How often do you actually replace your CPAP mask/headgear?

[Franko39]

Hi all,

I'm curious how often you replace your CPAP mask and headgear parts, in practice? I know ResMed recommends every 3-6 months, but this seems a bit aggressive to me?

I've had F30i equipment for about 9 months now with no visible damage that I can see, so I'm wondering whether to replace it or keep using it until I see signs of deterioration. I've also had some more mask leaks in the last month, so it got me thinking about whether this was related to mask deterioration or not.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Franko

[lazarus]

I don't blame medical equipment people making their world go'round by trying to make as much money as possible with replacements and replacement parts, but I don't go out of my way to support their efforts, either. The collective purse and shared planet matter to me. Call me old-fashioned.

I have gone literally years using the same nasal-pillows mask and tubing without replacing a thing. Some (many?) would consider me extreme. But I say, if it ain't broke . . .

That said, any increase in bad leak or decrease in therapy effectiveness would make me consider replacing parts as a logical step fairly early in any troubleshooting process. The therapy is too important to me to be overly cheap/frugal about it.

Everyone's mileage varies. Do you.

-Jeff

[Shutterbug57]

My insurance pays for:
- headgear every 6 months
- frame every 3 months
- tube every 3 months
- mask itself every month

I am using the F40 and assume that the insurance companies are not being generous but their decisions are based on the lowest cost model. Infections from dirty gear are probably more expensive than replacing the gear. If you track leaks, you will likely find that (assuming a properly fitting mask) that leaks increase with the age of your mask. Leaky masks adversely impact your therapy.

[Pugsy]

insurance companies are not being generous but their decisions are based on the lowest cost model.

Ever hear of a movie called "Pollyanna"?

[Pugsy]

I've had F30i equipment for about 9 months now with no visible damage that I can see, so I'm wondering whether to replace it or keep using it until I see signs of deterioration. I've also had some more mask leaks in the last month, so it got me thinking about whether this was related to mask deterioration or not.

Increased leaks could be related to tired mask but also could simply be related to anything.

Get a new mask and use it and see if the leaks resolve.

For me....I have used lots of masks (and pillows/cushions) for well over a year over my 15 years using cpap.
I have also had really bad leaks with a brand new mask.... There is no guarantee that a new mask won't leak.

[lazarus]

It all may mostly depend on whether the oldies stations you tune to tend to be the mainstream-yacht-rock ones or the counter-culture hippie stations.

Either way, peace and rock on with good therapy!

[Snowywoods1750]

Pugsy. I have a question for you relating to this. I noticed you said a brand new mask can leak. I have a terrible time with mask leaks. I have tried many different ones. I am currently using the F40 with pretty good luck. I recently changed out entire mask and it is leaking every night up around 30. Do you think it is possible for the new nasal piece to be off even though it is the same mask. I have tried adjusting etc. and nothing is working. I had one night with very low leaks and all the rest are 30-35. My AHI is low. I just don’t get it. Thanks so much for your help. I really appreciate your expertise in this.

[Pugsy]

Pugsy. I have a question for you relating to this. I noticed you said a brand new mask can leak. I have a terrible time with mask leaks. I have tried many different ones. I am currently using the F40 with pretty good luck. I recently changed out entire mask and it is leaking every night up around 30. Do you think it is possible for the new nasal piece to be off even though it is the same mask. I have tried adjusting etc. and nothing is working. I had one night with very low leaks and all the rest are 30-35. My AHI is low. I just don’t get it. Thanks so much for your help. I really appreciate your expertise in this.

Are you asking if I think that leaks can be from sub standard product quality of some sort (nose piece being "off")? If that is your question....I think it is extremely rare for that to happen. Plus if you have a good night followed by crappy nights then you can't really blame the product because you had the one good night. If the product is faulty you wouldn't or shouldn't ever even have a good night.

Have you checked your hose??? The only time I have ever consistently had leaks that might be worrisome it was when the hose had a tiny pin hole in it. It fooled me for a while because there were some nights where the leak wasn't all that bed so I didn't initially blame the hose but the hole was so tiny that sometimes with certain positioning of the hose it closed up the hole so leaks weren't bad.

And don't forget that I really am not the person to be offering much advice on full face mask use because I simply have no useful experience with FFM. I haven't ever really used one and haven't even owned one (to try for grins) in several years now.

Finally...do the leaks wake you up at all or do you sleep through them and do you spend much time with leaks above 30-35 L/min?

[Snowywoods1750]

Thanks Pugsy. No it does not wake me and it is never over 30-35. I am going to quit worrying about it. I will change my hose and see if that helps. Have a good day.

[Pugsy]

Thanks Pugsy. No it does not wake me and it is never over 30-35. I am going to quit worrying about it. I will change my hose and see if that helps. Have a good day.

If you see these numbers on the machine's report then I wouldn't worry about it since you are sleeping through the leaks.
Remember what the leak number on the machine itself is a 95% number and all that means is you were at OR BELOW that number for 95% of the night. People tend to forget the "or below" part of the definition and they think that they were leaking at that level for most of the night and nothing is further from the truth.

I have a good example of why the 95% number often makes things seem a lot worse than they are.
See this thread
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=108724&p=1036669&hi ... t#p1036669
and BTW I think I slept through that big 48 L/min leak 95% number.

Even now unless I spend much time over 30 L/min and I sleep through the leaks then I don't do anything but shrug my shoulders and move on. I always look at the detailed report and don't bother with any leak numbers on the machine itself because I know that an elevated leak number (from the machine's LCD screen) doesn't really mean much that matters at all because it is too easily skewed for it to matter much.

[Shutterbug57]

Pugsy. I have a question for you relating to this. I noticed you said a brand new mask can leak. I have a terrible time with mask leaks. I have tried many different ones. I am currently using the F40 with pretty good luck. I recently changed out entire mask and it is leaking every night up around 30. Do you think it is possible for the new nasal piece to be off even though it is the same mask. I have tried adjusting etc. and nothing is working. I had one night with very low leaks and all the rest are 30-35. My AHI is low. I just don’t get it. Thanks so much for your help. I really appreciate your expertise in this.

Are you sure you got the right size cushion? With my F40, the med fits great and a large leaks at around 20.

[JOinPA]

This is just me, no expert here, but been on CPAP therapy for about ten years with great success. And I don't bother with insurance, I just get stuff from CPAP supplies and pay for it myself.

It's important to know my cleaning regimen, I suppose because that affects the replacement schedule.
-Every day I dump the water, dry the tank, and let it sit out till I go to bed.
-Once a week, I soak the tank and gasket, the short hose and mask pillows (not the elastic headgear) in 1-2 or 1-3 vinegar-water, rinse well

I have not changed the longer air hose in two years, not sure if that's advisable, but I clean it every six months in the vinegar water solution


I replace the nasal pillows on the first of each month.
I replace the tank and headgear once every six months (up to a year)
I replace the little air filter pad every six months, too

That said, I used my last tank for a year, and as I've said I haven't replaced the longer air hose in a couple years. My gear never makes me feel bad, so I must be doing something right. I never see water in my hoses, so I'm pretty comfortable not replacing the longer air hose, I mean, I can't think of what could be growing in there.

From my experience, and from what I've read here and elsewhere, not leaving water in your tank is #1 best practice. If you dump the water and dry the tank every day, you're waaaay ahead in the cleaning game.

[Franko39]

Thanks for the tips everyone. On a somewhat related note - my F30i mask seems to leak from the floppy silicone piece under my lip, when the pressure gets higher in my sleep. I've tried tightening the straps, but the overtightening is uncomfortable and often leads me to me ripping off the mask while asleep.

I've heard that mask liners may help with the leaks - can anyone suggest a good mask liner for the F30i to try?

[Pugsy]

can anyone suggest a good mask liner for the F30i to try?

https://www.padacheek.com/airfitf30i

[Shutterbug57]

insurance companies are not being generous but their decisions are based on the lowest cost model.

Ever hear of a movie called "Pollyanna"?

Yup, but I’ve never met an actuary that was not parsimonious with company funds.