I like cold air. Can I turn humidifier on?

So, I've recently begun therapy five nights ago. (Btw, thanks so much to this board - what an invaluable resource it has been!!)

Machine came with humidifier set at 4, I gradually decreased it to zero over the first night because I just can't stand breathing in warm air! Is there some sort of temperature setting where I can still turn on the humidifier but it will blow cold instead of warm air? Is this even possible?

No trouble yet with the humidifier at zero but I can foresee my nose not liking the dryness after a while.

And yes, I do know how to access the clinician's menu.

Go here and request the clinician manual for your Icon
http://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-p ... tup-manual
In it there should be a section on using the heated hose and humidity settings...if they can be set independently. I am not familiar with the Icon heated hose system. I do know that with the ResMed and Respironics heated hose systems we can set the hose air temp to off and still set the humidity delivery separately. I don't know if that can be done with Icon heated hose...if you have the icon heated hose.

Remember you are starting with room air temp no matter what you do. These machines can't cool the air at all. There's nothing in these machines that can take ambient room warm air and cool it down.

SleepyCarey wrote:So, I've recently begun therapy five nights ago. (Btw, thanks so much to this board - what an invaluable resource it has been!!)

Machine came with humidifier set at 4, I gradually decreased it to zero over the first night because I just can't stand breathing in warm air! Is there some sort of temperature setting where I can still turn on the humidifier but it will blow cold instead of warm air? Is this even possible?

No trouble yet with the humidifier at zero but I can foresee my nose not liking the dryness after a while.

And yes, I do know how to access the clinician's menu.

What you're asking seems counter-intuitive. Turning it on warms up the water. And, you already said you "gradually" decreased it to zero.

Are you routing the hose under the covers next to your body to slightly warm the air? If not, try that.
I turned my HH off a couple of nights after starting therapy back in May of 2005 and haven't regretted it. I use "passover" humidification year round. But, to get it just a little warmer, I route the hose into the covers and next to my body.
Depending on your relative humidity in your room and the area you live in, the air will pick up SOME water vapor as it passes through the HH tank.


Den

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I guess I should clarify. I'm perfect temperature-wise with the humidifier set to zero. It's when I turn it off zero to 1 or above that the air is too warm for my comfort. As of right now, I'm fine with it turned all the way off, but if I begin to encounter too much nasal dryness or something, I was wondering if there was such a thing as the humidifier being on, but the air coming from the tube still being relatively cool, like the air in my room is.

Pugsy - thanks so much for the link, I have requested the clinician manual. Perhaps there's a temp setting for the hose that I can fiddle with.

If you want cold air (at least for a while) -- fill the humidifier tank with ice-water, but don't turn it on. Get as many chunks of ice as you can in the tank. It will be like falling asleep in a cool arctic breeze. Very nice in the summer.

I don't like the warm air, either. Warm, water saturated air feels somehow "not right", and it also increases my ahi, sometimes doubling it or more.

Just like Wulfman Den, I have the HH set to 0, and just let the room temp air pass over the water in the tank. The cool air does take up some water vapor, and it's all I need for cool comfort.

Some folks hereabouts prefer the warm swampy air. That's fine, everyone's experience is a bit different.

Good luck finding your best settings.

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The way the humidifiers are designed, the only way to get more humid air is to heat the water. There will be a tradeoff of warm air vs. humid air.

You can use the humidifier with water, but the heat turned off, and get some humidity.

There are some external "passive" humidifiers you could use that don't heat the air.

As Pugsy says, turn off the heated hose if you have one. Or put the heated hose on a shelf and get a few non-heated hoses online. They're pretty cheap. I think you don't need a F&P unheated hose, any brand will do.

What you are asking is NOT counter intuitive. I also prefer to breathe cooler air but for most of us that use CPAP we have to use the humidifier or our nasal passages will get very dried out and in a lot of cases will bleed. If you have a heated tube, turn the temp for the tube a low as it will go. The lowest setting for my machine is 60 degrees. Keep in mind though, the humidifier heats the water to cause the humidification. So even through the air temp will be closer to your liking, it will never be completely cool.

No idea if you can do this with your machine, but I do use my humidifier with cool air. I have my humidifier set for 5 out of 6, and I have the temp set to 62. It uses up a decent amount of water, keeps me from being too dry, and the air feels refreshing.

Pugsy wrote: I do know that with the ResMed and Respironics heated hose systems we can set the hose air temp to off and still set the humidity delivery separately.

Can you please show me where I can find instructions to do this?
I do not prefer the warmed air, either.

SofaBear wrote: Can you please show me where I can find instructions to do this?
I do not prefer the warmed air, either.

It should be in the clinical manual. I don't have that particular model so I don't know what page but it amounts to setting the humidity and hose air temp separately.
If you can't find it maybe someone who has your model machine can point you in the right direction.
On the S9 it was simply to change humidity from "automatic" to "manual" but I am unsure of the wording on the AirSense machines menus.
The manual is here
https://sleep.tnet.com/home/files/resme ... -guide.pdf

It's on page 11 of the above manual link. It describes climate control auto / manual and how to set both the tube temperature and the humidity level.

OkyDoky wrote:It's on page 11 of the above manual link.

Thanks so much for pointing to the page. I didn't have time (or feel like) reading through it right now...
Could you by chance tell me what I did with my home blood pressure monitor? It's not where I was sure I put it and it isn't anywhere else that I might have put it and I really want to get a good pulse count right now...pulse feels fast. Crap...just what I need...something else to fall apart.

Could someone please look in their crystal ball and tell me where in the hell I put my BP kit? I cleaned it off the table and put it in nice safe place...too safe. Sigh...It's hell getting old. I thought it was just the boobs and butt that went south.

Pugsy wrote:

OkyDoky wrote:It's on page 11 of the above manual link.

Thanks so much for pointing to the page. I didn't have time (or feel like) reading through it right now...
Could you by chance tell me what I did with my home blood pressure monitor? It's not where I was sure I put it and it isn't anywhere else that I might have put it and I really want to get a good pulse count right now...pulse feels fast. Crap...just what I need...something else to fall apart.

Could someone please look in their crystal ball and tell me where in the hell I put my BP kit? I cleaned it off the table and put it in nice safe place...too safe. Sigh...It's hell getting old. I thought it was just the boobs and butt that went south.

You'll likely find it in the LAST place you look.......

So, look there first.

And, yes, it is!!!


Den

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Pugsy wrote:

OkyDoky wrote:It's on page 11 of the above manual link.

Thanks so much for pointing to the page. I didn't have time (or feel like) reading through it right now...
Could you by chance tell me what I did with my home blood pressure monitor? It's not where I was sure I put it and it isn't anywhere else that I might have put it and I really want to get a good pulse count right now...pulse feels fast. Crap...just what I need...something else to fall apart.

Could someone please look in their crystal ball and tell me where in the hell I put my BP kit? I cleaned it off the table and put it in nice safe place...too safe. Sigh...It's hell getting old. I thought it was just the boobs and butt that went south.

It's usually very close to where you thought it was, just hidden in a way that you can't see until the 5th time you look. Go back to where you thought it was and look inside things. It probably fell into a box or bag, or got covered.