cleaning your water chamber

[springman946]

hello I was just wondering can i clean my water chamber with peroxide or is it not recommended and why?

[Wulfman...]

hello I was just wondering can i clean my water chamber with peroxide or is it not recommended and why?

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Den

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[palerider]

hello I was just wondering can i clean my water chamber with peroxide or is it not recommended and why?

It's not so much that it's not *recommended* (and it's not) it's more that it's not *necessary*.

Soap and water is all that's needed, unless you've got some mineral buildup, and peroxide won't affect that, but a vinegar soak will remove any mineral buildup.

[chunkyfrog]

(gasp)
It needs CLEANING?
Oopsy!

[palerider]

(gasp)
It needs CLEANING?
Oopsy!

Only if biology happens... when you start receiving TV transmissions from your humidifier, you know you've waited too long.

[chunkyfrog]

It is inconvenient when they invent artificial light. Tends to keep me awake.

[Steve of Cornubia]

The advice above is sound, but I would add that, in my opinion, the humidifier should be kept squeaky clean because the combination of warmth and moisture provides the ideal breeding ground for nasties.

I would also point out that humidifier chambers can be made from aluminium or stainless steel, the latter being less picky about what you clean it with. Personally, I use a mild antibacterial detergent (each day for reservoir and mask, approx once per month for tubing) and a vinegar soak for the reservoir whenever mineral deposits appear (perhaps once every three months).

I also find that mask cushions last much, much longer if washed in a cool detergent wash. I used to use hand-hot water and found that the silicon deteriorated pretty quickly. My current mask cushion has lasted eight months and still going strong.

Stingy? Moi?

[mamazipp]

Vinegar solution in water with a drop of fragrance free detergent, you can even skip the detergent. Get a dedicated brush ( kids paint brush fron the dollar -store will do nicely). Only use for cleaning humidifier and CPAP parts.
When I worked as a neonatal nurse, we washed out teeny preemi babies’ breathing tubes ( still in their tiny tracheas) with diluted vinegar and saline to prevent germs from settling into their lungs from respirator tubes. It was a mild anti bacterial growth inhibitor. Very successful,
I swear by it up to today.

[palerider]

The advice above is sound, but I would add that, in my opinion, the humidifier should be kept squeaky clean because the combination of warmth and moisture provides the ideal breeding ground for nasties.

Opinions notwithstanding... science says it's no big deal:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3716664/

I also find that mask cushions last much, much longer if washed in a cool detergent wash. I used to use hand-hot water and found that the silicon deteriorated pretty quickly. My current mask cushion has lasted eight months and still going strong.

Strangely, *boiling* mask cushions returns them to like new status. viewtopic/t74686/Boiling-Stuff-Part-2.html

Silicone is good at over 250c.

[Steve of Cornubia]

Vinegar solution in water with a drop of fragrance free detergent, you can even skip the detergent. Get a dedicated brush ( kids paint brush fron the dollar -store will do nicely). Only use for cleaning humidifier and CPAP parts.
When I worked as a neonatal nurse, we washed out teeny preemi babies’ breathing tubes ( still in their tiny tracheas) with diluted vinegar and saline to prevent germs from settling into their lungs from respirator tubes. It was a mild anti bacterial growth inhibitor. Very successful,
I swear by it up to today.

Better safe than sorry, eh?

[Pugsy]

Whatever floats your boat and lets you sleep good (without worries if you have them) works for me.

I have very few worries about not cleaning anything and I sleep just fine with the way I don't clean much or often.

My biggest danger has been dropping the water chamber during one of my not so frequent cleanings and breaking it and having to get the spare out because of water leaks.

But if you guys and gals want to go to extraordinary measures because it gives you peace of mind....I am very happy that you are happy with whatever routine you do or don't do. In the world of cpap stuff....it's not worth fighting about.
I don't come to your house and tell you how to clean your kitchen and you don't come to my house and tell me how to clean my kitchen....keeps us both happy. Over clean or never clean...whatever floats YOUR boat is just fine.

[Okie bipap]

We all clean to the level we are comfortable with. When my generation was growing up, we played outside, ate anything and everything. If something fell on the groud, you simply blew it off and ate it. We were told you have to eat a certain amount of dirt in your life time. Later generations were raised in a more sterile environment. They stayed inside the house, every little spot of dirt was immediately cleaned away, etc. They were taught to be afraid of germs, where we embraced them. Our parent's thought the more we were exposed to, the stronger our immune system would be. We may be old, but we're still moving. Maybe at a slower pace, but we are still moving.

[PaulKTF]

I fill it with water and a little bit of baby shampoo, close it up and swish it around and then rinse it out throughly.

[zonker]

We were told you have to eat a certain amount of dirt in your life time.

one of my mother's favorite sayings was "you eat a peck of dirt before you die, anyway."

[palerider]

But if you guys and gals want to go to extraordinary measures because it gives you peace of mind....I am very happy that you are happy with whatever routine you do or don't do. In the world of cpap stuff....it's not worth fighting about.
I don't come to your house and tell you how to clean your kitchen and you don't come to my house and tell me how to clean my kitchen....keeps us both happy. Over clean or never clean...whatever floats YOUR boat is just fine.

My only horse in this race is to avoid misleading new people into thinking that there's some valid reason (beyond 'peace of mind') to tear everything apart every day and 'sanitize' it.

If they WANT to, fine, if it makes 'em feel better, fine.. but just so they aren't doing it under protest because their DME told them too.