitchen or bathroom coutntertop.
If you feel you'd like to sterilize any surfaces, inside tubes or not, I happen to rely on the common white powder available for a couple of bucks a sachet from your local wine U-Brew It. It's called sodium metabisulphite or there's commonly potassium metabisulphite. Either one, mixed a level teaspoon to one liter of cool water, is lethal to pathogens of all kinds. That's why it is used to sterlize mixing spoons, carboy interiors, bottle interiors, siphons, bottle caps, corks, and hoses. It works. A liter of the solution will literally cost you 10 cents.
Swish the mask and the inside of the hose with this stuff for a minute, rinse well, let air dry. That's it!