How to limit condensation when heated humidifier is needed

[Zidane]

Mask: Swift FX
Resmed S9 Auto with Climateline tubing
Padacheek wraps on all tubing

I need heated humidification due to inflammation in my nose (which the humidifier takes care of), but I can't get rid of condensation. Even with turning down the Resmed S9 to 60 degrees (I believer the lowest heat setting before turning heat off), I still collect condensation in the Swift FX within 3 hours of usage.

Any suggestions here? Can you use the humidifier without heat? If so, does it work as well fighting nasal inflammation as heated humification does?

[Julie]

Maybe seem obvious, but is your machine at a lower level than your head or higher, where some water could leak 'down'?

[onthefreeway]

I had this same problem (still do, but it's much better).

You will get lots of good advice here - you might want to do a search for "rainout."

My problem was condensation in my Swift FX that was coming from my own breath. I made the same error you did - lowering the temp, when in fact you need to raise it (especially if you keep your bedroom cool at night). Once I raised the temp (now I have it at 76 - 79 degrees), and put on the "barrel cozy" specifically for the FX (from Padacheek), the situation improved considerably. I still have condensation, but it's tolerable.

[nelamvr6]

I've had good luck with "Pad-a-Cheek" hose covers and barrel cozies. I use a heated hose, so I only need a cover for the short hose. The barrel cozy is the final piece of the puzzle, it really helps with condensation from exhalation.

If you don't have a heated hose, Pad-a-Cheek sells long hose covers that will probably help quite a bit.

In fact, I'm in a bit of a pickle right now. I just switched to a Nuance mask, and Pad a Cheek doesn't have a barrel cozy for it just yet...

[Blaifarm]

Is "rainout" a real concern for most people or is it a really individual thing? I am newly diagnosed and don't have any experience so am I worrying about something before it happens to me (if ever)?

[kaiasgram]

Is "rainout" a real concern for most people or is it a really individual thing? I am newly diagnosed and don't have any experience so am I worrying about something before it happens to me (if ever)?

Your S9 has the option of using a heated hose called the Climateline. This really minimizes rainout issues. Also as someone else mentioned, keeping the machine a little lower than your head is a good idea so any condensation runs downhill toward the machine rather than into your mask. With the Climateline you can separately control temp and humidification so you can probably take care of any condensation problems if they come up. Just a little trial and error involved.

[Pugsy]

I still collect condensation in the Swift FX within 3 hours of usage.

Moisture from your own breath is condensing in the nasal pillow barrels because the bedroom air is cooling the air that is in the nasal pillows. Putting the machine below the mattress won't help this form of condensation because of the nature of the shape of the barrel...the condensation can't go anywhere because it would have to go up hill and water can't run uphill. If you are routing the hose over your head with some sort of hose management system...it only makes it worse because it makes even a steeper hill for the moisture to try to climb. Just look at the physics of water and how it has to run.
What we have to do is keep the air warmer (by some method) in the nasal pillows so that it does not cool and release the moisture.

Can you use the humidifier without heat? If so, does it work as well fighting nasal inflammation as heated humification does?

Your nasal mucosa will hate you if you do this if you are like me and need the added moisture because you simply won't get enough added moisture without the humidifier adding heat...and lowering the temperature in the hose is just going to make the condensation worse.

So what you need to do is figure out some way for the warm air coming from the heated hose to keep the air in the nasal pillows warm enough to prevent the cooling to the point that moisture is released and condensation occurs.
Several things to try.
Try 80 plus degree hose temp...warmer air holds more moisture than cooler air. The idea being if the air is already warmer coming from the long hose up through the short hose (where it is going to cool to some extent) then hopefully by the time it reaches the nasal pillows it will still be warm enough to still hold the moisture.
A lot of this depends on bedroom temperature. The reason we see so much rain out issues in the winter is we simply use lower temps at night in the bedroom. If you were like my mom and want to keep the house at 78 degrees in the winter...there wouldn't be any rain out problem but most of us (me included) wouldn't be able to sleep with the house so warm.
So the next thing you could try is maybe a little more heat to the bedroom in general.
You might also use a short hose cozy to help insulate the short hose and lessen chance of the air cooling in the trip from the heated hose to the mask.
You might also use a barrel cozy from Padacheek.com
http://www.padacheek.com/PACSwiftII_Barrel_cozy.html
I bought one of these in Feb 2011...best money I have ever spent on a comfort item. It helps a LOT and is super comfy against the skin. Still using that same one too...I modified it a bit to fit over the barrel of my Tap Pap nasal pillow mask because I still get rain out there because of my cold bedroom temps and my preferred high humidity setting..even with a heated hose set to max temp.

This will be my 5th winter dealing with rain out at the mask level...it's easy to fix at the hose level but hard to fix at the mask level.
I have tried different methods over the years and the heated hose with the barrel cozy is probably the best option for dealing with rain out at the mask level. I haven't had to use a short hose cozy myself with this arrangement.
The heated hose lets me do away with a heavy hose cozy on the long hose...not that it was that big of a deal but with nasal pillows any added weight tends to tug on the nasal pillows and that's a potential problem with seal and fit and comfort.
The skinny hose cozy that ResMed provides for the Climateline doesn't offer much insulation or weight...and still didn't solve the issue of the air cooling at the nasal pillow level itself.

What works for you is going to depend on your own bedroom temperature and your desired humidity level going to your nose...the cooler it is the more you will need to do in an effort to keep that air at the mask warmer so it doesn't release the moisture.
If you are like me and your nose simply doesn't do well with less moisture in the air...the only thing you can do is try to keep the air warmer in the nasal pillows to prevent the release of the moisture..remember...warm air hold more moisture than cold air.

Dropping the machine to the floor will only help condensation in the hose...it won't help at the mask level because gravity doesn't have any way to help get rid of the water. Water can't flow up hill...and with nasal pillows unless you hang your head off the bed there's no way for the water to run out of the nasal pillows. The only way to relieve this issue is to prevent the condensation in the first place by some sort of modification of something...either to bedroom air temp or some sort of insulation to the nasal pillows and/or short hose. Keep that air in the nasal pillow from cooling so much that it loses the moisture it is holding.

[jwerley]

What I do to solve this problem is turn on my space heater (Sunbeam Presto-Radient Heat) to low all night. This keeps the room at a temperature above 60 degrees. You would have to make adjustments for colder climates. This stops all rainout.

Hope this helps.

Janice

[RachelM]

I experienced condensation when first using CPAP. Being handy with a sewing machine, I bought some fleece and sewed a long tube as a hose cover. This did away with problem for me.