When do you replace your mask/pillows/line/equipment?

[magictrk]

So, I am relatively new to CPAP, been using my ASV for a few months. I got a call about having new supplies sent to my house. Insurance will apparently cover a full mask every 3 months along with a hose and filters. I will also get a new humidifier chamber every 6 months. I believe they also said I can get new pillows every month. My question is, all of my supplies still seem in good condition...I only use distilled water, I let the chamber air dry every day and wipe down my mask with baby wipes at night before using my mask. I clean everything with soap and water once per week. So, when should I replace these with the new supplies provided by my DME? Should I replace them when I receive them, or can you tell when your supplies have gone bad and you replace them? Would there be a reason to replace them every 3 months etc, or should I keep using the supplies I have and store the other ones for future use?

[ALF]

It does seem to me that manufacturers and DME providers have overly short replacement periods for CPAP supplies. If you clean your humidifier tank and hose every once in a while, I don't understand why you would need to replace either for at least a couple of years. Likewise, if you wash your headgear and mask, they should last for at least a year. The nasal pillows do lose their softness over time, so I would replace them about every 6 months, I replace the disposable filter on my PR System One machine about every couple of months, which is double the recommended period.

It is tempting to agree to my DME provider's replacement schedule, because my insurance pays for almost all of the replacement cost. However, it just seems wasteful to me. At this point, I have a hose, humidifier tank and full mask set sitting here in their original packages, waiting to replace fully clean and functional items I'm still using.

I don't know about your DME provider, but I have given mine a new replacement schedule of a new mask each year and a new pillow 6 months after the new mask. I bought a package of 64 replacement filters on eBay, so I'm set there for far into the future. If I feel the need for a hose or tank, I will order them, instead of having them on a schedule.

[Wulfman...]

Everybody is different when it comes to usage of consumable supplies. It depends on what the person is using (nasal pillows supposedly don't last as long as full face mask seals) and different masks use different headgear and all of this may depend on the cleaning frequency.

From my own personal experience, I didn't use a local brick & mortar DME and virtually all of my supplies were purchased out-of-pocket from CPAP.COM or other forum members who were selling things they didn't like or want for whatever reasons. I started therapy 10 years ago and am still using the first hose I started with, plus one spare hose (even though I have numerous others still in sealed bags). Still using my first UMFF mask (I have other backup masks and more still in sealed boxes). I used the first mask seal/cushion for six years before I installed a new one on it. The first headgear lasted for 4 years. Still using some of the first and first replacement sets of headgear on those masks three to six years later.

Since I started therapy, I kept seeing people replacing and getting replacement supplies on a fairly frequent basis, so I've been trying to see just how long I can make my supplies last. Users should definitely have spares and backup equipment and supplies, but I sometimes wonder if the "insurance paid for" supplies last as long as the ones which are paid for out-of-pocket. It doesn't appear that they do.


Den

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[Pugsy]

It's always good to have a spare of everything that we can have a spare of. In my case I used to blame the dogs for thinking silicone made a good chew toy but now I am more prone to blame the cats from hell.

That said...once you have a spare or two of something...these supplies will last a lot longer than a person might think.
I have been using the same ClimateLine heated hose since I got my S9 machine in Jan 2014. It's in good shape, works and no signs of aliens growing inside. Looks and feels new to me so there's no sense in my changing it every 3 months (and incurring the insurance co pay that goes along with it).
With common sense care the hoses and water chambers really don't need replacing very often unless something happens like we drop the chamber and it cracks or the hose fails or animals get a hold of it.
Nasal pillow life...varies and I have always got months and months of use out of my nasal pillows and while insurance allows 2 per month...don't need nearly that many. I retired by first set of P10 nasal pillows after 10 months of use and probably didn't have to because it ended up being my headgear that had also been used for 10 months that was too stretched out to fit well.

Headgear and cushions/pillows life is something that you will have to figure out what works for you. A lot depends on how you take care of things and your own facial oils.

DMEs make money by shipping these replacement items regularly because they can.
Medicare doesn't allow automatic shipment though. Medicare patients have to request a replacement item.
Unless you are lucky and don't have a deductible or co pay involved with insurance....these items will cost you and your insurance some money.

While I know that we pay for our insurance and we "want our money's worth out of it" there comes a time when the cost gets passed back to the consumer in the form of higher premiums. Cold hard facts of life.

Up to you how much inventory you want to stockpile but it all adds up real fast and you can't really use it up anywhere near that fast.

[magictrk]

Thank you. I'll get this order and see how it goes. My insurance covers supplies, so I will see how it goes. Question, I wash my hose with hot water and put soak it for a bit in hot water and soap. I then rinse it with hot tap water, shake it out, and then rinse it with distilled water. Is rinsing with distilled water necessary? Second, how do you get the hose dry before using it? Water drops stay in mine for days after cleaning it and I am in a dry climate.

[Wulfman...]

Thank you. I'll get this order and see how it goes. My insurance covers supplies, so I will see how it goes. Question, I wash my hose with hot water and put soak it for a bit in hot water and soap. I then rinse it with hot tap water, shake it out, and then rinse it with distilled water. Is rinsing with distilled water necessary? Second, how do you get the hose dry before using it? Water drops stay in mine for days after cleaning it and I am in a dry climate.

In my opinion, washing a hose is unnecessary in the first place, but if you feel you must, try washing it in the evening before you go to bed and the residual moisture in the hose will get added to your humidity from the HH tank. Rinsing in distilled water also seems unnecessary to me. "Drying" a hose when you're going to put humidity right back into it is absurd in my opinion.


Den

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[Pesser]

It does seem to me that manufacturers and DME providers have overly short replacement periods for CPAP supplies. If you clean your humidifier tank and hose every once in a while, I don't understand why you would need to replace either for at least a couple of years. Likewise, if you wash your headgear and mask, they should last for at least a year. The nasal pillows do lose their softness over time, so I would replace them about every 6 months, I replace the disposable filter on my PR System One machine about every couple of months, which is double the recommended period.

It is tempting to agree to my DME provider's replacement schedule, because my insurance pays for almost all of the replacement cost. However, it just seems wasteful to me. At this point, I have a hose, humidifier tank and full mask set sitting here in their original packages, waiting to replace fully clean and functional items I'm still using.

I don't know about your DME provider, but I have given mine a new replacement schedule of a new mask each year and a new pillow 6 months after the new mask. I bought a package of 64 replacement filters on eBay, so I'm set there for far into the future. If I feel the need for a hose or tank, I will order them, instead of having them on a schedule.

I really like the mountains behind your avatar. I'm sure other people do too..... Hope to go there someday. Went to the rockies not long ago. Going again. Going fishing for sure!

[LSAT]

Thank you. I'll get this order and see how it goes. My insurance covers supplies, so I will see how it goes. Question, I wash my hose with hot water and put soak it for a bit in hot water and soap. I then rinse it with hot tap water, shake it out, and then rinse it with distilled water. Is rinsing with distilled water necessary? Second, how do you get the hose dry before using it? Water drops stay in mine for days after cleaning it and I am in a dry climate.

In my opinion, washing a hose is unnecessary in the first place, but if you feel you must, try washing it in the evening before you go to bed and the residual moisture in the hose will get added to your humidity from the HH tank. Rinsing in distilled water also seems unnecessary to me. "Drying" a hose when you're going to put humidity right back into it is absurd in my opinion.


Den

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I agree

[Pugsy]

FWIW...I am in agreement with Wulfman and LSAT about hose washing and drying but if it makes you feel better to do it then do it but rinsing in distilled water is totally not needed IMHO. If you can drink your tap water you can sure use it to rinse your equipment.

[magictrk]

Interesting. Washing my hose is the biggest pain, so if I don't have to do that, then I won't. I only began rinsing it out with distilled after cleaning it, and by rinsing i mean putting about a cup of distilled and swishing it around, because a neurologist told me to be careful with neti pots due to protozoa, so I was using the same logic and didn't want to inhale any remaining water if it turned to vapor...I am weird, I know.

So, what is the reason not to wash the hose?

[Wulfman...]

Interesting. Washing my hose is the biggest pain, so if I don't have to do that, then I won't. I only began rinsing it out with distilled after cleaning it, and by rinsing i mean putting about a cup of distilled and swishing it around, because a neurologist told me to be careful with neti pots due to protozoa, so I was using the same logic and didn't want to inhale any remaining water if it turned to vapor...I am weird, I know.

So, what is the reason not to wash the hose?

That's totally up to the user and their own feelings about it.
However, the general consensus is that there's nothing in there to clean. You use distilled water in the HH tank and water vapor molecules are too small to carry any "pathogens" (viruses or bacteria) out of the HH tank to you. And, there's such a short period of time between usages that the airflow will keep things from growing in the hose (if at all possible). Plus, the filtered air coming through the machine (system) is much cleaner than what a person is breathing the other 16 or so hours of the day.
I personally don't use "heated" humidity......I use cool, "passover" (water in tank but no heat) and have never actually "cleaned" either of the hoses I've used since I started therapy 10 years ago. I've never felt the need to do so. I've put hot water in my hoses a few times over the years to check for leaks, but never actually considered that as cleaning. And, in the area I live in, the relative humidity is very low and any moisture remaining on surfaces quickly evaporates.


Den

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[Pugsy]

I don't wash the hose because it doesn't get dirty. I don't see how I can inhale any foreign bugs/germs that I am not already exposed to in everyday life. I just don't worry about that type of stuff at all.

BUT....I know that a lot of people do worry about that type of stuff and if they want to go to a lot of work to wash and dry their hoses....hey, it's certainly not going to hurt anything.

If having a dry hose to start the night with is something that really bugs a person....use 2 hoses... wash one and let it dry for a week and switch them out...one being used while the other one is drying.

When it comes to cleaning any of this cpap stuff I tell people to do whatever they want to do that makes them comfortable with their equipment. If someone wants to sterilize everything daily...hey, they can sure do that if they want to. You are going to find that there is a very wide range in terms of cleaning routine for cpap equipment...what is the "right" way...well the "right" way is the one that let's the individual be happy with what they are doing and using. I am lazy...first to admit it and when I first started therapy I also thought I just HAD to clean this stuff on a rigid schedule but that got old real fast...and after about 6 months it was no longer something that I had to do on a rigid schedule.
I am happy with my not so rigid routine...it works for me...I see no need to change.

Now if someone has some serious health issues like a compromised immune system....totally different story and we have a totally different discussion.

[JustinD9]

I only recently started CPAP treatment (here in Sydney, Australia) and am using an Autoset 10 ResMed with a N10 mask. Other than a small amount that private insurance throws in on the purchase of a machine you are on your own in Australia regarding funding any replacement of consumables.

I actually purchased my machine from Resmed directly through their pseudo consulting front ResSleep (who provide take home sleep testing). I noticed on Resmed's USA website it clearly recommended a 2wk schedule on change of pillows. But, if you look at the Australian site (home of Resmed) its "strangely" silent. I asked their consultant when I picked up my machine and she said the P10 headgear is good for a year or two and the pillows for at least 12mths if properly cared for.

So, my takeaway is that since Medicare came up with the 2wk schedule (probably lobbied by the manufacturers) then they are not going to look a gift horse in the mouth by recommending a longer schedule. All I can say is YMMV

[winnie]

My private "extended health" insurance in Canada will pay 95% of the cost of 2 masks a year. I suspect the government health care won't pay anything unless you jump through all sorts of hoops. The prices locally are astronomical. The F10 mask was over $300 CND and the AirSense™ 10 AutoSet For Her cost $2300 CND. I would not have bought locally if the insurance wasn't picking up 95%. In future I think I will buy masks online.

[ALF]

I really like the mountains behind your avatar. I'm sure other people do too..... Hope to go there someday. Went to the rockies not long ago. Going again. Going fishing for sure!

Thanks! That's Wyoming's Teton Range, viewed from the top of Rendezvous Peak (Jackson Hole).

Al F.