March 29, 2019
Dear Everyone:
Ever try to wash the
inside of a six-foot hose?
In a word: Messy.
Now that I have a
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine,
which I have nicknamed “Caliban”, I have to keep it clean.
The manufacturer, and the medical supply company that we call
“NM”, are explicit on the importance of this.
A “dirty” CPAP is a menace to society and can easily make you
sick. Various
microorganisms
are lurking everywhere, just waiting for the chance to invade the system
as an ingress into my system.
Therefore, the plastic mask, with facial frame, tubing and water
reservoir must be cleaned
every day. The
instructions say to use warm soapy water.
Or, if you prefer, use a solution of
vinegar and water to kill
any bacteria. Then use
countless gallons of water trying to get rid of the vinegar smell.
“NM” offers a detergent that comes in an 8-ounce bottle for around $20.
That works out to approximately $2.50 per ounce.
Of course, you don’t actually use a whole ounce.
The instructions say to use “two capfuls” to a gallon of warm
water. I tested the volume
contained in a cap and two of them worked out to about a tablespoon.
So, one tablespoon per day, or $1.25.
Of course, vinegar would cost a lot less.
Or, as the manufacturer confesses, “any mild detergent” will do,
as long as it contains no dyes or fragrances.
Guess what? That
would be one of the “ultra-gentle” laundry detergents on the grocery
store shelf for about $5.98 for a 46-ounce jug.
That works out to about $0.13 per ounce.
At 4 tablespoons per ounce, that’s about 3-¼ cents per use.
And no vinegar smell to get rid of.
I don’t recommend trying to pour a single tablespoon from a 46-ounce jug
of detergent, unless you’re planning on washing the entire floor as
well. Instead, I used one of
the many, many “travel-size” little bottles that I have on hand.
It was easy to pour a little into it from the jug.
Now, where to do all this washing?
A basin will do, but it has to be clean.
So sanitize the sink every day.
Or get a one-gallon container that’s a good size to hold
everything except the aforementioned six-foot hose.
Swish the mask and frame around for a few minutes, then rinse
well and “air dry”. Ditto
the water reservoir that humidifies the air blowing up your nose every
night. Also “air dry”.
As for the six-foot hose, I tried holding it over the bathtub and
pouring soapy water into it.
Important note: When you
lift one end of a water-filled hose, the water comes out the other end.
This resulted in about as much splashing as an enthusiastic baby
during bath time.
After rinsing the inside of the hose, I needed to find a place to hang
it so it could “air dry” as well, while dripping water on anything
beneath it.
One instructional video suggested cleaning the hose while taking your
morning shower, then hanging the hose over the shower head.
Of course, this presupposes that you take your daily shower in
the morning, doesn’t it? And
that no one else uses the shower but you.
And that you pay for a service to keep the bathroom clean.
And this happens every day!
It’s beginning to look like a second job, isn’t it?
And what happens if you’re running late and don’t have time to do all
this cleaning until late afternoon or in the evening?
When everything has to “air dry”, which takes, let me see, that
would be about all day, wouldn’t it?
So I did some research on the various mechanisms that claim to clean a
CPAP automatically. And
wouldn’t you know it? “NM”
sells the second-best one on the market.
It was an easy choice to spring for about $320 to get a machine that
sanitizes the whole thing in about two hours.
Just shove the mask, frame and tubing inside, close the lid and
preprogram the clock. At the
chosen time, it suddenly starts making a really loud buzzing sound, and
a row of red lights come on.
Presumably, this frightens the microscopic beasties to death.
If that doesn’t work, the
ozone gas produced wipes them all out
in a couple of hours. When
the lights turn green, I just take the parts out and hang them up to let
the ozone dissipate.
As for the 46-ounce jug of detergent, I can still use that to clean the
headgear every week. And
nothing has to smell like vinegar.
Love, as always,
Pete
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