Here's what happens if the vents on your AirFit P10 clog

[yaconsult]

I'm been on cpap for many years and have been happily using the AirFit P10 for quite a while. Recently, I started having problems with my therapy and the cause was not obvious to me. Here is what I learned...

The first symptom was excessive moisture in the mask such that it would drip out. I use the humidifier and hose on the automatic settings and normally they work terrifically. I took my hose cover and installed it over the heated hose and thought that that might have improved it some but it still wasn't the way it used to be.

The next thing I noticed was that I had an urge to blow air out of my mouth. I don't normally have this urge so was wondering what was wrong.

And then, it came to me. I put my fingers in front of the P10's vents and didn't feel anything! As a test, I disconnected the mask from the hose and put the palm of my hand over it. I should have been able to breath in and out through the vent holes, but I couldn't! Instead, the pillows were moving in and out of my nose. So now I knew what the problem was - clogged vent holes.

I took the mask apart, took the vent part into the bathroom and scrubbed the vents with a toothbrush but this didn't make a difference. The vent holes are a very, very fine mesh with the holes pointing in various directions. From previous posts I've seen on this forum, the preferred cleaning methods are either a waterpik, which I don't have, or denture cleaning tablets, which I plan to order but don't have yet either.

So, here it is the middle of the night - what to do? Oh, yeah! I reach over, grab my backup AirFit P10 and plug it into the hose and slip it on. Aaaahhhh! Instant relief! And, I feel that gentle breeze out the vents in the front. Everyone needs to have a known good backup mask!

The next day, I took the vent portion of the clogged mask and soaked it in water with some Dawn for a few hours. Then, I took it out, rinsed it off and decided to try blowing out the vent holes with my can of compressed air that I use on electronics stuff. I used that little plastic tube that comes taped to the side of the can and blew air from the outside to the inside all over the vent holes. I held it up to my mouth and found that the holes were now clear - success! I put the mask back together and it's now my spare.

Clearing the vent holes solved both problems and I was able to switch the humidity setting back over to automatic. My suggestion is that AirFit P10 users double-check when they put their masks on at night and make sure that you can feel that gentle exhaust out through the vents. On my previous Breeze mask, there was only one big vent hole in the front and if it had ever become clogged, it would have been obvious. But on the P10, you might not even notice that it has become clogged over time because it's so quiet, but it will affect your therapy.

[Bookbear]

Excellent cleaning tip! Thanks for posting this.

[Lucyhere]

The next thing I noticed was that I had an urge to blow air out of my mouth. I don't normally have this urge so was wondering what was wrong.

Hmmm... thank you for your post. Time for my new P10.

[john5757]

I had the same problem with my mask and it took time to realize there is a problem slowly developing. I had to soak the mask in hot water to clean the vents. Good to know a toothbrush will not work. Another good tip.

[chunkyfrog]

I bought the water pik because the overpowering mintiness of denture tablets is too unpleasant for my taste.
Your Dawn soak and compressed air solution is BRILLIANT!

[rohdej]

I tried the midnight post sneeze cleaning. I tried to put it back on clean but wet. The water just sealed the mesh. I sat for a half hour fighting the wet mesh. Canned air, I had that at the time. Now I have spare masks.

[yaconsult]

I tried the midnight post sneeze cleaning. I tried to put it back on clean but wet. The water just sealed the mesh. I sat for a half hour fighting the wet mesh. Canned air, I had that at the time. Now I have spare masks.

Sneezing! I hadn't thought about that as a source of clogging, but I do remember having a bit of a sneezing fit a couple days before it happened. I did not realize that the moisture from washing would still clog it. I also hadn't realized until this thread that the the denture tablets could leave an annoying smell. I think I'll just make sure that I always have a can of compressed on hand and use it after soaking in dawn and water. Seems to work without and of the drawbacks as it's able to remove the moisture left after soaking. This mask it worth the trouble for me because it works very, very well.

[Freakyfingers]

Wow, you just saved my day (night?). Currently i had not been using the humidifier and somehow some water was condensing on the tube. I was very skeptic it was from my own exhaled H2O vapor, but then when I took the mask apart, and did the breathing test by plugging the tube and trying to breath through the vent, saw the hose was moving and very little air was going through the vent... and then i remembered the air flow there used to be through the vent previously.
I've been using my CPAP since 2019 and started to feel the discomfort since May or maybe June 2020....
Now I know what to do: I have the water pik, then need to figure out how to dry it before putting it on again (5AM here in Abu Dhabi and no dry air can nearby)/
thank you

[Cruiser1234]

This reminds me of the mesh filter on the F20. It gave me a headache when using it...

[Pugsy]

Currently i had not been using the humidifier and somehow some water was condensing on the tube. I was very skeptic it was from my own exhaled H2O vapor,

Our own exhaled breath contains a lot of moisture. We don't realize it but it does and when conditions are just right it condenses in the mask and/or hose and we get rain out happening. I have heard from people living in the high desert where ambient humidity is very dry and they don't use a humidifier at all and they get lots of rain out. The moisture has to come from somewhere and the only place it can come from is our body. It condenses and causes rain out because the ambient room temp cools down the air in the mask or hose to the point that the air can no longer hold onto the water. It's Science 101 in action.

If it becomes too annoying there are ways to reduce the annoyance....heated hose, hose cozy, barrel cozy for nasal pillows, etc.

So it can happen even if we don't use water in the humidifier and in the case of the P10 with the diffused vents....there is the potential for that moisture to clog the vent holes over a period of time.

[joeljjk11]

Thanks for this. I just realized that my vents were also clogged and I washed them with mild soap and hot water, dried them with paper towels and this seemed to help tremendously when I tested out the mask. I thought this was just a design flaw with the mask that I could not breathe out of it, but the vents were clogged.

[chunkyfrog]

Sneezing will really clog the mesh, because dried phlegm is like glue.
A good soak, either Dawn or a Poli-dent tablet.
Then blow out the crud with air or water.
No brush made will work, and pins or needles will only damage the vents.
I have considered using a piece of thin guitar string, but JNK might hurt me.

[khauser]

I have considered using a piece of thin guitar string, but JNK might hurt me.

Maybe not! Could be a new market for used guitar strings ... at least the high E!

[chunkyfrog]

Very fine wire, will clean out the tiny Speedball pens.(remember those?)
I used one to clean lint/wax clogs out of my kistka--even the triple ought.

[JimMcL61]

A good soaking in vinegar works. Glad I found this. I thought I was losing my mind.