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What's your routine for cleaning your CPAP and accessories?

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singingkeys +0 points · over 4 years ago Original Poster Sleep Commentator

ResMed Air Sense 10 Autoset with ClimateLine hose and Dreamwear nasal pillow mask.

How in-depth do you go to clean yours? Do you just rinse them or deep clean them?

I see that some people rinse them with vinegar and water. The smell would be awful from that, so what are some other ways?

Do you soak the hose in a pan of water before rinsing? I have read that the hose has to be completely dry before reconnecting. Would it hurt it after rinsing it and letting it drip down (I have this little u-shaped hose hanger thing like a coat hanger designed for hanging the hose to dry) to reconnect it and run the mask fit feature for a few minutes to blow the remaining water onto a towel? Or would that harm the electrical wire inside of the ClimateLine hose?

The mask can be wiped down, of course...but the air flows through the actual headgear part itself on the Dreamwear headgear. Soak it in water mixed with something else?

Should the water reservoir be scrubbed or simply rinsed?

Anything else on the machine itself that needs to be cleaned? I have recently gotten a sinus infection that is a bit odd - I have the burning eyes like an allergy or cold and I have swelling and pain on one side (left side) of my upper nose closer to my eye. It spread down to the lower part of my nose and I got antibiotics from the doctor today to treat it. They simply said it is an infection. Not sure that it came from anything CPAP-related, but just wondering if I'm cleaning properly. Could simply be that I touched my cell phone before bed (most people's have a ridiculous amount of germs on them even when cleaned regularly) while in bed right before I put my mask on.

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Turquoiseturtle +0 points · over 4 years ago

Daily, (well mostly) I wash the nasal pillow in a cup of warm water with a couple drops of baby shampoo. Weekly, I wash hose, headgear and pillow in warm water with baby shampoo, rinse and leave to dry. Humidifier, I just rinse in warm water. There is often some residual dampness in the hose, which is not a problem. A couple times it was too wet, got some gurgling, which was cured by giving the hose a good shake to get most water out. In over 3 years, I have not had any kind of a cold or sinus infection.

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Sierra +0 points · over 4 years ago Sleep Patron

My routine when I remember it is to wash the mask, hose, and humidifier reservoir weekly. My first wash is with pure vinegar. Full strength vinegar is a disinfectant. It also is very effective in removing mineral deposits in the reservoir. I occasionally use tap water when I don't have any demin water. I just use my fingers in the reservoir to ensure the vinegar removes all the deposits. The vinegar rinse is followed by a tap water and Dawn dish soap wash, and then a final rinse with tap water. I hang the mask and hose up from the shower head in the bath room and let it drip dry all day.

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