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hello
#11
RE: hello
Thank you!
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#12
RE: hello
(04-09-2015, 10:15 AM)anniec Wrote: Thank you for the quick responses. Mold is, indeed, inside of my machine. There is no mold smell in my bedroom...no mold outside of the machine or on any of the parts I cleaned very carefully. It is not amplifying anything. If you look at a schematic for these machines, warm moist air is repeatedly passing through and over the inside parts of the machine and like an anti-mold shower curtain, stuff can grow on surfaces exposed even when it's not supposed to. Nature always finds a way. Allergists need to work in conjunction with cpap manufacturers to create a better machine because I am not the first person to have this concern. I really need to find a way into this machine without damaging it. I feel like the manufacterers/apnea doctors need to stop treating patients like oppositional children and start bringing us in on our own therapy.

Amplification first. There have been many reports on this forum of unpleasant smells made worse by CPAP. There is a good factual reason for this. It is not imagination. It does happen. Once the chemicals causing the odor get into the CPAP they are trapped and can no longer diffuse. In open air, they can diffuse rather rapidly and become less intense just as rapidly. As a consequence the odor smells much stronger from the CPAP.

I do not have a schematic for the F&P machines and am not familiar with them but I think their airpath is probably similar to Resmed and Philips Respironics. For these machines with a heated humidifier there is no moisture added to the air until after the air has gone through all of the blower and sensing parts of the machine. So the air going through the internals of the machine is filtered room air and is no more damp than the air in your room. This is especially obvious on the earlier models where the humidifier is a separate piece from the blower portion and it hooks up to the outlet of the blower. The blowers actually run at a low flow after you turn the PAP off to keep moisture from backing up into the blower while the humidifier is cooling down.

I do agree with your last statement but possibly not for the reason that you made it.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

Admin Note:
PaytonA passed away in September 2017
Click HERE to read his Memorial Thread

~ Rest in Peace ~
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#13
RE: hello
(04-09-2015, 01:00 PM)Mich Wrote: If your DME does not have a solution for you, here is what I would try. After getting up for the day, I would fill the humidifier with hydrogen peroxide which kills mold and run the machine until humidifier is bone dry. Hopefully that will solve your problem!

Good luck!

Humidifier is downstream from the blower. Unless you wropped the hose around to interface with the intake, none of that would ever pass thorugh the machine.

OMMOHY
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#14
RE: hello
(04-10-2015, 11:47 AM)OMyMyOHellYes Wrote:
(04-09-2015, 01:00 PM)Mich Wrote: If your DME does not have a solution for you, here is what I would try. After getting up for the day, I would fill the humidifier with hydrogen peroxide which kills mold and run the machine until humidifier is bone dry. Hopefully that will solve your problem!

Good luck!

Humidifier is downstream from the blower. Unless you wropped the hose around to interface with the intake, none of that would ever pass thorugh the machine.

OMMOHY

I think AnnieC seems to think the condensation caused the mold. By running the machine, the condensation of the Hydrogen Peroxide would kill the mold. Do you have any other suggestion?
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#15
RE: hello
The evaporation of dilute (3-6) % hydrogen peroxide would simply result in water vapor and some additional oxygen, and would not likely have antibiotic effects. Concentrated H2O2 is pretty hazardous stuff and can certainly disinfect in a vapor form, but this material is not generally available to the public. In it's liquid form (and relatively fresh) aqueous hydrogen peroxide is an effective contact antiseptic and oxidizer. Ozone (O3) is more effective in a gaseous form for disinfection.

While Anniec is convinced she has a mold problem, it's unlikely. There are no organic materials or moisture to support mold, mildew or other biotic film on CPAP blower surfaces...the humidifier is another matter if not maintained. Where residual odors are present in a machine, I have found Ozium spray (scentless) to be an effective odor scavenger and disinfectant, when sprayed on a cloth placed over the intake, and allow the machine to run for 20 minutes.

Sleeprider
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#16
RE: hello
(04-10-2015, 03:53 PM)Mich Wrote:
(04-10-2015, 11:47 AM)OMyMyOHellYes Wrote:
(04-09-2015, 01:00 PM)Mich Wrote: If your DME does not have a solution for you, here is what I would try. After getting up for the day, I would fill the humidifier with hydrogen peroxide which kills mold and run the machine until humidifier is bone dry. Hopefully that will solve your problem!

Good luck!

Humidifier is downstream from the blower. Unless you wropped the hose around to interface with the intake, none of that would ever pass thorugh the machine.

OMMOHY

I think AnnieC seems to think the condensation caused the mold. By running the machine, the condensation of the Hydrogen Peroxide would kill the mold. Do you have any other suggestion?

The point is that there is no way for condensation to occur in the blower section of the PAP machine unless the moisture is coming from room air. What is the relative humidity of her room air?

Best Regards,

PaytonA

Admin Note:
PaytonA passed away in September 2017
Click HERE to read his Memorial Thread

~ Rest in Peace ~
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#17
RE: hello
..or maybe anniec rolled over while sleeping and pulled the entire machine over, it bounced a few times and annie spent hours trying to shake out all of the water that had gotten all through the machine...and over time, after cleaning all removable parts pristinely for several weeks, noticed the odor...and then simply wondered if anyone had successfully opened the machine to clean it....like you can with every other piece of DME.
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#18
RE: hello
Oh Anniec, I've rolled over and dumped my machine several times now as well! Everything is so quiet and restful, and then WHAM! Neither the husband nor the dog have forgiven me yet for the last one two nights ago. Big Grin
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#19
RE: hello
(04-11-2015, 12:32 AM)trailrider Wrote: Oh Anniec, I've rolled over and dumped my machine several times now as well! Everything is so quiet and restful, and then WHAM! Neither the husband nor the dog have forgiven me yet for the last one two nights ago. Big Grin

Hahaha, isn't that the dog on a leash syndrome? It has not happened to me by rolling over but it has getting up to dash for the bathroom and dragging the machine with me!

Back to topic, I normally take the humidifier out daily, empty it and let it dry completely in my bathroom counter until it is ready for use the following night. I figured the drier the environment the better.
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#20
RE: hello
(04-10-2015, 04:14 PM)Sleeprider Wrote: The evaporation of dilute (3-6) % hydrogen peroxide would simply result in water vapor and some additional oxygen, and would not likely have antibiotic effects. Concentrated H2O2 is pretty hazardous stuff and can certainly disinfect in a vapor form, but this material is not generally available to the public. In it's liquid form (and relatively fresh) aqueous hydrogen peroxide is an effective contact antiseptic and oxidizer. Ozone (O3) is more effective in a gaseous form for disinfection.

While Anniec is convinced she has a mold problem, it's unlikely. There are no organic materials or moisture to support mold, mildew or other biotic film on CPAP blower surfaces...the humidifier is another matter if not maintained. Where residual odors are present in a machine, I have found Ozium spray (scentless) to be an effective odor scavenger and disinfectant, when sprayed on a cloth placed over the intake, and allow the machine to run for 20 minutes.

Thanks for the heads up on the Ozium spray. I had never heard of it. With regards to Hydrogen peroxide, it is anti fungal. I keep a spray bottle filled with it and always spray the inside of my shower and to date have not had any grout mold. it is more effective than bleach and less toxic to inhale.


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