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[Equipment] Slime in the CPAP machine!
#21
RE: Slime in the CPAP machine!
Ah, tap water.
I have a well in my yard and that should be ok, right? Nope....
It's from a limestone aquafer and it is too hard for the CPAP but that's not the only issue.
Nearby are many farms, spray fields and light industry. All the stuff they secrete eventually finds its way into the water.
A few miles away one well turned up with 500% above safe levels for arsenic. Seriously uncool, no?
I don't even drink the tap water though it looks clear and clean.
Even if you are on municipal water you can't be really sure what's in it.
The utilities wont want to talk about is since
...*heavens!*... they might have to fix it!
For me all water for drinking and cooking is run through a reverse osmosis filter with carbon elements.
That gets *almost* everything except chromium-6 & a few other things perhaps.
So, once a month I just pay $2 for a couple gallons of water and for me that's cheap insurance.
It keeps the machine cleaner and ultimately I end up breathing some of the water myself.
(keeps the tissues moist of course.)
When the water is put in your CPAP humidifier it gets warmed up and some turns to gas but some stays in the form of microscopic droplets. If microbes are present they get a free ride right into your lungs.
So..the water MAY be good enough to drink but might not good enough to breathe...
Wink
Don't think so? Ask a biologist.
Last point is: whether you know it or not, you ARE paying for your tap water.
I have to pay for the electricity to pump it out of the ground and well maintenance.
In the city you'll find that it is being charged to your utility bill in some place, but we all pay something for it somewhere.

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Cheers! =^.^=


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#22
RE: Slime in the CPAP machine!
Distilled Water is cheap where I live. And white vinegar by the gallon is almost as cheap.

The tank in my H5i is stamped "Distilled Water Only". And though white vinegar does a bang-up job of removing lime scale, the primary reason the vinegar solution rinse is recommended is to disinfect.

The way I see it; if I'm going to pay about a thousand bucks for PAP equipment and supplies, I might as well pry another 50 bucks per year out of my wallet to comply with the manufacturer's instructions.

Being the ardent conspiracy theorist I am, I would probably feel different about this if there were some sort of monopoly on distilled water or a global distilled water cartel or if ResMed had a stranglehold on the means of distilled water production; but alas, I have been unable to find even the slightest trace of evidence for this.



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#23
RE: Slime in the CPAP machine!
I was afraid this thread would get hijacked by the distilled-versus-tap water debate.

Yes, manufacturers recommend distilled water.

Yes, many people use tap water with no problems.

As I stated at the beginning of this thread there's an odor that I suspect is coming from the water tank. I get the odor whether I use tap water or distilled water.

There's stuff in the water. More stuff gets added to the water as we use it in our CPAP humidifiers.

Regular cleaning is an issue, as is the water that we use.

I'm hoping that my practice of letting the water sit in the machine all the time was the cause of my problem. I will start rinsing it out every morning and will probably continue to use distilled water. I'm surprised that no one else complains of this CPAP odor. I guess I'm the only one who who lets the water sit in the tank all day. Well, the only one who used to.
Sleepster

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#24
RE: Slime in the CPAP machine!
(01-01-2013, 04:01 PM)Sleepster Wrote: There's stuff in the water. More stuff gets added to the water as we use it in our CPAP humidifiers.

Regular cleaning is an issue, as is the water that we use.

I'm hoping that my practice of letting the water sit in the machine all the time was the cause of my problem. I will start rinsing it out every morning and will probably continue to use distilled water. I'm surprised that no one else complains of this CPAP odor. I guess I'm the only one who who lets the water sit in the tank all day. Well, the only one who used to.

Better dump that old water out into a pond, lake or stream so the tadpoles don't die.

Laugh-a-lot

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#25
RE: Slime in the CPAP machine!
Quote:I was afraid this thread would get hijacked by the distilled-versus-tap water debate.

Of course it would. It's as hot a topic as anything else we have here. It's like NASCAR fans arguing over who is the best driver.

In the winter, I have to fill my tank up each night since I use it all. During the summer, I admit to being much more lax in the cleaning. I just use the humidifier as a "pass over" and only check the tank every few days (or more). Now, thanks to you, I feel compelled to be more diligent. Thanks a lot.
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#26
RE: Slime in the CPAP machine!
I have the same humidifier that Sleepster has and I noticed an odor after about a week's worth of use. I know that I'm supposed to clean everything at least one week but sometimes I forget or get busy. I never got the slime that Sleepster has. However, I discovered that if I lift the humidifier lid in the morning, I can't detect any odor even after 2 weeks. I leave the lid up until I'm ready for bed in the evening. I don't empty my tank every day. I usually just top it off with more distilled water. Distilled water around here is less than $1 a gallon but I still have a hard time throwing away something that is still good.

However, like Paula, I think I need to rethink my hygiene schedule.
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#27
RE: Slime in the CPAP machine!
(01-01-2013, 08:54 PM)iSnooze Wrote: I have the same humidifier that Sleepster has and I noticed an odor after about a week's worth of use.

Ah hah! So it's not just me?

Quote:I never got the slime that Sleepster has.

You don't notice that the inside feels slippery to the touch, like the dog's water bowl?
Sleepster

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#28
RE: Slime in the CPAP machine!
(01-01-2013, 11:06 PM)Sleepster Wrote: You don't notice that the inside feels slippery to the touch, like the dog's water bowl?

I have to clean my dog's water bowl usually twice a week and I always fill it from a Brita filtered water pitcher, I had always assumed the slime was a byproduct of her slobber. Too-funny

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#29
RE: Slime in the CPAP machine!
(01-01-2013, 04:01 PM)Sleepster Wrote: I'm hoping that my practice of letting the water sit in the machine all the time was the cause of my problem. I will start rinsing it out every morning and will probably continue to use distilled water. I'm surprised that no one else complains of this CPAP odor. I guess I'm the only one who who lets the water sit in the tank all day. Well, the only one who used to.

I have an elderly friend that uses an S9 machine with a humidifier. He told me that he just adds distilled water to it every day or two and doesn't clean it quite weekly like he should. He was showing me his machine one day and I noticed little yellow balls of gunk floating in the water in his humidifier. When he loaned me a couple of masks to try, I had to scrub the gunk out of them before I could try them.
Just before bedtime with my own humidifier tank, I pour out the unused distilled water from the night before, rinse the tank with tap water, then fill it just above the 1/2 mark with distilled water. I also clean my tank, hose, and mask in hot soapy water once a week. With this cleaning ritual, I have never had anything really noticeable grow in my tank or float around in my water. I do use a plastic-bristled paintbrush to scrub out the corners in my tank so no film or crud builds up.
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#30
RE: Slime in the CPAP machine!
(01-02-2013, 12:52 AM)TheWerkz Wrote: I have to clean my dog's water bowl usually twice a week and I always fill it from a Brita filtered water pitcher, I had always assumed the slime was a byproduct of her slobber.

I did, too!
Sleepster

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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