Moisture inside the CPAP hose doesn’t just sound interesting. We well know the health effects of using a machine with a moisture hose. We understand the detrimental effects of letting moisture sit in the hose for long. CPAP hoses trigger an invasive effect known as rainout, which involves water getting into and around the tube owing to household ambient temperature and heated humidifier. Not just that, when you clean a hose, you want to dry it before fixing it back to its original position. After you’re done cleaning, here is how to dry CPAP hose fast.
How to Dry CPAP Hose Fast: Some Practical Tips
After cleaning the CPAP hose, it’s strongly recommended you dry the hose before fixing it back to the CPAP machine. Here are some practical tips from current CPAP users and experts.
Hanging over a towel or cloth rack
Safe and efficient, hanging your hose over a cloth or towel rack is absolutely the best thing to do. People who try it are happy with the results because it does not expose their hose to harsh temperatures. Also, the racks offer an outstanding drying environment for the hose, ensuring it can dry slowly but safely. The problem with this technique is that it can take a day or even longer. Unless the ambient temperature is naturally high, if you decide to dry your CPAP hose this way, you must be ready to wait for up to 24 hours.
Blow-dry the hose
The fastest way to dry a CPAP hose is to blow dry it. The speed at which the hose will be dried when using a blow dryer will amaze everyone. But if you’ve to achieve quality results, without ruining the hose, use the right dryer settings. Set the blow dryer such that it runs on low heat or no heat, but at a higher volume.
When you force such dry air via the hose, moisture would be pushed downwards and out of the tubing. We say it’s the fastest way because you will take utmost one hour for the hose to be cleaned of any water inside and cleansed of all moisture contents. Observe the right dry blowing techniques to avoid ruining the hose.
Using CPAP tubing dryers
There are many high capacitated and reliable CPAP tubing dryers. These units are packaged such that they can quickly and efficiently clear and dry moisture from the hose. Most of these dryers come with non-lead sinkers with linen and cloth. The drying mechanism is simply manual since you’ve to push the sinker into the tube and then push the line and clothing into the hose. You can then pull the clothing via the hose by simply pulling the sinker. You must repeat this process severally until the water in the tubing is cleared. The number of times you’re supposed to do this will depend on the efficiency of the CPAP tubing dryer and how best you do the manual moisture cleaning.
Keep it in a shaded area but with sunlight coverage
Extreme temperature levels would denature and even ruin the CPAP hose. That’s exactly the reason you’re advised never to keep the tubing in direct sunlight. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of the sunlight to dry your tubing faster. You can just take advantage of shaded areas that receive limited sunlight exposure.
A good example will be a greenhouse or any other area that’s sheltered against sunlight but still receives some sunlight. You don’t want to ruin your tubing and that’s why you want to know how much temperature the hose can stand and measure the temperature in the target area.
How to Dry CPAP Hose Fast and Minimize the Hassle
Provided you run the CPAP machine in its original package, you will always have to clean it and you certainly have to dry the hose after every cleaning session. We can all agree that won’t be a straightforward job. For that reason, look for alternative solutions. Save yourself the hardship of drying your CPAP hose when you do the following:
Consider heated CPAP insulation and hose
Heated tubing is designed to work without condensing. It plugs into a power outlet and includes a range of copper wires the same size as the tubing that works to help keep the inner hose warm from the humidifier. It ensures if the tubing temperature increases, issues with condensation will be minimal. It ensures you get the oxygen supplied from the CPAP machine to your throat and nose with the recommended humidity. By investing in a heated CPAP hose, you will no longer have to do the regular hose cleaning and issues with runouts will be eliminated.
Invest in a CPAP sanitizer
The next safe and efficient way to keep your CPAP machine working proficiently without having to clean and dry the hoses every other day is to buy CPAP sanitizer. A CPAP sanitizer like the SoClean has automated functions that lets you sanitize the CPAP machine every day, with no manual effort.
It does so without exposing the CPAP user to extreme levels of activated oxygen or ultraviolet light, which could affect their health. Also, with CPAP sanitizers, you won’t have to clean your machine manually each day, minimizing the time you will spend drying the hoses.
How To Dry CPAP Hose Fast – Conclusion
Many CPAP users always wish their CPAP hoses could take a shorter time to dry. A larger number of CPAP users believe that something could be done to shorten the drying time, but they have no idea what they can do. If you’re among those who have been facing it rough getting their CPAP hoses dried after cleaning, you now have some options to consider.
For those who feel the whole drying and cleaning exercise waste their time, it is better you opt for alternatives such as heated CPAP hoses or CPAP sanitizers. With sanitizers and heated hoses, you won’t have to hand wash the hoses regularly, which could save you time and money.