Cleaning + disinfecting nebulizer and aerobica

Yes, Irene@8. I got my people mixed up!
Some steamer baskets sit up very high in the pot, but the photos of this one seem to show the basket a little lower, which would be better, I think for the equipment. This is probably a silly question, but since the equipment is not really directly exposed to the steam except for where there are holes in the basket, does it sterilize as well as a pot of boiling water does? In the electric bottle sterilizers, the items are on racks, but more of the items have direct exposure to the steam in racks than through small holes. Just wondering about that! This crazy condition gets us overthinking so many things, but we just want to be sure we are using the best attack approaches, you know?

the cups boil IN the water. It does not steam them but rather boils like any other pot would. The basket keeps the parts from touching the bottom of the pan but they are still submerged in water. You just fill it to the amount you want to boil in. I fill it till the water reaches about half way or more up the strainer.

Yes, I see. I have had some steamer inserts before that sit so high, that the food never touches the water. This pot is what I need! I find that when I boil, the parts dry so, so quickly on paper towels.
I had a good discussion with Linda about the electric bottle sterilizers. She mentioned that, depending on circumstances, she uses multiple methods. I think that is a good approach. I will definitely invest in this pot and also an electric device as a back-up. This site is just so helpful!

Hello all. So I bought the baby bottle sterilizer and drier. They can be 6 or 8 bottle- which I did not know. The machine is big but I finally found out I can use only the top portion , the one for small parts and now I love it. I collect whatever I use throughout the day in a pot and at the end of the day I wash all with soapy water, rinse in 10 min boiled water and then drop all in the machine- it sterilizes and dries. I hope it’s enough. Before I was using the micro oven bags and dry on the rack. It’s easier. There is only one thing that makes me anxious- sterilizing the flap part of aerobica. When I was boiling this part every day, the flap disfigured and did not work properly. Aerobika is expensive so now I sterilize the flappy part only in alcohol. How you do it

I disassemble the Aerobika and put it in a Wabi sterilizer along with the neb cups and haven't had a problem. I rotate 3 sets of neb cups so they all get put thru the sterilizer every 3 days.

Sue, I'm reacting to the comment you posted above in 2022. It is so helpful to me the way you describe your risk pyramid; I find it so rational, clear and helpful (and your philosophy/approach is one that I feel works for me). thank you for all your thoughtful posts here; as someone newly-diagnosed with MAC and grateful for but overwhelmed with discovering there is so much info out there beyond what my doctor had the time or scope to tel me, I find your contributions very valuable.

Everyone with a chronic condition or disease must find their own path. 3 years later, I am still doing roughly the same, except 5 years post antibiotics, with my asthma better controlled, and stable Bronchiectasis, I now do airway clearance once per day and only use 7% saline if I sense an exacerbation or respiratory infection coming.
I find exercise, vigorous walking, yoga or gardening/ yard work brings up mucus efficiently for me.
Have you found anything not on the usual list of techniques helps you clear your lungs?

I realize that not everyone is so fortunate, but

The thing that works best for me for AC is exercise - I jog every morning albeit so slowly I call is "slogging" instead of jogging. I also use my Aerobika and do "CAB" of course, but only bring much up if I am having an exacerbation. You express is very well: we must find our own path.

@sueinmn, I'd like to ask another question (though with MAC one question has a way of leading to another). Right now, mainly b/c I'm relatively newly diagnosed, I am still drinking tap water. I want to stop, but I'm very conscious of the phenomenon in life where you think you fix a problem only to introduce another.
So: filters. My doctor said the filters have their own problems: they can trap/accumulate MAC that gets into the water. But he may well not have been referring to the .02 micron filters that Dr. Falkingham recommends. Do you have any insight on this? In any event, as I rent an apt maybe it won't be feasible to put the filter in my kitchen tap -- though that would be my first choice, to address the problem at the source and not have to mess with boiling and UV bottles. Maybe it's a question of changing the filter with a certain frequency?

Dr. Falkingham says boiled water stays safe on your pantry shelf for a month. That's good - but do I have to worry about what type of container I put it in, i.e, does the container need to be carefully sterilized?

Then there are the UV bottles/Lifestraw -- but one of these says it has a charcoal filter and I know those are problematic for MAC -- maybe not if you change them with a certain frequency, but again this introduces concern and confusion for me.

I'm not going to worry for now about drinking water away from home but I want to make the water I drink in my home as MAC-free as feasible -- and avoid a situation where I think I am doing the right thing but actually am not.

I just ordered microwave-steam-sterilizing bags to start sterilizing my Aerobika in; do you know if this is a good idea?

As mentioned earlier I've taken the shower head off my shower, it's no problem for me to shower that way, and I loved your advice about aiming to avoid misting the mirror (a good indicator) and not doing hair and make-up until the bathroom is mist-free -- love that and would have not thought of it!

thank you SO much -- please know that I am watching NJH videos on youtube and the sessions from this week's NTMir patient conference in CA, but the issue is I have absorbed tons of info on drinking water and MAC but not sure how to boil it down to a doable process that isn't actually mitigating MAC b/c the bottle I put my boiled drinking water in wasn't sterilized or I am not changing the filters frequently enough.
Thank you
Lynn

There are may ways to filter tap water, but as you may have learned from my posts, I am all about simplicity. If I lived in an apartment, I would probably use the Pall .2 micron filter that fits on the tap, as a lot of members do. You can read the discussion here:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/recommendation-for-0-2-micron-filters/
For away from home, I use bottled spring water, but have been looking at the Lifestraw bottles to cut down on plastic waste.

I don't use a steam bag for my parts, I use a saucepan on the stove. You can search "bololo" or steam sterilizers to learn what other members have to say.

I wash reusable water bottles with a brush (to disrupt any microfilm trying to form) then sanitize in my dishwasher on the sanitize cycle which includes heated drying. My dishwasher temp is 145F. If away from home I sanitize with a bleach soak. The bottle brushes go into the dishwasher too. I learned this many years ago from friends who hike in Arizona, where they have to be careful about desert fever, which is as nasty as MAC to get rid of.