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Should "new" ResMed AirSense 11 smell like lavender?
#1
Should "new" ResMed AirSense 11 smell like lavender?
After a long process and wait, I finally received the unit on Friday evening and was able to start using it that evening for 8:16 hours and then subsequently last evening for 6:42 hours.  I'm hypersensitive to odors, and both occasions, I noticed a fragrance - which I believe to be lavender.   It wasn't over the top, but I really don't like this particular smell and I started to wonder if my provider (which is a large national one, and not sure if it's allowed to state the name on this forum?) may have somehow added it without my knowledge; or, if this is by design from ResMed (for either the CPAP unit itself, or the nasal pillows)?

I just learned how to access the provider menu and looked up total hours:  17.2

Since myAir app is telling me that I've spent 14:58 hours, there appears to be a difference of a little more than two hours.

Otherwise, I spent no more than 30 minutes total (more like 15) total during the mask setup ... not even sure if this "counts" toward the total?

I haven't spoken with the provider yet, so I'm uncertain if they spent any time with the unit on for setup purposes that might account for the time differential?  Likewise, I'm not sure if ResMed places the unit on some sort of testing apparatus for any duration after it comes off the assembly line?

Otherwise, I can't help but to speculate as to whether this unit was used by another patient and returned after struggling to use it for only 2.2 hours; and in turn, "refurbished" by the provider or manufacture?  I've had an oxygen concentrator from same provider in the past that was clearly "refurbished" in that it had some sort of scent added to mask the smell of residual cig smoke from a prior patient - which I had to exchange being unable to tolerate that mix of odors.  The point being, I realize this is a large provider and they likely don't just throw away expensive units from patients who are unable to use them, and surely they have a process to refurbish them; perhaps always adding what they might believe to be a benign scent as standard operating procedure/

I'm planning on speaking with provider first thing tomorrow, but this smell is somewhat of a deal breaker for me ... or at the very least, it'll drive me a nuts.   I'd be curious to learn if anyone has had experience with this sort of thing?  Likewise, if it's easy / acceptable to change the scent to something such as eucalyptus without damaging the unit or placing me in bad standing with provider? 

Without going into all of the details of the long process from sleep study waitlist -> now, suffice it to say I'd like to try and make this work and any advice is much appreciated!
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#2
RE: Should "new" ResMed AirSense 11 smell like lavender?
I’m very sensitive to odors too. I’ve received two used machines that had a masking fragrance added, not lavender though. I ended up dismantling the machines and washing the non-electric parts in Dawn and warm water. I soaked the removable silicone motor sleeve three times and rinsed and washed each time, and twice for the foam. Things smelled better after everything dried out, not perfect, and the residual fragrance finally went away with a couple week’s use, but I still notice it in the travel cases (which I’ve tried airing out).

I once had a back-of-closet loaner machine from a friend, early in my treatment, which reeked of cigarette smoke. I took that apart too and washed it with dawn detergent, especially the foam. The first few times of squeezing the foam of moisture it ran brown. Ugh.

I don’t say you should take machines apart, especially if you don’t outright own them. Contacting the DME is probably best.
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#3
RE: Should "new" ResMed AirSense 11 smell like lavender?
You can state the name of the provider, just not a link.

With that said, it does sound like someone used the machine for a short time, or may have been used for testing.

If you're sensitive to smells like that, don't accept the machine. Take it back and ask for a "new" 0 hour machine that doesn't smell, or you'll go elsewhere.

Also, if going through insurance, let them know why you are returning it.

If you really want to keep it, there are ways to sanitize it, but getting rid of that smell might be tough.
OpalRose
Apnea Board Administrator
www.apneaboard.com

_______________________
OSCAR Chart Organization
How to Attach Images and Files.
OSCAR - The Guide
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing therapy
OSCAR supported machines
Mask Primer



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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#4
RE: Should "new" ResMed AirSense 11 smell like lavender?
(01-09-2022, 11:28 AM)SleepyCPAP Wrote: I’m very sensitive to odors too.  I’ve received two used machines that had a masking fragrance added, not lavender though.  I ended up dismantling the machines and washing the non-electric parts in Dawn and warm water.  I soaked the removable silicone motor sleeve three times and rinsed and washed each time, and twice for the foam.  Things smelled better after everything dried out, not perfect, and the residual fragrance finally went away with a couple week’s use, but I still notice it in the travel cases (which I’ve tried airing out).

I once had a back-of-closet loaner machine from a friend, early in my treatment, which reeked of cigarette smoke.  I took that apart too and washed it with dawn detergent, especially the foam.  The first few times of squeezing the foam of moisture it ran brown.  Ugh.

I don’t say you should take machines apart, especially if you don’t outright own them.  Contacting the DME is probably best.
Thank you for relaying your experience!  I don't own the machine outright, so definitely not looking to take the machine apart at this point and will contact DME first thing on Monday!
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#5
RE: Should "new" ResMed AirSense 11 smell like lavender?
I'm glad that my sense of smell isn't all that keen. I can do most anything and if there's an odor or an aroma, chances are it won't bother me.  Cool
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#6
RE: Should "new" ResMed AirSense 11 smell like lavender?
(01-09-2022, 11:32 AM)OpalRose Wrote: You can state the name of the provider, just not a link.  

With that said, it does sound like someone used the machine for a short time, or may have been used for testing.  

If you're sensitive to smells like that, don't accept the machine.  Take it back and ask for a "new" 0 hour machine that doesn't smell, or you'll go elsewhere.  

Also, if going through insurance, let them know why you are returning it.

If you really want to keep it, there are ways to sanitize it, but getting rid of that smell might be tough.

Thank you for responding.

Not looking to disparage them, but it's AeroCare.  If it should literally be zero hours, and I've accounted for my hours correctly, then it does appear to be "used".   While somewhat troubling in the age of covid, it being a "used" unit with a very short duration doesn't bother me as much as the odor and thinking about the oil (or whatever) is constantly being pushed into my lungs / respiratory tract.  The small amount is probably not the end of the world, but I have a hard enough time breathing with related health issues that I'd just assume not add another joker in the deck. 

So, I will likely contact AC and inquire / see about returning.  I actually didn't even send back the signed documents they included, so not sure if this makes it easier or not?

Forgot to mention / ask: if this is in fact a used unit, and AeroCare adds a scent to all such units as standard operating procedure, would I be rolling the dice that the next unit will have the same smell if it's also a "used" unit? (which might be a high likelihood given size of AeroCare and the huge demand at the moment).
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#7
RE: Should "new" ResMed AirSense 11 smell like lavender?
That's the troubling part... why would they need to add a scent?
OpalRose
Apnea Board Administrator
www.apneaboard.com

_______________________
OSCAR Chart Organization
How to Attach Images and Files.
OSCAR - The Guide
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing therapy
OSCAR supported machines
Mask Primer



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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#8
RE: Should "new" ResMed AirSense 11 smell like lavender?
It could still be a 0 hours machine. Are you looking at patient hours or blower hours in the clinical menu? If the latter, that will include all use - so mask fitting, testing, and up to 20-30 minutes or so of "cooling down" time after every session (depending upon the space between sessions) if you use the humidifier.

Even if you only slept in one session both nights, and did all your testing in one single session (without turning the machine off at all) then you're looking at around 15 hours for sleep, plus half an hour for testing, then around 1.5 hours for "cooldown" - which makes 17 hours (ish). If you were stopping and starting the machine between different tests/mask fittings etc, then you would have had extra minutes between those sessions of "cooldown" as well as the full time at the end of usage.

I don't know about the smell, and I'd definitely be asking about that, but remember to count ALL use and ALL cooldown, assuming the 11 behaves the same as the 10.
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#9
RE: Should "new" ResMed AirSense 11 smell like lavender?
(01-10-2022, 05:58 AM)Ratchick Wrote: It could still be a 0 hours machine. Are you looking at patient hours or blower hours in the clinical menu? If the latter, that will include all use - so mask fitting, testing, and up to 20-30 minutes or so of "cooling down" time after every session (depending upon the space between sessions) if you use the humidifier.

Even if you only slept in one session both nights, and did all your testing in one single session (without turning the machine off at all) then you're looking at around 15 hours for sleep, plus half an hour for testing, then around 1.5 hours for "cooldown" - which makes 17 hours (ish). If you were stopping and starting the machine between different tests/mask fittings etc, then you would have had extra minutes between those sessions of "cooldown" as well as the full time at the end of usage.

I don't know about the smell, and I'd definitely be asking about that, but remember to count ALL use and ALL cooldown, assuming the 11 behaves the same as the 10.

Thank you for responding and raising this possibility - which I have also considered; however, all I can find is "Run Hours" under "About" in the clinical menu.  Is there a way to find more granular data that I'm missing for my unit?  Thanks again.
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#10
RE: Should "new" ResMed AirSense 11 smell like lavender?
The one under the about hours is the blower hours, not the user hours. So that's good, it suggests that you probably did get a brand new machine.

I'm not sure with the S11, but I know that in the S10, within the clinician menu options, I made sure that Essentials was set to Plus, which gave me more data under the sleep report. I can then set (under more info in the sleep report, if I scroll past the two smily faces) the period to encompass the time I have used it (which for me is a year, and that absolutely should cover you) and that allows me to compare the user hours with the blower hours.

For comparison, I got mine brand new last February, and my user hours over 344 days are 3761.2 while my run (blower) hours, under the about menu is 4053 - so from using the mask fit and the cooldown functions, the total blower hours is roughly 108% of the therapy hours. If you sleep shorter sessions than I do (my sessions are normally at least 10 hours long and if I stop during the night, it's only for a minute or two), then the percentage would be more. In your case, the blower hours under the about menu are about 113% of the therapy hours, and that's very plausible. I think on another thread where we were talking about this, we figured it could easily be 20% more depending on various factors.
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