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How do you know when a Pari cup is "done". On the website I bought them, it says to replace them every 6 months, same thing for the acapella. What is the reasoning behind the "6 months"? I sterilize the cups and the acapella after each use in a baby bottle sterilizer, and sometimes I even dip them in alcohol for a few minutes before. I am just trying to understand how they came up with that number.
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For the Acapella, the function of the vibratory pieces degrades over time. I was amazed at how much when I did my first replacement - the old one was on the highest setting, and I had to back off to just over half. Now, when I get to the highest setting, I know it will soon be time to order a new one.
For the Pari cups, or any other nebulizer cups, the repeated boiling (or alcohol) degrades the plastic over time. Recommendations for replacement vary from 2 to 6 months. Microscopic cracks and pits for in the plastic, giving bacteria fun places to hide. In addition, I become concerned about whether microscopic particles of plastic are finding their way into my lungs as it wears. So, I wash with HOT water and soap after every use, sterilize after 6-8 uses or weekly. And I discard after 10-12 sterilizations.
All that said, I use sidestream nebulizers from the hospital supply house, not Pari Sprint or AeroEclipse types, so they are not that expensive in the grand scheme of things - around $10 each with new tubing.
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I do not know the science behind the 6 month recommendation. Like Sue said biofilms are slow growing and maybe that's the reason. We live in such a consumable society and replacing things often seems standard accepted practice. And of course companies would like to count on future [annuity] business.
If you wanted to be fastidious then do as vendor instructions say. What I do is alternate cups a.m. and p.m. After soaking in hot tap water and dawn, and like you, pop in a baby bottle sterilizer where I use distilled water. I've measured the temp and it registers 212+ for over 8 minutes. Technically it's been 6 months for each cup but since I've been alternating I'll continue to use for at least another 6 months or longer. If any of the equipment starts to fail I will replace.
The bottom line it seems to me, when you replace depends on your disease state, I think. If you have MAC or other infection you might choose to follow vendor instructions for replacement for greater peace of mind, knowing you are doing everything you can to help to mitigate the disease.