Humidifier settings

[silvercarper]

Recently I have had to switch off the humidifier during the night as my nose and chest had become congested.
Do the weather conditions effect how the humidifier is set?
If the outside humidity is already high, as it has been lately, is a humidifier even required?
I think I will get a hygrometer to measure the humidity and set my humidifier accordingly.
Any views on this subject.

[Tigers Fan]

Oh! Yes!

Hi silvercarper

The past few nights, I have found myself equivocating about running the air con or not. Humidity is high but temperature is acceptably low and air con is expensive.

The first night I opted for economy and had a bad night, knacked the next day. So the next night I opted for good quality sleep, set the air conditioner to 'de-humidify' and slept like a baby/log/as if dead. Last night I didn't run the air con despite 62% relative humidity at bedtime (and this mornning) and 21C ambient temp. My humidifier was at the ususal setting of 4 (out of 5) and I had a couple of drops of rainout, in spite of using a hose sleeve.

Clearly, the ambient humidity plus moisture from the humidiier was just on the point of 100% humidity for the CPAP air.

For high ambient humidity, we can reduce the humidifer setting 'a bit' and still get the same delivered moisture content but it will be slightly cooler than with the normal humidifier setting. Drop the delivered air temperature with elevated humidity and we invite rainout .......

Air con solves the problem but it's expensive to run .......

I think it's down to global warming - having rainout season start in August!!!

TF

[James @ Intus]

It's a constant battle, isn't it? Tweak, tweak and tweak again. That's why the F&P Themrosmart machines are so nice. I believe the new Respironics humidifiers boast somethign similar. They keep an eye on the ambient conditions and alter their behaviour accordingly. If you have the "dumb" style humidifier, indeed you need to tweak it yourself.

As far as whether humidification is even needed, I believe about half of CPAP users never felt a need to have one. Not sure that's half in the UK or half world-wide, with the nicer lcimate countries included. So certainly, switch the humidifier off if you want, it's not a necessity per se. But if it's dry air conditions, a humidifier has been shown to be a lot healthier for your nasal passages.

[silvercarper]

I tried disconnecting the humidfier last night but I woke up in the early hours with a sore tongue so had to reconnect it all back up again.
Resmed also seem to have a "intelligent" humidifier on the market as well.
I wonder how much better they all are .
I would not mind paying for a better humidifier but trying to get the hospital to provide the matching APAP !!!!!!

[James @ Intus]

They don't have to match if you can live with a separate unit. The HC150 has for years been the mother of all heated humidifiers, including the coveted Ambient Tracking.

[silvercarper]

I have now bought a dehumidifier, at present being used to dry out soggy carping gear, to try to keep the bedroom humidity stable.

[Tigers Fan]

Lorraine, please note!

Humidity is dampness in the air, much loved by bugs and bacteria.

Hi silvercarper

Be interested to know how much water you take out of the air over-night. My unit just pumps it away every time the drains sump fills. We have 53% at the moment - a soggy but not wet feel to the air.

TF

[silvercarper]

I used the dehumidifier for a couple of nights now and I think im noticing the difference.
Keeping the room humidity stable during the night seems to keep the Cpap humidity constant as well.
The only problem I have is that even on maximum power I cant get the humidity below 60%.

[Tigers Fan]

Size matters!

Hi silvercarper

Either the capacity of the unit is not large to cope with the size of your room - remember your are exhaling humidified air, adding say, 25 cl of water to the atmosphere in your room in addition to one/two people breathing normally, and/or you are sleeping with the window open so that you are trying to de-humidify the world as well.

Always asuming you switched it on?

TF

[James @ Intus]

I got one of those humidity-sucking bead bags off eBay to sort out the car. A big version of those tiny "don't eat" bags in new shoes or gadget boxes. You can stick it in the over for two hours to 'recharge' it. It was only 10 quid or so, may help you break the 60% barrier.

[silvercarper]

I am beginning to understand more about controlling the room humidity.
I have been looking at a internet weather site which gives my local humidity levels every 2 hours. I have then only opened windows and doors when the outside humidity is lower than that indoors.
I think it helps as I have not been congested during the night when using the CPAP humidifier.

[James @ Intus]

I am beginning to understand more about controlling the room humidity.
I have been looking at a internet weather site which gives my local humidity levels every 2 hours. I have then only opened windows and doors when the outside humidity is lower than that indoors.
I think it helps as I have not been congested during the night when using the CPAP humidifier.

Love it when people go all scientific about it. Which website is this?

[silvercarper]

Weather site

http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/

Enter your post code and look at "Observations" which gives the humidity levels at the nearest weather station.

[silvercarper]

My experiment with adjusting room humidity is now put on hold as my de-humidifier has packed up GRHHH

I have found this link which suggests that reducing the room humidity can reduce rain out

http://www.ehow.com/how_5707416_keep-cpap-dripping.htm

[Tigers Fan]

Guaranteed!

Hi silvercarper

Rainout has three possible sources - room humidifty, humidifier humidity and compression drainage (which depends on room humidity). All you need then is a room temperature below the dew point of the air in the hose.

If you reduce room humidity, you also reduce the amount of moisture in the air in the hose and you also reduce the amount of mosture available to be condensed by compression at the CPAP.

If you could reduce room humidity to zero and did not use a humidifier, you would not get rainout even if you slept in the fridge. You would also wake up with a very dry mouth and throat.

The solution depends on your house and how you like to sleep. If you have a damp, cold house and like sleeping in a cold room, then rainout is inevitable. If you like a warm house it's also going to be low humididty, so if you like sleeping in a warm room, you're not likely to experience rainout.

Most of us are between the two. A heated hose will cure rainout in a cooler house and a hose sheath should suffice in a warmer house.

The high autumnal humidity should be behind us soon, as should the easy growth of moulds and fungii, also autumnal rainout from room humidity. We move into winter and colder rooms and condensed in the hose rainout.

TF