Distilled/Deionized Water

[ozalchemist]

I got into an argument with the sleep technician who was fitting me with a CPAP.

Having been told that only distilled water should be used in my humidifier, I pointed out that the distilled water sold in supermarkets in Western Australia is in fact DEIONIZED water, not distilled.

He said that deionzed would not do, it had to be distilled. But he couldn't tell me where to get distilled water!

He seemed to believe that distilled water was going to be sterile! He even recommended boiling water in a kettle if I wasn't sure!

For those that don;t know, distilled water is made by boiling water and condensing the steam. Deionised water is made by passing water through an ion exchange resin that removes impurities such as mineral salts.

When I was last in darwin, I bought a bottle of DI water to find it was labelled NOT FOR USE IN THEREPUDIC DEVICES!!

So, what do people here use? DISTILLED or DI?

Si there a difference from a CPAP point of view?

[tuna]

Distilled here!

[Goofproof]

When I was last in darwin, I bought a bottle of DI water to find it was labelled NOT FOR USE IN THEREPUDIC DEVICES!!

I would think reading the lable would get the word out. Use Distilled Water, like the manuel says, It may not be sterile, if that worries ya, boil it. Surely someone down under has a still. Jim

[Snoredog]

your sleep tech was correct.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deionized_water

Deionization

Process utilizing specially-manufactured ion exchange resins which remove ionized salts from water can theoretically remove 100% of salts. Deionization typically does not remove organics, virus or bacteria, except through "accidental" trapping in the resin and specially made strong base anion resins which will remove gram-negative bacteria.

The distillation of distilled water is the purest form you can find and the heat process usually kills any known virus and bacteria (main reason to use distilled).

As to your sleep tech's lack of knowledge on where to purchase it?

I don't think keeping up with the distribution of water in your country is your sleep tech's responsibility.

[abysmillard]

Perhaps I'm out in left field here, but my impression is that the reason to use distilled water has much less to do with possible contamination by organisms than it has to do with the mineral content of the water, as the minerals will be left as a residue when the water evaporates. If I am correct, deionized water would be comparable to distilled water for use in a munidifier. Unless distilled water is labeled, "sterile," it potentially harbors organism introduced after the distilling process, like any other bottled water. Even sterile distilled water (which is available and expensive) is no longer considered sterile once it has been opened and exposed to the atmosphere.

I think we have to distinguish between sterile and clean. Clean is what happens when we properly maintain our equipment. Clean is also what bottled water of any kind is supposed to be. Sterile requires special bottling equipment, dated containers, and special handling once the bottle is open. My opinion is that clean is good enough for this application.

My DME guy told me to use distilled or purified drinking water in my unit. Of course, I don't base my opinion on his advice, as most of what he told me has proven to be crap.

If you have any doubts, call the ResMed customer support line. They will let you know what exactly they recommend, and since they're based (I think) in Australia they should have a good handle on what is available for your use.

[abysmillard]

I just noticed your handle, ozalchemist. Why don't you just break out your pelican and distill some? :)

[jennmary]

The reason for distilled water IS the mineral content. If you use filtered, bottled, or tap you are getting minerals that will leave nasty white scale inside your humidifier and will shorten the life of your equipment. It has nothing to do with bacterial or viral infection control. As another poster said.....even if it WAS sterile it wouldnt be the moment you opened it, and certianly not once it was in your tank.
using plain old bottled water isnt going to hurt you.....but it will hurt your machine.

[Guest]

My sleep technician was under the impr'ession that the deionised water sold in supermarkets IS distilled water. It's not, it's DI

I have lots of contacts in the chemical industry here and I don't know anyone who selss STERILE distilled water other than medical supply companies.... at a premium.

Bottled distilled water is going to recontaminate real quick the moment you open the bottle. That's why medical distilled water comes in single use packs.

I'm not worried about mineral scaling... you wont have that problem with dist or DI water. I have used tap water in a pinch with no problems excpt for the chlorine smell.

The Resmed manual just says use CLEAN water!!!

[jennmary]

Yes....the manual does say to use clean water. But on page 9 under FAQ it also addresses the water issue.

"Do I have to use distilled water in the water chamber?
Using distilled water will maximize the life of the water chamber and reduce mineral deposits"

So do you HAVE to use distilled? No, of course not. But if you want your humidifier performing at its best for as long as possible it is probably a pretty good idea.

My DME had a water chamber in office for display that had been run on only tap for 2 years.....trust me I would have replaced it long before that. It was enough to convince me to stick with distilled.

I may be wrong...but it apears to me that DI water is only missing the salts? If this is the case you are still left with a whole lot of other minerals that are leaving deposits in your tank.

[wayner]

most of the replies have been that distilled water is used for the sole purpous of protecting the equitment ...not because of bacteria. this is absolutly true. If you do not want a calcium build up in your humidifier use distilled.... other then that you could use tap water.
Distilled water and medical equitment usually refers to dialysis and other medical equipent that come in dierect contact with hemogloben excetra.

[Nazareth]

I asked htis in another thread but got no reply- how about water that is run throiugh a Britta Water filter?

[bdp522]

The Brita filter does not eliminate impurities, it only reduces them. It would probably be better than tap water, but I'll stick to the distilled water.

Brenda

[Guest]

After reading these kinds of threads for a couple of years, my conclusion is.....

If I was faced with a lack of distilled water, I would use the closest thing to it as possible.....not use heat in the humidifier (which I don't, anyway) and dump the water fairly frequently to prevent buildup of "whatever" in the tank.

Den

[Nazareth]

A question- does the gunk from impurities just affect the tank and the hose a bit? The reason I ask is because the tank really isn't all that expensive, and should be replaced according ot the isructions, every so often anyways- If however, the impurities make hteir way back into the Cpap or Bipap machine, then that's somethign you want ot avoid as much as possible for obvious reasons- Seems liek perhaps the impurities might work their way into the machine- especially for Bipaps? Maybe I'm wrong?

[higgy]

In a different thread that I wrote to quickly I used DI incorrectly, it was distilled that I was speaking of, sorry if that caused any problems.

If you empty and refill the humidifier with out letting the water level drop to a very small amount the ions will stay in solution and should not cause any harm to the container.

Ozal,

Where in Perth? I lived in Freo and Bicton, then moved to Port Hedland for quite a few years before returning to the states.