How do you store your Aerobika?

@jnmy If I'm home, I leave the cleaned devices on a clean dry paper towel and cover them with another one. I put the cleaned Aerobika a in clean zip bags if am going to put it in my purse. If I put the used device back in my purse in its bag, I throw it away or use it for (non-food) stuff like bits of craft supplies. If I am packing to travel, I use a covered plastic container I sanitize in the dishwasher, exclusively for cleaned equipment.

I am still learning best practices in this regard and have realized it’s a work in progress, at least for me. I am continually finding less than great things I am doing, my most recent example learning that keeping my Lifestraw pitcher by the kitchen sink with garbage disposal is not optimal placement. It seems obvious once someone mentions it, but this is all new to me and I find I have so many blind spots in terms of hygiene at this level. With that said, here is where I am at with storing my nebulizer equipment and Aerobika - I sterilize each day in my baby bottle sterilizer. Once sterilized and dry, I store in a plastic container for sterilized equipment only. I have different containers for different parts, and store by type, which is just an organizational preference. I have multiple sets of nebulizers and Aerobika should anything not dry fully in time for next treatment. In those instance where not fully dry, at times I place on paper towel, with another paper towel on top, and place in a kitchen cabinet to finish air drying. Once fully dry, gets stored in plastic box by type. Since I have upgraded my nebulizing equipment this happens rarely. I use plastic storage boxes from Container Store, their basic store brand, because they have lots of different sizes which I mix and match for my needs, larger ones for backstock, compressor and smaller ones for sterilized equipment, and they fit well, stacked in a deep kitchen cabinet next to where I do my AC (on opposite side of kitchen from sink, lol). I have not yet traveled with my equipment, so am interested on how others address that component.

Re your specific ziplock question, if only a sterilized Aerobika ever goes in the ziplock then that would seem to me to be fine, but I myself would change out the bag every so often (weekly, monthly) as I would be worried about the ziplock bag picking up bugs from the environment with handling, etc. I am now following the suggestion to replace tubing on compressor every 30 days for similar reasons.

Thank you @bayarea55
Yes, I change the zippered bag often, but will also use a sterilized container more frequently as @sueinmn recommends.

I need to purchase a small bottle sterilizer. Right now I use rubbing alcohol to sterilize the Aerobika, and boil hot water to clean as well.

I also use postural drainage as a technique to regularly clear mucus from my lungs. That seems to work well without needing to sterilize equipment!

@bayarea58 There is so much to consider when dealing with Bronchectasis, MAC, airway clearance, etc - it certainly can be easy to let concerns take over your life. I may have had an advantage, having a serious food allergy before MAC, and learning to live with it, so I have developed a different philosophy that some here.

MAC/NTM is everywhere, and short of living in a sterile bubble you cannot avoid it. So, as I learned from my ID doc over 5 years ago, "You do your best, and ignore the rest."
His advice to me (I have been checked and do not have GERD, so your advice may vary):
Keep your lungs clean - airway clearance.
Keep you equipment clean - I wash in Dawn/hot water daily, sterilize after 5-7 uses - it takes that long for biofilms to form. After cleaning I store covered.
Keep your water clean - .2 micron filters, Life Straw, bottled spring water.
Keep your environment clean - use HEPA air filters and string exhaust fans in the bathroom, stay away from NTM laden air like steamy showers, hot tubs and indoor pools. Shoes off to avoid bringing bad stuff in. (My household water is free of NTM, so I'm very lucky.)
Keep your lungs safe - stay away from sick people or mask. Stay away from peat moss, mulch and dry soil (huge reservoirs of NTM) or mask.
Don't worry about the rest - go live your life.

That’s again for a very helpful list @sueinmn. I’ve read that you and others also make sure that in home water heaters are set at 130 degrees or higher! That was great advice to others too.

The only other item I’d suggest is changing the HEPA cabin filters in our vehicles more often than suggested. We bought some on Amazon and install our own because our dealership doesn’t install the HEPA version.

Like you we change our own cabin air filters in the car. We actually order them about 6 at a time and change them often.

Sue, as always your feedback is insightful and extremely helpful. Thank you!

@sueinmn and @jnmy how often are you changing your car cabin filters? I don’t drive much but live in a semi rural area (basically a forest) so when I do (now) I always keep my windows closed and the air recirculating. I have no idea if my cabin filter is HEPA and will have to look into that.

@bayarea58 we also buy several at a time, as Sue does. We change them every three- four months but we’ll likely move to every three months.

After asking, we discovered that our dealership wasn’t using a HEPA type cabin filter. I decided to check for the brand we needed and found it on Amazon.