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Heated Humdifier Water Levels

Posted by schenners on January 25, 2003 at 16:34:11:

There was a recent discussion string in this forum on issues regarding the evaporation of water in heated humdifiers during a sleep cycle. I was interested in this topic because I was finding the exact same problem with my heated humdifier unit and wondered why. And even though I feel somewhat better during the day using my APAP machine than if I didn't use it , I was still feeling nowhere as good as I knew I should be and I wanted to find out why that was as well. The water evaporation issue seemed a good place to start.

One of the writers in this string identified a possible cause with the water loss as being due to a hose leak. Since I had been using my hose for about 18 months non-stop, I felt this could be my problem and something I should investigate as my first priority.

Yesterday, as an experiment, I tried a new hose on my setup. After a good night's sleep last night, this is what I discovered this morning.......

I woke up about one hour earlier than usual this morning feeling only very slightly groggy. Usually I wake up feeling a high level of grogginess which takes a while to clear. I slept about 7 hours than my regular 8-9 hours. Now, having been up and about a while, I feel as awake and energetic as I ever have done since starting CPAP/APAP treatment a year and a half ago. The air pressure on my machine upon awakening was around 4-5, when it would normally be around 9-10 (confirmation of a hose leak???). The water level in my heated humidifier on waking up was only a little less than when I went to sleep. Up to now, the water level had almost dissapeared by the time I woke up in the morning, even though I had filled the reserviour right to it's maximum level the night before.

So, all in all, I believe I have found my problem. The results speak for themselves. It's a hose leak. Obviously, the loss in air pressure from this leak has impacted on the effectiveness of the air getting through down my throat and into my lungs to do it's job of keeping the airways open and clear. The APAP machine was probably only working at 50% capacity. Hence, my improvement in daily life was only 50% of what it could be.

If anyone out there reads this and recognises similar symptoms and experiences, I strongly suggest an equipment check is in order, starting with changing your hose. If the water level in your heated humidifier is low in the morning, you have a problem that needs rectifying.

Good luck.

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