How often do you change water

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maskracer
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How often do you change water

Post by maskracer » Tue Nov 24, 2015 4:49 am

Hearing recently of doctors emphatically telling patients to change out humidifier water DAILY.
If using distilled water is that really necessary?
Have known Cpap vets who change it only when it runs out and have never had an issue.
What have you been advised?

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Krelvin
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Re: How often do you change water

Post by Krelvin » Tue Nov 24, 2015 5:36 am

maskracer wrote:Hearing recently of doctors emphatically telling patients to change out humidifier water DAILY.
Sources? Is that using tap water?
If using distilled water is that really necessary?
Have known Cpap vets who change it only when it runs out and have never had an issue.
9+ years, top off the tank, clean the tank every month or so which is basically just rinsing it out really good. Always use distilled water.
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Super zzz
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Re: How often do you change water

Post by Super zzz » Tue Nov 24, 2015 6:22 am

Everyday. 88 Cents a gallon I spoil myself.
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LSAT
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Re: How often do you change water

Post by LSAT » Tue Nov 24, 2015 6:57 am

Dump and rinse the cup every 4 to 6 weeks. Just add water every 2-3 days. Only distilled water. Water cup is 18 months old and is as clear as it was on day 1.

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metsfan302
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Re: How often do you change water

Post by metsfan302 » Tue Nov 24, 2015 6:57 am

Me myself I have been using bottled spring water like fiji water, I wash out the bin every week. have had no issues with build up etc to date. My machine goes thru the water everynight so I am always refilling.

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Heart Jumping
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Re: How often do you change water

Post by Heart Jumping » Tue Nov 24, 2015 8:34 am

metsfan302 wrote:Me myself I have been using bottled spring water like fiji water...
Fiji water? Pffft. I prefer Perrier with a touch of Grey Poupop.

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Re: How often do you change water

Post by SewTired » Tue Nov 24, 2015 9:26 am

maskracer wrote:Hearing recently of doctors emphatically telling patients to change out humidifier water DAILY.
If using distilled water is that really necessary?
Have known Cpap vets who change it only when it runs out and have never had an issue.
What have you been advised?
Absolutely and it makes sense that doctors tell their patients to change out humidifier water DAILY. The fact that some here follow other practices, that is their choice. You do not live in a sterile environment. Just because you are using distilled water, doesn't mean bacteria isn't getting into your humidifier chamber. The filter does not prevent that. I've known people who have driven without seatbelts all their life with nary a problem. Just because some people choose not to does not make it a best practice. I'm personally not diligent, but do change it out at least a couple of times a week.

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Re: How often do you change water

Post by Cardsfan » Tue Nov 24, 2015 10:22 am

Every morning, dump out the old water. Swish it out with vinegar & water, rinse, add new distilled water. It only takes a minute.

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LSAT
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Re: How often do you change water

Post by LSAT » Tue Nov 24, 2015 10:46 am

SewTired wrote:
maskracer wrote:Hearing recently of doctors emphatically telling patients to change out humidifier water DAILY.
If using distilled water is that really necessary?
Have known Cpap vets who change it only when it runs out and have never had an issue.
What have you been advised?
Absolutely and it makes sense that doctors tell their patients to change out humidifier water DAILY. The fact that some here follow other practices, that is their choice. You do not live in a sterile environment. Just because you are using distilled water, doesn't mean bacteria isn't getting into your humidifier chamber. The filter does not prevent that. I've known people who have driven without seatbelts all their life with nary a problem. Just because some people choose not to does not make it a best practice. I'm personally not diligent, but do change it out at least a couple of times a week.
If the filter does not filter out the bacteria in the air...think about it. You are breathing this same air without the filter all day long.

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sc0ttt
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Re: How often do you change water

Post by sc0ttt » Tue Nov 24, 2015 10:57 am

I almost never have any water left over in the morning - use up a whole tank every night - about a gallon every 3 weeks; always distilled. It's dry here, but not the desert, and my setting is on medium.

But if there is some left over, I don't dump it out - just refill... so the answer is "almost never".

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Re: How often do you change water

Post by bwexler » Tue Nov 24, 2015 11:27 am

I almost always dump mine when I get a new water chamber.
Mine is generally empty every morning so no need to dump anything.
I have washed and scrubed and can't see much difference between before and after.

By the way I always use reverse osmosis water. After 3 years my S5i stainless steel water chamber always looked new. My PRS 1 water chamber develops a crust on the aluminum plait in a few weeks.

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Re: How often do you change water

Post by WindCpap » Tue Nov 24, 2015 12:31 pm

There are lots of people in this world who have to reason through every single little thing on their own. They know better than the doctors, and the technicians, and the equipment manufacturers. That's fine.

If the technicians says to empty, and air-dry the humidifier tub every day, and it only takes a minute, and it only ends up costing me about $1.00 a month to do so, I am going to empty, and air-dry the humidifier tub every day. I know a little bit of biology, and while I am unsure if anything is going to actually grow in distilled water absent minerals and food, I do know that there there is zero risk to my current practice, and that the risk of doing otherwise is not something I cannot reason out for myself to any sort of reliable conclusion.

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Krelvin
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Re: How often do you change water

Post by Krelvin » Tue Nov 24, 2015 5:22 pm

You might look at it differently...

Everytime you take apart your hose, mask and tank to clean it you are increasing the possibility of contamination.
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Wulfman...
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Re: How often do you change water

Post by Wulfman... » Tue Nov 24, 2015 6:02 pm

maskracer wrote:Hearing recently of doctors emphatically telling patients to change out humidifier water DAILY.
If using distilled water is that really necessary?
Have known Cpap vets who change it only when it runs out and have never had an issue.
What have you been advised?
The first morning after my first night of therapy, I dumped my tank of distilled and refilled it. I thought for a second as I was doing that........."Why did I just do that?" "That was perfectly clear water." And, that's the last time I did it. I also only tried heated humidity for a couple of nights before I decided I didn't like that, either. So, I've used cool "passover" humidification ever since......year round. Without heated humidity, it takes me about 3 months to use up a gallon of distilled. Then, when I start a new gallon, I dump the remainder in my tank and flush the tank with hot tap water and refill with more distilled. I've only "cleaned" my original tank ONCE in 10 1/2 years and that was in early 2012 (after about seven years of use). I've never bothered to dry the tank and I've never "cleaned" my 2 original hoses. I have filled them with hot tap water a couple of times to check for leaks, but nothing more than that. It's absurd to dry this stuff if you're going to put moisture back into it again in a short time. If you feel the need to actually "clean" some of these things, do it in the evening before bedtime and you just add a little more humidity to the circuit when you turn it on again.

Other than a few times when I used filtered water (Brita), I've always used distilled. It's about $.88 a gallon at Walmart.

No harm in using other than distilled water other than the tank would need to be cleaned more often as the minerals and deposits would be left behind after the water is evaporated. In reality, all that's going up the tube is water vapor and anything else is left behind. Water vapor molecules are too small to carry anything out of the HH tank to you.


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jaycee2
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Re: How often do you change water

Post by jaycee2 » Tue Nov 24, 2015 6:06 pm

I set the humidity level at 2 so use very little water at night. I fill the tank to about twice what I need (just in case I should use more) and every morning dump out the leftover water. I washed the tank when it was brand new and but then never wash the tank. It has never looked dirty or felt slimey. A gallon of distilled water lasts 2-3 weeks. Once or twice I haven't inserted the tank enough or seated it properly and the air leaked.