"please keep me updated about oximeters "
Sleep Apnea Forum Bringing Power to the Patient
New? Free Sign Up
Then check our Welcome Center to a Community Caring about Sleep Apnea diagnosis and Sleep Apnea treatment:
CPAP machines, Sleep Apnea surgery and dental appliances.
CPAP Supplies
Latest Activity
White stuff I can't clean out
In doing my weekly cleaning of my CPAP equipment today I noticed an accumulation of white stuff on the bottom of the water chamber. A small section I can reach with a knife, I can scrape some of it away, but most of itI can't get to. Even letting it set with pure vinegar does not affect it. If it was a calcium deposit I would think the vinegar would dissolve it. I am worried it is some sort of fungus! My lungs are healthy right now, I would hate to make them sick. I have an appointment with the pulmonologist on Weds, two days from now, and am going to take the chamber with. In the meantime...have any of you guys seen this before?
At one time I did not know to pull off a top piece and clean that weekly as well. It had some black mold growing on it...I now clean that weekly and have no more problem with that. I just don't want the treatment of my problem to ever be worse for than the problem itself.
At one time I did not know to pull off a top piece and clean that weekly as well. It had some black mold growing on it...I now clean that weekly and have no more problem with that. I just don't want the treatment of my problem to ever be worse for than the problem itself.
Views: 8758
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by sleepycarol on
-
It is highly recommended that you use only distilled water in your humidifier. I have used only distilled water in mine, except for one night I was in the hospital and used tap water cause I didn't want to inconvenience anyone. I have never had a deposit form in my tank.
What type of water are you using? Bottled water is not the same as distilled water. Please let us know and maybe narrow down what it might be.
-
Permalink Reply by Judy on
-
Are you using ONLY DISTILLED water and directed by your device's manufacturer?
Try dissolving a Polident Denture Cleanser tablet in very warm water in your humidifier water tank. Let it set as long as possible. Shake it a time or two thru out the time it is soaking. Empty and rinse well. Rinse again w/vinegar solution.
-
Permalink Reply by Dawn on
-
I will try to polident and get back to you guys and let you know how it goes. Yucky white stuff!
-
Permalink Reply by Mike on
-
if you can snap a picture of it, and post it, we might be able to get a better read on what the icky white stuff is.
Dawn said:I will try to polident and get back to you guys and let you know how it goes. Yucky white stuff!
-
-
Mike said:if you can snap a picture of it, and post it, we might be able to get a better read on what the icky white stuff is.
Dawn said:Haha Mike...you think I am more technically saavy than I am!
-
-
no worries. the actual pix might gross some of us out anyway ;-)
Dawn said:Mike said:if you can snap a picture of it, and post it, we might be able to get a better read on what the icky white stuff is.
Dawn said:Haha Mike...you think I am more technically saavy than I am!
-
Permalink Reply by amott1973 on
-
I've been notoriously bad about using tap water in my humidifier and get those hard water deposits. Ever since I had to get my second replacement tank I've been a lot better though. My resp therapist said I could get a new reservoir every 6 months or so though, so maybe it's just time for a new one. (Maybe even sometimes the distilled water has some minerals in there. After all, if they're passing tap water off as spring water/drinking water, who knows how far you can trust them.)
-
-
maybe this is BS, but i heard somewhere that you could get a respiratory disease from using tap water instead of distilled. food for thought...
amott1973 said:I've been notoriously bad about using tap water in my humidifier and get those hard water deposits. Ever since I had to get my second replacement tank I've been a lot better though. My resp therapist said I could get a new reservoir every 6 months or so though, so maybe it's just time for a new one. (Maybe even sometimes the distilled water has some minerals in there. After all, if they're passing tap water off as spring water/drinking water, who knows how far you can trust them.)
-
-
Yeah, I was admonished by my respiratory therapist about it too. That's why I've been a lot better about it lately. Although I'll usually just go without water at all to avoid having to mess with filling it up. (Lazy, I know!)
-
-
Dawn, You are absolutely right to check the status of the humidiffier with your Doctor. Calcium deposits look like a white material, some of it can be scraped away, others form an almost ceramic surface. . If deposits in a humidifier can be compared to calcium deposits inside a hot water tank, the heat from the electrical or gas source bakes them firmly to the sides of the tank.. I wonder if this could have happened with your humidifier? Perhaps if the humidifier ran dry several times,it might be hot enough to bake the calcium deposits to the bottom of your humidifier. You might let SleepGuide know what your doctor tells you. RuthR,
-
-
Dawn, it just occurred to me that the best thing for you to do would be to toss the humidifier and just replace it with a new one. these things are supposed to be switched out every few months anyway, and if you have insurance or Medicare, it will be reimbursed at no/little charge to you. Can you toss it and replace?
© 2025 Created by The SleepGuide Crew.
Powered by
