British Snoring & Sleep Apnoea Association

Just a couple of quick (hopefully not stupid) questions.

Is there an optimal place to put your machine? Is it better to be below the height level of your body or is better off being higher or does it not matter? At the moment mine is about a foot higher than my body when it is lying down, I was wondering if that would make a difference at all?

Is it safe to have the machine directly on the carpet or does it need to be a flat hard surface?

If you get a problem called rainout ( condensation collecting in the tube) having it above your body height would make the water run down to the mask worse.
Having it on the floor attracts more dust into the machine although you should have a dust filter on the machine to stop this.

I have mine at the same level as myself on a small bedside cabinet ,

If your having no problems how you have it at the moment then leave it ,adjust it to your own needs.

Take care buddy,

Hi, My machine goes on the floor, on carpet,next to my bed and have no problem with that. Just change filters every month and they are the little black ones, nothing else. Once when on holiday, the bed was so high so turning the machine on and off lead to me nearly falling out of bed!!

Excellent thanks for the tips! I wasn't told about changing the filters, the only maintenance they mentioned was to wash the mask once a week?

Take the filter out now and again and tap the dust off it ,

The machine may flash a warning on the screen when the dust filter needs changing ,usually they put a new filter in each year when they do the annual service on the machine.

Regards,

My machine sits one my bedside unit with the pipe leaving the humidifier droping down towards the floor so that it is lower than the machine, it then comes back up and is looped round the back of the pillow which makes it higher or at least the same height as machine or humidifier top.
I found this best as if there is any condensation in the hose it ends up at the bottom of the loop.
You may think this is not a good idea as it would restrict the airflow but I found it doesn't. All I found happens is thcondensate builds up and starts to make a gurgling noise which wakes me up, this rarely happens anyway. This is prefered to condensation (rainout) blowing into the mask. Also there is less dust on the bedside unit than on the floor.

I got told to wash the mask every day, the tube and head straps once a week!Nothing about filters either.

They told me never to wash the tube and wash the straps monthly. Strange how the advice differs greatly from area to area

I was told weekly in hot soapy water for the mask, tube and headgear, and using hypo-allergenic wipes every day for the seal

Had the mask apart twice now and back together, mind I did put safety pins in the straps to keep them in the right position... I seem to have that right so didn't want to mess with it
They never mentioned the filters, you just tap the dust off and don't wash them?

Perhaps Dan the moderator man give us some clues on basic maintenance....Or even a link to any information within this website. I've started wondering if stripping the mask into bits everyday to wash it was getting a bit obsessive. Then again, has hay fever season started yet?

Tracey,

Really no need to strip the mask everyday day ,
Get some good baby wipes hypo allergenic type and wipe the seal with them each night.
Perhaps strip the mask down every 3-4 days clean with green fairy liquid .

Should make things a little easier for you ,

Regards,

Must get some baby wipes. Got some "household"ones that guarantee 99% cleaniless from bacteria, but I think that would be too extreme!!!!!

Don't use household wipes they contain nasty chemicals that will wreck the silicone on the mask or even affect the plastic on the mask itself.
Baby wipes are fine for daily use, clean more throughly once a week with a good liquid dish soap.
Filter types vary between machines, foam ones can be washed as above and left to dry before use again. Some fine (white usually) filters are pollen filters are made of paper and can't be washed.
If in doubt ask the clinic or refer to your manual. All you can do with the paper ones is replace or blown through them backwards ime emergency.