+- Apnea Board Forum - CPAP | Sleep Apnea (https://www.apneaboard.com/forums)
+-- Forum: Public Area (https://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Forum-Public-Area)
+--- Forum: Main Apnea Board Forum (https://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Forum-Main-Apnea-Board-Forum)
+--- Thread: Full Face Mask - How long do they last?? (/Thread-Full-Face-Mask-How-long-do-they-last)
Pages:
1
2
Full Face Mask - How long do they last?? - Ulrika - 08-17-2012
Another question... I am hiring a CPAP unit and have a Quattro FX full face mask and I have been using it since March this year so coming on 6 months. I am starting to have a bit more trouble with leaks at the nose and wondered if the soft bit at the top was too stretchy. How often do you think that I (the provider) should be changing the mask - or the rubbery bit that is on the face anyway...
I am thinking about ordering another mask online so I have a spare as well, it is a pain to keep washing it often.
I don't know if I want to buy a machine yet as I can get $500 a year back from my health insurance for the hire of it (I pay $20 per week for it)... or I could get $500 toward buying a unit as well. It will cost about $2000 all up including the mask and unit. wish I was so rich that I didn't care LOL.
RE: Full Face Mask - How long do they last?? - zonk - 08-17-2012
Some people can make the mask longer but usually I replace the cushion every 3 months before it wear out and the straps about a year.
I have MBF cover but don,t use it bc my out pockets would be far greater than what I pay on line.
For example I can get from Supplier #2: New machine, PRS1 Auto DS560 with the heated hose $529. To get the $500? from the insurance would have to buy the machine from here and be out of pockets $1500 approx.
RE: Full Face Mask - How long do they last?? - Ulrika - 08-17-2012
really?? I looked online and couldn't find anything that was really that cheap...
RE: Full Face Mask - How long do they last?? - zonk - 08-17-2012
(08-17-2012, 06:10 AM)Ulrika Wrote: really?? I looked online and couldn't find anything that was really that cheap...scondwindCPAP Supplier #2. I've bought masks and humidifier parts from them. Mark the owner is very helpful and can answer any question
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-CPAP-Supplier-List
RE: Full Face Mask - How long do they last?? - Kadenz - 08-17-2012
(08-17-2012, 04:48 AM)Ulrika Wrote: Another question... I am hiring a CPAP unit and have a Quattro FX full face mask and I have been using it since March this year so coming on 6 months. I am starting to have a bit more trouble with leaks at the nose and wondered if the soft bit at the top was too stretchy. How often do you think that I (the provider) should be changing the mask - or the rubbery bit that is on the face anyway...
I am thinking about ordering another mask online so I have a spare as well, it is a pain to keep washing it often.
I don't know if I want to buy a machine yet as I can get $500 a year back from my health insurance for the hire of it (I pay $20 per week for it)... or I could get $500 toward buying a unit as well. It will cost about $2000 all up including the mask and unit. wish I was so rich that I didn't care LOL.
I don't know how long they last as I'm a newbie and have only had my FX Quattro FX FFM since May. But one thing I have learned in that short time is that one way to help minimise leaks is to wash the mask cushion every day. It's nuisance of course but it works. At least, that's my experience, for what it's worth.
Kadenz
RE: Full Face Mask - How long do they last?? - Chuck - 09-17-2012
Let me give you all a laugh. Here's how I take care of my mask and hose (ResMed Mirage Quattro), and a 9-foot cpap hose. I've had mine over a year now.
I wash the mask and hose once a week, whether it needs it or not. Sometimes the mask goes in the dishwasher. Sometimes it goes in a mesh bag and into the front loading clothes washer. Sometimes I soak it in the sink about 15 mins, with a quarter cup of chlorine bleach and some laundry detergent, rub and rinse thoroughly using only my hands. The hose gets the same treatment, except it never gets to go in the dishwasher, and I don't use a mesh bag for it in the washing machine.
Whatever I do, I make sure the equipment won't get caught on anything else hard or sharp that might catch or tear the mask or hose. I also wash my headstrap once a month in the clothes washer and air-dry it.
If the mask gets too oily mid-week, I wipe it with a regular moistened wipe.
The mask was too stiff at first, and hurt my nose bridge especially. Finally it's broken in and no more red nose.
A week is the longest I'll go without washing it. Once I did forget and near the end of the 2nd week, I got an infection on the skin around my mouth and had to take antibiotics.
The hose and mask are in great shape. I also travel with them on average about once every 3 weeks.
RE: Full Face Mask - How long do they last?? - b360155 - 09-18-2012
The Quattro FX has been my mask of choice now for about 11 months and I replaced my original face cushion on my mask after about 9 months. I wash my face cushion in the sink every morning in warm water with a squirt of Ivory liquid soap to clean off the facial oils and rinse it well to retain it's tackiness. It only takes 2 or 3 minutes and is well worth it IMO. With my original mask I also used the boiling technique with baking soda that I read about on the forums and that removes the cloudiness in the silicone and restores tackiness as well. I purchase my replacement face cushions on eBay at a significant discount to retail.
RE: Full Face Mask - How long do they last?? - archangle - 09-18-2012
I'm reluctant to wash a hose in either kind of mechanical washing machine.
I'm worried that dirty water and detergent will go into the hose and not get washed out between wash cycles. I do occasionally plug the ends of my hose and wash it on the outside in the dishwasher.
I used to hook my hose up to my legacy Respironics water tank and carefully lay it in the dishwasher such that water flowed through the hose as the wash cycle ran, but that doesn't work with my newer CPAP machines.
Now, I just hook it up to the faucet and run hot water through it.
RE: Full Face Mask - How long do they last?? - Chuck - 09-19-2012
I don't blame you for not wanting to put your equipment in the clothes washer. My clothes aren't that dirty, and I add 1 oz of chlorine bleach to my laundry to freshen it up (doesn't bleach the clothes), so I feel safe doing that. In reality I do it less these days because cleaning it in the sink is just as easy.
On the other hand, I think your cpap hose should soaked at least weekly in something to disinfect it. I use a half-sinkful of water with 1 oz of laundry detergent and 2 oz (1/4 cup) bleach. I soak it for 10 to 15 mins, then drain and rinse with clean water. I take the hose outside, holding it in the middle of its length, and swing it around several times to remove the extra water. Then I let it dry. Your hose will smell like laundry the first time you use it after cleaning it this way. No biggie.
You could substitute hydrogen peroxide for the chlorine bleach. You would have to use at least 3/4 cup regular drugstore peroxide, or you could use 1/4 cup of "natural all-fabric bleach," such as Seventh Generation, Ecover, or Safeway's or KMart's house brand. These "natural all-fabric bleaches" are nothing more than food grade 12% hydrogen peroxide. Drugstore peroxide is 3%. You want a product that is clear and without additives.
I learned from experience that powdered oxygen bleaches such as OxiClean will leave a powdery residue on your mask and hose. So I don't use that.
I use laundry detergent instead of dishwashing liquid or other products because laundry detergent has stronger enzymes and soil removers than many other household cleaning products - it removes soil and oils well without scrubbing. I don't brush my hose so I rely on soaking it in a good detergent to keep it clean. My home and CPAP supplies are very clean despite my unorthodox methods.
RE: Full Face Mask - How long do they last?? - archangle - 09-20-2012
If you don't screw with your hose, there's nothing on the inside for bacteria to feed on. All that goes down it is the air you're breathing anyway and water vapor from the humidifier. Messing with soap probably does more harm than good by depositing gunk on the inside.
I definitely wouldn't try making my own sterilizing solution of out bleach or other chemicals not specifically made for CPAP. You don't want to breathe that junk.
I do have two hoses and swap them weekly. I clean the used one, dry it out on an old CPAP machine and let it sit dry until I swap them again the next week. I figure being dry will keep any kind of growth down.
Hoses are also fairly cheap to simply swap, especially if you don't use a heated hose.