The proper way to clean your nebulizer equipment?

[tessa55454]

Hey...I am just curious. A long time ago I was told to clean the neb stuff daily with dreft, and weekly with white vinegar I believe. Then I was told it's better not to rinse the neb water because the water has chemicals and other bad bacteria or whatever in it that you don't want to get on the nebulizer. Now, I don't clean exactly the way I am supposed to, but some of that is a bit extreme. IF I was a robot and had no life..sure.

I haven't talked to the resperitory therpist in a while, and it seems whenever I am in, they want me to meet with 3 different people and time that is all done, I am dog tired and I want to go home.

Curious..

Tessa 27 w/cf

 

[anonymous]

I've never been told to use dreft. We just wash with warm, soapy dishwater and then rinse. Every other day we soak in a mixture of hot water and white vinegar. We, too, do not always follow the procedure.

 

[anonymous]

I'm all about PARI nebs. They can be boiled to sterilize without melting. I've melted other brands trying this since I learned it's ok with PARI's. I use several nebs and boil the batch once/week. That's the easiest for me.

I've heard from my cf team and read on cff.org that vinegar is no longer approved. They recommend bleach or some other below substances. NOT vinegar.

" Soaking in a solution of 1 part household bleach and 50 parts water for 3 minutes;
" Soaking in 70% isopropyl alcohol for 5 minutes; or
" Soaking in 3% hydrogen peroxide for 30 minutes.

hope this helps

Jason 30 w/cf

 

[mammabettybear5]

hi they told be at his cf center to use bleach and water daily to wash my boys nebs,i use a tsp of bleach in a dish pan of water soak for 10 mins then wash then dry,then i put them in a zip lock baggie till next use,has any one else been told to use bleach?

 

[anonymous]

Our respiratory therapists like the PARI nebulizers, and we wash them in warm soapy water and then boil them for 5 minutes. Then we let the water cool and rinse the Aerochambers in them with a drop of liquid dish detergent. When we stay in a hotel and don't have access to boiling them, we soak them in alcohol and then rinse with sterile water.

Joelle, mom to Lindsey, 2 & 1/2, with CF

 

[anonymous]

I lightly clean mine under hot sink water and shake them dry, then I put them in a tub/bowl of 99% isopropyl alcohol for anywhere between one hour and a day -depending on how busy I am or how soon I need a clean nebulizer. Then I remove the alcohol from the bowl and pour boiling water over the nebs to remove the alcohol. I repeat this twice and then hang them to air dry. However, if I need the neb immediately, I use a hair dryer to dry them, which takes just under 5 minutes or less. Finally I assemble the neb (Pari) and place them into individual sandwich bags for storage and later use.

My only problem is that I have an incredibly horrible habit of chewing on the nebulizer mouthpiece. It starts with me holding it in place during a nebulization so I can keep my hands free to type or do something else. Then I start re-adjusting the mouthpiece and next thing I know my unintentional jaw pressure has made the piece malleable and I begin slowly knawing on it. If I try I can keep a mouthpiece for 7 to 10 days before I chew it down to nothing. I wish I didn't have this chewing fixation, and that plastic on the durable pari nebs is some hard plastic too.

 

[Justsmurfin]

I boil the reusable ones(Pari LC plus and star,Devilbiis Permaneb), the ones that aren't reusable I use control 111 germicide. I soak all of them in hot water with dishwashing detergent before boiling or soaking in control 111. I do the same with my flutter and PEP valves

 

[luke]

Tessa,

Jason has got it, that is exactly what you should do for you bi-weekly cleanings. For daily cleanings use Dove or Ivory dishwashing liquid, the white ones. They are milder and are less likely to irritate your lungs. As for the vinegar, we were taught that about 15 years ago but now the peroxide and alcohol has taken over. Vinegar just dosen't seem to kill pseudomonas very well. As for boiling we have discussed this many times and I think we have agreed to disagree. I just recommend to follow the instructions on your particular kit because not all kits can withstand being boiled. Personally I don't boil mine because I melt them, I actually melted a flutter once too!

Luke RRT

 

[tessa55454]

Thanks guys...

I will double-check my instructions for the Pari equipment, once I find it.

I knew I was off. Some great ideas that I didn't think about.

thanks again,
Tessa 27 w/cf