Airsense 11 Water Chambers

[PAPAstro]

My DME is delivering a new Airsense 11 to me next week. I prefer the dishwasher safe water chambers as you can clean them more aggressively with less chance of damage. I used the dishwasher safe chambers on both my Dreamstation and my old S9 (that I have gone back to for a while due to the recall) and I know they are available for the Airsense 10...

When I asked my  DME on the phone, they seemed to have no idea if there is a separate dishwasher safe chamber available for the 11 or where I could get one if there is.

Does anyone have an answer? Is there a dishwasher safe part and, if so, do you have part numbers or details?

Thanks!

[mrmagloo]

The standard tub that comes with the 11 is "top shelf dishwasher safe" in the delicate cycle.

[PAPAstro]

OK, that is sorta helpful but I still wonder if a more durable tub is available like it is for most other machines. 

The DW safe chamber for the S9 could have most of it's parts (except the rubber gasket part) literally boiled for 10 minutes and still last for years.

[mrmagloo]

Well I'm glad I took the time to look it up for you and sorta help. I suppose if that answer isn't good enough to cover your question on whether it's dishwasher safe or not, you might have to contact Resmed to see if they can rephrase the answer more to your liking.

In the past, they have had non-dishwasher safe and optional dishwasher safe tubs. Seems your real question is, do they have industrial strength tubs. Either way, these are all thermoplastics and if your true goal is boiling, I think that's an unrealistic expectation if you expect any degree of longevity.

Good luck.

[PAPAstro]

In the past, they have had non-dishwasher safe and optional dishwasher safe tubs. Seems your real question is, do they have industrial strength tubs. Either way, these are all thermoplastics and if your true goal is boiling, I think that's an unrealistic expectation if you expect any degree of longevity.

Good luck.

OK, not trying to be sarcastic or argumentative but as I said, I have several dishwasher safe S9 tubs that are over 5 years old. These have had all the parts except the one with the rubber gasket boiled for 10 minutes every two weeks for the entire 5 + years. Clearly it is not an unreasonable expectation  - such quality can be built - since I have disinfected these that way with 100% success. That means that it is technically possible to make a part that is tough enough to last that well and endure that disinfection.

The real question is whether they have decided to go cheap and make their parts from less expensive and more disposable materials. That would be typical but not very friendly either to the consumer or to the environment. Just more fodder for the landfills.

BTW, there are thermo-plastics and there are thermo-plastics. The question is not whether they are thermo-plastics but what the melt/distortion point is. There are quite a few where that is well above the boiling point of water.

[mrmagloo]

For these kinds of questions, you NEED to go to the manufacturer.  What they agree is acceptable for cleaning and handling, only they can answer. Boiling is beyond any published recommended range I've seen for these kinds of humidifier tanks. So again, contact the manufacturer and see what they have to say.

[SarcasticDave94]

FWIW it would seem that the expectation that humidifier tubs should be built to withstand boiling is a bit extreme. It should not be necessary. Myself, all I do is soak the tub in hot water with Dawn in the sink for a few minutes, a light scrub afterwards. Then I rinse it off in clear, warm water.

[Big Guy]

I'm kind of curious as to why you think that a water reservoir needs to be cleaned in a dishwasher? I have a 10 AutoSet, with what I believe is a standard tub.

My machine is now almost three years old, and I'm still using the tub that came with the machine. Each morning, I dump the remaining water, wipe it out with a paper towel, and allow it to air dry some. If I do find some mineral build-up, I use some white vinegar and that gets rid it quickly. 

I've never had any slime of any kind in it. Or....anything even remotely related. Just some mineral build-up from time to time as I mentioned. 

Once in a while, I'll go to the trouble of washing it completely in hot water and some Dawn dish soap. But, that's not always necessary.

[PAPAstro]

FWIW it would seem that the expectation that humidifier tubs should be built to withstand boiling is a bit extreme. It should not be necessary. Myself, all I do is soak the tub in hot water with Dawn in the sink for a few minutes, a light scrub afterwards. Then I rinse it off in clear, warm water.

Most people would not boil the tubs but just put them in the dishwasher on a disinfection cycle. The purpose is to kill as many bacterial and fungal organisms as possible and higher temps do that better. But that cycle can get pretty hot (the FDA standard for commercial disinfection cycle is 160 degrees F). Boiling is not required but rather something I tried with an old S9 tub and discovered that it worked (once again, not including the part with the gasket). It was just easy to do and worked so I then started doing it that way.

I also tried it with the DW safe tub for the Dreamstation. That also worked but the longevity was not as good as the S9 tubs (which are still going strong well past 5 years). Even so, the DW safe Dreamstation tubs could be boiled and they still lasted as long as the standard ones with standard cleaning and well past the allowed replacement time for Medicare.

Bottom line is that I did not intend a debate. I just wanted to know if there is a separate DW safe tub available for the S11...

[mrmagloo]

Bottom line is that I did not intend a debate. I just wanted to know if there is a separate DW safe tub available for the S11...

And we answered that the unit comes from the factory with a dishwasher safe tub. Beyond that, you NEED to contact Resmed.