Mask cushions: Control III or boiling with baking soda?

I'm currently using a Quattro FX Full Face Mask. I tried the ever popular boiling technique on my detachable cushion, which includes water and baking soda to prolong their life, however it's a big PITA. I can say that it seems to work okay tho. Has anybody tried soaking their cushions in Control III disinfectant to restore their viability? Will it ruin the cushions? As a side note: the boiling method doesn't seem to hurt them. Also, I'm not fond of the smell of Control III, but I can later run them thru a bath of Dawn dish detergent solution with the rest of my gear. Thanks all.

I use baby wipes every night before I put on my mask. I rarely clean the cushion, but, every 2-3 months I boil it.

I'm a minimalist, but when I do wash my UMFF (which is a lot like the Quattro, which I also have), I use Dawn dishwashing liquid (the original blue). I soak/wash the entire mask once (assembled without headgear) in HOT water in a small plastic bucket (about a gallon size), then rinse twice in HOT water, then let it soak in COLD water for awhile (restores some "spring" to the cushion). Then, shake out most of the water and hand dry with a flour sack dish towel.
I wash the headgear and fleece strap covers in the washing machine with a load of clothes on a cool water setting. We use ALL laundry soap. Then, I hang that stuff to dry on a clothes hanger.

Been doing that for nearly nine years. As I've said before, I get YEARS worth of use out of both the headgear and cushions.


Den

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Thanks guys. I guess cleaning one's mask cushions with Control III is not being done much on this forum.

Silicone is highly absorbent. Soaking in anything with an odor is a very bad idea.
The smell may never come out. Soaking can also make the silicone cloudy and affect the texture.
It happened to me.

chunkyfrog wrote:Silicone is highly absorbent. Soaking in anything with an odor is a very bad idea.
The smell may never come out. Soaking can also make the silicone cloudy and affect the texture.
It happened to me.

CF: How do you clean your cushions

I'm like wulfman in that I wash my stuff in Dawn dish soap, rinse well and let dry.

Right now, I use unscented baby wipes (Up &Up from Target)
I use a new cushion every month. I have been keeping the old ones, and may do a boil test.
Wisp is part silicone and part hard plastic (Lexan?) so I'm not sure what will happen.

Do this in this sequence:

Boil 3-4 mins in distilled water with 2 teaspoons of baking soda. Use enough water to cover the cushions.
When finished, rinse in distilled water.
Follow mixing instructions on Control III bottle, soak cushion for ten mins. Rinse and air dry.
Cushion will be like brand new, unless they are yellowed. Nothing seems to get the yellow out.
Even if they are yellow they will still be supple and soft like new. This is the method I used and never fails.
I rotated about 5 cushions and just kept stashing or giving away the ones the DME sent.
I now use the Sleepweaver Anew so I no longer have to do all of this.
The method I describe above is totally safe and really works well.

I clean my mask, cushion & hose with Dawn. I simply dunk the mask, cushion in the solution, swish it around, rinse with tap water. I then mix a solution of white vinegar and water and allow all items mentioned to soak for about 10-15 minutes. I then rinse thoroughly, especially my hose, let all air dry and walla...clean smelling equipment. Been using this method for 4 years now with no ill effects. Easy to do also...

chunkyfrog wrote: Wisp is part silicone and part hard plastic (Lexan?) so I'm not sure what will happen <when boiling>.

CF. It's interesting you should mention that: I use the Wisp mask from time to time and wondered if a person could use some kitchen tongs (while wearing a protective rubber glove) and simply dip the silicone flanges part into boiling water containing baking soda - obviously you'd take care not to immerse the hard plastic part in the hot water. In other words, maybe it's not be necessary to submerge the whole soft/hard cushion to affect a restoration of the soft flanges. Sadly, I don't have a Wisp cushion to experiment with at this time. Wonder if anyone's tried this method yet

knothead wrote: I then mix a solution of white vinegar and water and allow all items mentioned to soak for about 10-15 minutes. I then rinse thoroughly, especially my hose, let all air dry and walla...clean smelling equipment. Been using this method for 4 years now with no ill effects. Easy to do also...

Yeah, Knothead. I've read a lot of positive things about white vinegar. I often use Palmolive anti-bacterial dish soap to clean masks because it has 2% lactic acid as the disinfecting agent - it seems to keep the cushions 'springy' if I don't soak them too long, which seems to cause cloudiness in the flanges.

I've had good luck with washing silicone parts in the dishwasher weekly, plus swapping with a spare mask part and letting the cleaned part dry for a whole week.

ResMed does say not to dishwash, but it works well for me.

Here's the best thread I've seen on boiling with baking soda... before and after pics and all
This CPAPtalk link should answer your question to the max
viewtopic/t74686/Boiling-Stuff-Part-2.html

The respiration therapist that I see just said to pour a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid into the mask and rub around with your fingers, rinse and let dry. No mention made of boiling or buying any special products for washing and that's what I've been doing.

Sandra_ON wrote:The respiration therapist that I see just said to pour a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid into the mask and rub around with your fingers, rinse and let dry. No mention made of boiling or buying any special products for washing and that's what I've been doing.

The longer you wear the mask the cushions start wear and lose there ability to seal and will leak like crazy. Dipping the cushion in boiling water brings back the silcone to life. Works wonders