Lifespan of Swift FX nasal pillows

[Sireneh]

I've been reading about how some of you have found the nasal pillows on this mask last only a very short while. Just wondering why this is so for some people and not for others. Maybe we could share our maintenance routines to help narrow it down.

How often do you wash the pillows?
What do you do with them on the days they do not get washed? Do they get wiped or rinsed or left as is until the next use?
What cleaning product, if any, do you use to wash them?

This is from Resmed's website:

"Do not use solutions containing vinegar, bleach, chlorine, alcohol, aromatics, moisturizers, antibacterial agents or scented oils to clean any part of the system or air tubing. These solutions may cause damage and reduce the life of the product."

Could any of these factors apply? Could it have something to do with what's on our skin when we go to bed?

[Janknitz]

It could be the washing system, products the user uses on his or her face, body chemistry, or maybe even pressure. I don't think anybody knows.

The pillows are manufactured in several places (there is a raised mold identification number between 1 and 13 somewhere near the base of the pillows or inside between the pillow stalks), and maybe that has something to do with it. It also seems that the length of time these pillows last is getting shorter--maybe the initial manufacturing process was more sturdy, but ResMed is making them to be more flimsy and needing more frequent replacements.

If you search for "boiling" you will see one forum member who has experimented with boiling his nasal pillows to restore them. In the "lab rat awards" someone suggests using rubber O-Rings around the neck of each pillow to help it keep its shape.

[purple]

While I do not use nasal pillows, usually the list of cleaning agents you mentioned are known to degrade the silicon used to make the cushion on a FFM. It gets stiff and cracks.

Another issue is with the air blowing across the skin the lotion can be aerosolized (blown into the air in small molecules, which could be blown into the very fine parts of your lungs), which would not be good.

DME suggested that I only use a like diluted ivory soap and then rinse it very clean.

If sanitation is your main goal: I am a diabetic. When I was talking to my Diabetes educators they were very clear that ordinary soap is a better disinfectant the alcohol based hand sanitizers, or even plain alcohol.

Personally I stopped washing my hose, mask, cushions unless I have an infection, or it gets really gross, the seal is more important to me. I have less post sinus drip now than in the last fifteen years, although that is not because I do not clean my equipment. Just that not washing it twice a week, in my limited experience, does me no harm.

(Two double negatives in two sentences, English teacher would reduce my grade to a D)

[paulw]

I was one of the people who expressed concern over the apparent short lifespan of the FX pillows.

What I did was to buy two replacement sets of pillows and start boiling them as someone here suggested.

I wash the contact surfaces of the pillows and headgear with baby shampoo every night.
When the pillows get "flabby" and don't seal easily, I replace them with a fresh set. When I've done that twice, I boil the two flabby pillows for 20 minutes and put them back in the rotation.
This routine has been working for the last 4 months or so and the pillows keep coming back.

[Alicia41964]

I use the Swift FX nasal pillows. I got my current mask back in November and they're still wonderful. I wash them every few days with Dawn (blue) dishwashing liquid. That seems to be good without leaving a film or a scent. When I was ill, most of April, I washed them daily and let them dry on paper towels. I never attempt to stick anything or even a finger inside of them as I feel this stretches them. I did get a new mask last Friday, but I will keep that one in storage until this current one is no longer functioning. I hope this helps. Also, I use the "arm covers" as this reduces any friction with my skin and prolongs the life of it.

[purple]

Someone want to tell her about the pillow exchange?

[jjborders]

I wash the inside and outside of my pillow every morning with a baby wash. The first set only lasted for a month, but this current set is going on 2 months.

[codinqueen]

I wipe them daily with baby wipes that have no scent, aloe, or alcohol in them. I also wash my face or wipe it well with the baby wipes before I mask up every night. My first set of nasal pillows for the swift fx only lasted about 2 months before they got flabby, and when I didn't use the baby wipes, just washed them with Dawn once a week back then. I have not yet tried boiling it to revive it, I am waiting until the pillow I am using now gets flabby, then I will boil both of them for 20 minutes to see if they both revive.

[Laos Film Director]

I wash them with plain soap and water about every other day. I used the same pillows for about 6 months (until my HMO got me a new mask). The pillows maintained their shape fairly well but probably should be replaced every month or two at most.

When I placed my first re-order this week my DME told me I should replace them every two weeks and that my HMO would cover most of it. Since my share of cost per set of pillows is under $3.00, I ordered 6 sets. My plan now is to replace them monthly.

[jbn3boys]

My insurance will pay for two sets a month. I have been getting those two sets most every month. I have seen NO difference in how long they last no matter how I clean them. I have done daily baby shampoo, daily regular soap, weekly dawn, and nothing at all. I can not come up with any reason why one set will last over a month, and another set will seem to start leaking after only a week. My guess is it has more to do with when/where the pillows were manufactured. The last set of two that I got came in two different packages. It seems that the one that appeared to be an older package actually lasted much longer than the newer one. (Still working 3+ weeks when I replaced it, just to stay on some kind of schedule vs 1 week and leaks starting.)

[Janknitz]

I always have this paranoid feeling that ResMed reads this board and thinks--"what, that person had a set of pillows last 6 months? That's terrible--we've GOT to make them even flimsier so we can sell more pillows!".

[jbn3boys]

I always have this paranoid feeling that ResMed reads this board and thinks--"what, that person had a set of pillows last 6 months? That's terrible--we've GOT to make them even flimsier so we can sell more pillows!".

I think anyone who has a set of pillows last 6 months has had that set of pillows for a LONG time. Or at least they were stored somewhere for a long time. I really don't think any pillows made recently would last that long. Just my humble opinion.

[Pugsy]

I got months of use out of the Swift LT nasal pillows for over a year when I started therapy, yes multiple months. This was back when other people were complaining about poor quality. I never saw it.

Last summer I got the Swift FX. I can use small and XSmall pillows. I am still using those pillows, just alternate when I wash it every few days. So those 2 have indeed been used many months. Regarding leak... In my Bragging rights thread data shown for April 22 shows leak line right on zero all night and I was using one of those pillows.

Why am I so lucky? I have no idea but just wanted to mention that there are some of us that do get an extremely long life out of these pillows. We often hear from the ones that don't but there are a few of us that do get months and months out of the nasal pillows. Mine get used. I do have backups but simply haven't had any problems to need them. I regularly get between 6 and 8 hours of sleep with them, so they do get used every night. Never have missed a night.

[DocWeezy]

I'm wondering if pillow life is also related to a person's skin oil composition. I've talked to some people who get longer life from their FX and LT pillows and they describe their skin as being dry or somewhat dry. I have very oil skin. I wash my face every evening and put NOTHING on, but my face is quite oily by the next morning...I'm also one of those that can only get a couple of weeks max out of any pillows no matter how I clean them.

However, I've managed to increase the pillow life to three weeks by using Respiclean soak and rotating among three pillows so that each pillow has two days to dry. I soak it during the day and then hang it up to dry. I've been using the same three pillows now for 9 weeks and that is a record for me. Using the citrus cpap cleaner spray or other soaps only got me two weeks at the most. I'm waiting for these three pillows to get too squishy to use and then I'm going to bake them and see if that helps any. Boiling helped a tiny bit, but not enough to make it worthwhile because I only got about one or two more nights out of a pillow.

Weezy

[RUFFSTUFF]

I don't have the Swift FX, but I clean mine once a week with vinegar and DI water.