Cleaning humidifier / sleeve /runny nose

[MargaretX]

Hi, this is my first posting here. I am in Germany but find more information on the British and US forums.

I have had a ResMed CPAP device since October, and in January I got a heated humidifier. I was told that once I had that, I had to wash everything every day (hose, smaller hose, nasal pillows, humidifier - the rest of the mask once a week).

Then I ordered a fleece sleeve from Intus to stop rainout, which I had a bit of. The sleeve is almost too small, and as I've got arthritis in my thumb it was very painful to put on and took me 20 minutes. I cannot imagine taking it off to wash, or more important, taking it off to make it easier to wash the hose. So I read this forum and decided no longer to wash everything every day. I wash the nasal pillow every day and the rest once a week (this has only been going on for a week or two).

Now I have the problem that at 7 a.m. I started sneezing and took the mask off. I have been sneezing all day or had a runny nose. I read on the Internet that this can be because I'm not washing the equipment enough. Has anyone else had this? I have now washed out the rest of the gear. I don't like the way I have to be careful not to get the sleeve wet when I slosh the hose around. I could also try increasing the heat setting on the humidifier.

I am thinking of getting a larger sleeve - ResMed do one that zips up - or the Aussie heated hose. I'll have to see how it is tomorrow. I do have some ointment to keep my nose free, which I use sometimes, but I've never had anything like this.

TIA
Margaret
ResMed S8 Autoset Spirit II
ResMed Swift FX

[ElleCee]

You could buy some c-pap cleaning wipes. I use them every day and then do a good clean each weekend. I have not had any problems at all doing this.
You can get them from James along with the RemZzz.

[MargaretX]

ElleCee,

I actually ordered some of those wipes with the sleeve, but I don't see much use to them. I can wipe the nasal pillow with them, but it's no easier than quickly swishing it through slightly soapy water and washing out. I can wipe the ends of the hoses with them. I can't wash out the water container, and I haven't tried the fishing line trick - seems easier to me to pour water through the big hose and wash out the small one.
Did you have problems before you had these wipes?

I don't think I need the RemZzz either - do you all use them? I read somewhere aobut how to make such a thing out of a microfibre cloth, but I don't think they're intended for nasal pillows.

(Is there a way of making my signature automatic?)
Margaret
ResMed S8 Autoset Spirit II
ResMed Swift FX

[Tigers Fan]

Intriguing!

Hi MargaretX

An intriguing name and an intriguing post! Welcome to this British forum!

I wonder why your sleep tech thinks you should wash all your equipment daily because you have a humidifier. Is this taught in all German clinics or just the one you attend? I think we British have overcome the 'unwashed' opinion of the Americans of a few decades ago and I feel perfectly comfortable in saying to you that washing everything every day is not necessary.

Is a hose sleeve that is almost too small not, in fact, a good fit? If your problem is about getting the rubber hose end through the sleeve, then put the corner of a thin plastic bag over the rubber end - you will find the hose easy to get into sleeve.

Why would you want to take the sleeve off the hose to wash them? A bowlful of mild soapy water, slosh the hose in its sleeve about to wash the sleeve, fill the hose with the soapy water and run it back and forth inside the hose - raise and lower the ends. Rinse thoroughly. Hang up to dry.

You should not wet the sleeve of an Aussi heated hose.

I cannot think of a reason why unwashed equipment would make you sneeze. Yours had only been unwashed for a few days, anyway. The only CPAP related cause of sneezing I can think of is the absence of a dust filter at the CPAP air intake.

Sneezing and runny nose make me think of a cold or flu and of allergies.

For me. the right humidifier setting is the one that is both the highest and leaves a drop of water in the humidifier after a 'standard' length night.

I'm intigued by the apparent national differences in the way we use CPAP - distilled water in humidifiers; daily washing if you use a heated humidifier. I bet there are loads more, just that we consider them to be normal until we talk to someone else.

TF

[MargaretX]

Hi TF (a much weirder name than mine),

My name is because the name Margaret is apparently already taken.

The filter is in place. I understand that the advice to clean every day was not generally believed on this forum, and that is why I stopped doing it. When my nose ran all day - I have used about thirty Kleenex - I did a bit of Googling and found the suggestion that I might not have been cleaning the accessories enough. That's why I'm asking.

I don't believe the sleep laboratory nurse is terribly well informed. In fact, before I went there for the third time, an ENT doctor told me this clinic is not very good and I should go to the one in the next town, Nuremberg, which is the biggest in Bavaria. I also went to see the ResMed representative in an office near the Nuremberg clinic (who told me I don't have to use the ramp, thank goodness). However, before I had the humidifier, the nurse told me not to clean everything every day, just the nose part of the ComfortGel mask I had at the time, and the rest once a week, whereas the printed instructions told me to clean them daily - it was only when I got the humidifier that she suggested cleaning it. As far as I know the advice given in Germany varies a lot.

It's not a cold or flu - I can tell that. I agree it sounds like an allergy, but I can't understand why it would suddenly come on like that.

I am not sure what is the right humidifier setting. Whether there's a drop of water left or not probably depends on how much water I put in.

Well, I will just try out things and see if it happens again. I must say, it seems to me unnecessary to clean everything every day.

Thanks for your advice,

Margaret

[MargaretX]

I found out why the recommendation here (ResMed and clinic) is to wash everything except the mask itself every day. They say that if you have a heated humidifier and there happen to be bacteria anywhere, the warm damp air is a perfect breeding ground.

After starting the washing again, my problem with sneezing disappeared. I can't prove it was a result of the cleaning, but I'll keep doing it until the problem comes again.

I slosh water with a bit of dishwashing liquid in it around everything. I just find it a bit slower with the hose when I am being careful not to get the hose cover wet.

Margaret