How do you make mask cushion last longest?

[EK3377]

I use a Resmed F30 mask. The cushion consistently wears out for me in about 3 weeks. Insurance covers one a month. I wondered what things help a mask cushion to last longest, and/or what contributes to it wearing out more quickly. Any tips or information would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

[chunkyfrog]

A mask liner can help by shielding the silicone from your skin oils.
Padacheek.com makes some that are reusable/washable, soft, and last for months.
A clean face before bed can help--unscented baby wipe right before bed.
Hint: daily washing is DESTRUCTIVE.
Use the baby wipe on the mask, too.
Avoid ozone "cleaners". They shorten the life of anything.

[LSAT]

Describe "wears out".... My Simplus cushions last me 8-10 months and when I was using the Quattro, they lasted over a year. I rarely wash my cushions baby wipes every night.

[gv280z]

Well this is the crazy thing about cpap is no matter the topic, the results across the board are completely unpredictable.

I use a Resmed F30 mask. The cushion consistently wears out for me in about 3 weeks. Insurance covers one a month. I wondered what things help a mask cushion to last longest, and/or what contributes to it wearing out more quickly. Any tips or information would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

I don't understand this at all. I've been using two F30 masks and not really even on any kind of set rotation schedule, for over a year. To this day, I can't tell the difference between the two, it's not like one is good, and the other is broken down or stretched out or anything.....? One of my previous masks, the Amara View, sometimes it kinda seemed like they would start to loose their shape after a while, but that would have been like maybe 7 months or so between replacements.

Hint: daily washing is DESTRUCTIVE.

How? I don't get this one either. I've been daily washing with hot water and Dawn for two years on every mask I've owned, and as far as I can see, the only consequence has been me not getting acne or sores. I guess the baby wipes, or those citrus wipes the cpap supplies place sells is a fine alternative, have never tried them...atleast it's something though.

[EK3377]

A mask liner can help by shielding the silicone from your skin oils.
Padacheek.com makes some that are reusable/washable, soft, and last for months.
A clean face before bed can help--unscented baby wipe right before bed.
Hint: daily washing is DESTRUCTIVE.
Use the baby wipe on the mask, too.
Avoid ozone "cleaners". They shorten the life of anything.

Thanks for the info. I use CPAP citrus wipes on the cushion, but perhaps baby wipes would be better. Certainly cheaper.

[EK3377]

Describe "wears out".... My Simplus cushions last me 8-10 months and when I was using the Quattro, they lasted over a year. I rarely wash my cushions baby wipes every night.

“Wears out”...After approximately three weeks, I get woken up at higher pressures because air is leaking on my face. Also, if I continue to use the cushion for a few more days, my mask fit percentages consistently drop to like 85%, and I feel tired the next day, so I think it is impacting my treatment. AHI isn’t necessarily very different, however I am a little skeptical of the data when mask fit isn’t great. I think the data is less reliable when mask fit is poor. I have read many people’s posts where they talk about a mask cushion lasting for months, but that just hasn’t been my experience, so I thought I’d pose the question.

[EK3377]

Hint: daily washing is DESTRUCTIVE.

How? I don't get this one either. I've been daily washing with hot water and Dawn for two years on every mask I've owned, and as far as I can see, the only consequence has been me not getting acne or sores. I guess the baby wipes, or those citrus wipes the cpap supplies place sells is a fine alternative, have never tried them...atleast it's something though.

Interesting. I don’t wash with soap and water as frequently as you do, but if you do it daily, and your mask lasts, perhaps the facial oils for people really do vary, and that’s the culprit.

[EK3377]

Another thought I had of what possibly could be another factor, is that I am right in between using a size small and a size medium, according to the size chart that comes with the mask. I have used both sizes, and I thought the small was better (and what I have been using a few months now), but perhaps I should revisit this aspect as well? Any thoughts on whether mask size could have an impact on this? I guess I should just order a medium cushion on amazon and see if the same thing happens. I swapped to a small though because I had some large leak and air blowing on my face when straps were snug, and that’s why I thought that size was too big, but maybe that wasn’t the issue, and the cushion was just worn out.

[palerider]

Hint: daily washing is DESTRUCTIVE.

How? I don't get this one either. I've been daily washing with hot water and Dawn for two years on every mask I've owned, and as far as I can see, the only consequence has been me not getting acne or sores. I guess the baby wipes, or those citrus wipes the cpap supplies place sells is a fine alternative, have never tried them...atleast it's something though.

I don't know either, but over the years, I have noticed a strong correlation between people who reported aggressive cleaning frequency and short lifespan of consumables. Perhaps they're not gentle with cleaning?

I washed my Quattro cushion weekly and wiped it daily, used a mask liner, for *five years*, and I never had to open the spare cushion I'd bought.

[babydinosnoreless]

I have a couple, I rotate. I was cleaning daily but I got lazy so now I just wipe off with a cotton round wet with rubbing alcohol. I have only had to toss one. When they get super soft I boil them as someone suggested and they get tacky again.

[chunkyfrog]

When starting my cpap journey, I was an obedient little frog, washing my cushion/pillows daily.
My consumables barely lasted the "scheduled" interval.
They got very floppy and extremely poor at sealing.
On my first vacation, I opted for baby wipes, to save time.
Surprise!
My Mirage FX pillows were as good as new for at least DOUBLE the usual time.
I was able to increase that time by boiling in soda water, but mask makers caught on.
Subsequent designs incorporate unknown hard plastic into their pillows--no boiling, (probably)
Now, I almost never wash any mask parts except the frame and headgear.

[EK3377]

I have a couple, I rotate. I was cleaning daily but I got lazy so now I just wipe off with a cotton round wet with rubbing alcohol. I have only had to toss one. When they get super soft I boil them as someone suggested and they get tacky again.

Interesting, they can be boiled? The definite difference for me between a brand new mask cushion and one that’s three weeks old is the tackiness, as you mention. The three week old one is definitely more slick or smooth. So if boiling brings back the tackiness, perhaps I should try that. I guess I would have thought it would melt. However if you’ve done it and it didn’t, I’ll try that.

[gv280z]

In my opinion, the F30, for me literally is Mask Perfection, and I believe its leaks are caused by oily cushion, dirty / oily or unshaven face, and strap adjustment either due to being unbalanced between the upper and lower, they should be snug without being painful, or lastly the headgear does continue to break in, stretch out and periodic adjustments need to be made. I do change my headgear about twice a year.

In my experience the silicon cushion holds up well, in fact, one of my two cushions is my first one from when i started making the jump from the Amara view, and i couldn't tell you which one it is either while wearing or examining side by side even if money depended on it, for a million bucks I'd be crying because it'd just be a 50/50 shot in the dark as to which was first.

[Pugsy]

The boiling and baking soda method can work.
Explained here
viewtopic/t75749/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=74 ... il#p685240
Don't attempt it unless the cushion was going in the trash can anyway just in case you mess up.

Some comments about when I tried it.
I used tap water for boiling and rinsing....left the cushions more cloudy than when I started...looked awful and felt awful.
Then I used distilled water for boiling and rinsing...cushions came out clear as new and felt like new.
So if you have hard water like I do...might use distilled.

[booksfan]

I had the same issue before I switched to the Bleep. The nasal pillows of the two masks I used most often--I tried multiple masks trying to find one that really worked for me and really couldn't--would start to leak really badly, one at about 2 weeks, the other closer to 3. With a week, they were virtually unusable, due to massive leaks. I did try the boiling in distilled water with baking soda. It made them clear and helped a bit, but not a lot. That was my experience, YMMV. I know it helps for a lot of people. I wasn't particularly aggressive with cleaning, frequency or action. My husband, on the other hand, uses the same pillow FOREVER! He uses a different mask though, so I do think that also makes a big difference. Although a number of people on here say they use the same mask for extended periods, I don't recall anyone saying they have used either of the two I had issues with for months and months, so I figured the length of time is mask specific.