Cpap cleaning?

So, ive been soaking my mask, tube, water chamber, etc in hot soapy water like they told me to. Replacing per schedule,  and its working ok.

I would like to make supplies last longer by cleaning better. I figure better maintenance will make longer lasting expensive wear items. 

I see a bunch of different things googling up cpap cleaning devices, so i come to the hive. 

What say yall?

Vinegar comes to mind. I might call the business you got it from and ask them? 

In reply to z31maniac :

The cleaning schedule and method that I have been using is what they told me to do when I bought it. I'm just looking for a better mouse trap really. Especially since supplies have tripled in cost

In reply to z31maniac :

I would be very careful about something like that since any residue would become fumes to be breathed in.

Duster, I can't help directly, but it looks like there are Reddit posts about this very thing which should be useful.  Or someone else here, which is obviously why you asked, since someone here knows.

I just do the soap and water thing like they say to do. I'm not sure that any alternative cleaning methods will prolong the life of the consumables. Especially with masks, after a while the silicone/rubber/whatever it is just loses it's elasticity and doesn't conform to my face well. The hoses, on the other hand, seem to be pretty much indisructible. 

See I'm actually somewhat hard on hoses, but luckily they're cheap.

Anyway, I don;t clean mine as often as I should, but when I do it's just a bit of Dr. Bronner's in hot water in teh sink and swoosh everythign around then rinse thoroughly. Seems to work fine.

Honestly the big revelation for me was finding off-brand supplies on Amazon. The masks I was paying $50-60 each for from Fisher and Paykel are available as knockoffs for like $15 and honestly I prefer the quality of the aftermarket ones. So I replace stuff pretty frequently and keep plenty of backups to cycle through.

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

This is a thing?!?

Wonder if i can figure out how to find the n30i clones. 

I am also hard on tubing. And its the hardest to clean in the sink. 

Glad im not alone here guys. Thanks. This is my only forum i trust, so i i haven't seen anything on reddit nor am i likely to look of im honest 

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

That's what I was planning to do next time, but I was worried about getting it applied to my insurance.

How does that work, or do you just not worry about it?

I can pay with my HSA card, but I'd like to get the cost counted toward my yearly deductible, too.

On the actual topic, I usually clean my headgear and nosepiece with typical acne cleanser / face wash.  The hose I just clean with soap and water.

I don't use the humidification tank, so I don't clean that - it's never had water in it.

I bought a Resplabs hose cleaning kit off Amazon for $10. Double-ended long brush is over 5 feet long with a large and small nylon brush on each end of the flexible coiled metal. I use the small brush end for heated supply hoses because of the inside probes, works fine. Also for cleaning the headgear hose. There is a separate small brush I use for cleaning ports in the humidifier chamber.

I've only used Dawn unscented liquid in hot water in a dish pan. Also to soak the humidifier chamber. Thoroughly rinse with hot water and allow plenty of time to dry. I'll clean the chamber once per week and has been fine. Tubing maybe every two weeks. I don't try to clean the nasal pillows as they are cheap, so just replace.

Good luck.

Duke said:

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

That's what I was planning to do next time, but I was worried about getting it applied to my insurance.

How does that work, or do you just not worry about it?

I can pay with my HSA card, but I'd like to get the cost counted toward my yearly deductible, too.

 

So, I don't know how your insurance works, but ours was not particularly CPAP friendly. We actually have really good insurance overall, but the way they wanted to do the CPAP was they would only pay a portion of a rental and I had to pay the rest, which was going to be like $40/mo forever. I ended up buying a Philips machine for about $400, then bought another one of the same kind remanufactured for like $200. Both of them were affected by the Philips recall, so both of them got replaced with new machines eventually. So I kind of lucked into that deal, but the bottom line is there are good deals out there.

For masks, I was paying like $60 for an F&P cushion and $75 for a frame. Then I found these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Y7QPXNM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Frame

And I honestly like them better than the original factory stuff and they seem to last just as long.

I have run 90% alcohol through mine and never notice a smell, it seems to clean/sterilize it. I have also thrown the hose in the dishwasher on the topshelf, I use a fairly mild cleaner. There is also a steam feature on my dishwasher.

I was gifted a UV cleaner years ago.  Toss hose and mask in it and run a cycle, it seems to do the job.  I will agree with others I dont think cleaning makes much of a difference on lifespan of consumables.  Hoses are cheap on amazon and fall under FSA rules (as do other consumables) so when I have surplus in the FSA at the end of the year I just stock up on supplies.  Headgear is the most expensive, Ive found aftermarket knock offs but they are never as good nor do they last as long so I suck it up and pay for the good stuff, but the real stuff last me at least 6 months so its worth it.