shards or debris in humidifier tank

I have recently discovered some powder debris in my humidifier tank. Has anyone else found this?
I had it analyzed and it is shards of Silicon, not calcium or any other typical water problem. Is there Silicon Impellers or what ever is in the device? I know that we don't want to be breathing Silicon.

I have gone back to my older CPAP until this is resolved.

Suggest you call manufacturer and ask this question. How did u analize this?

Silicon - its sand, fine dust. Clean it and carry on.

I'm afraid that breathing Silicon is not at all healthy.
I own a Test Lab where we do Scanning Electron Microscopy as well as EDS which is Element identification electronics using the SEM and Xrays.

I agree it's not all that healthy. It also does not volatilize in the airstream. So you will no be breathing it. I'd say your distilled water source is not all that pure, or as I said it's dust. Either way, I just don't see it as a major issue. If it continues to reoccur an in-line bacterial filter installed in the hose will keep you from breathing it.

I take it there's no chance that the shards are in the water before you put it in the humidifier tank. How big are the shards? Are they silicon dioxide?

I don't know very much about this but the closest thing I can think of that is likely to be found in a home is silica gel dessicant. Could that be the source?

Might run your distilled water thru a coffee filter and see it anything is in the water. If your xpap filters are in place nothing should be getting in the air circuit. Jim

I was GIVEN a couple gallons of RO water, and told it was "the same" as distilled water.
I did not believe this, but chose to use it and see what happened.
After one gallon, the bottom of my tank had a fine, white, slightly grainy deposit.
I cleaned out the tank, and dumped the remaining gallon.
Reverse osmosis does indeed allow minerals to pass through the filter.
Read labels carefully, and only use DISTILLED water from RELIABLE SOURCES.
Some suppliers may be tempted to mis-label bottled water.
If they do it once, trust they will keep trying.

I have switched to my old CPAP and everything is fine. No Silicon in the bottom of the humidifier tank. Same water as was used before.
I guess some people do not realize how dangerous this can be. You don't just clean it out and move on. There is a problem that needs to be solved.

OK, I know I'm really, really low on sleep, so I'm not thinking straight, but I just saw the subject line of this post out of the corner of my eye and my brain translated it to "sharks in the humidifier tank".

markf5018 wrote:I have switched to my old CPAP and everything is fine. No Silicon in the bottom of the humidifier tank. Same water as was used before.
I guess some people do not realize how dangerous this can be. You don't just clean it out and move on. There is a problem that needs to be solved.

So which brand/model machine were you using when the silicon appeared in the tank?

Where do you think the silicon came from? ...and could you see it after one night of use, or did it take awhile to accumulate?

I've only been on xPAP (AirCurve 10 VAuto) less than two months and this sounds concerning. I dump the leftover water each morning and haven't seen any residue.

MaxINTJ wrote:OK, I know I'm really, really low on sleep, so I'm not thinking straight, but I just saw the subject line of this post out of the corner of my eye and my brain translated it to "sharks in the humidifier tank".

Gives new meaning to Sharknado, doesn't it?

I do believe that it is Silicon Dioxide from what the EDS analysis shows. Is there a built in element that has a dessicant in it? Anyone familiar with the technology?

Why would there be a dessicant in a humidifier?

No wonder the HH Tanks run dry! Jim