S9 Humidifier Water Chamber and Mineral water

Hi everyone,

I went on my first overseas trip since i started using Resmed AutoSet with the humidifier. Since I didn't have access to distilled water, I was using regular mineral water for two weeks. One morning, I noticed that the water chamber ran out of water the night before, and I could see calcium/mineral build up on the bottom of the water chamber. I tried rinsing it with mild soap (J&J) and water but I still can feel the bottom of the chamber coarse surface with some mineral residual. Is there anyway to clean the chamber without damaging it. I have been using using for 5 months with distilled water and it was in like-new conditions...

will diluted vinegar help?


Thanks...

Vinegar should work, then rinse really well to eliminate the scent.
--Or you could just eat a pickle before bedtime.
(Hubby loves sardines, and I usually have one too, just so his breath will be less off-putting.)

newcpap wrote:Hi everyone,

I went on my first overseas trip since i started using Resmed AutoSet with the humidifier. Since I didn't have access to distilled water, I was using regular mineral water for two weeks. One morning, I noticed that the water chamber ran out of water the night before, and I could see calcium/mineral build up on the bottom of the water chamber. I tried rinsing it with mild soap (J&J) and water but I still can feel the bottom of the chamber coarse surface with some mineral residual. Is there anyway to clean the chamber without damaging it. I have been using using for 5 months with distilled water and it was in like-new conditions...

will diluted vinegar help?


Thanks...

I think one of the reasons for using distilled water is to get rid of the minerals.

I clean mine with white vinegar, fill and let it set for 3-4 hours(longer if really dirty), rinse, wash with non-scent dish soap and clean as new. Also you can put crushed ice and lots of salt, swish it around till it makes ice cream, drain, wash and clean...

if vinegar doesn't do it - CLR ( calcium lime remover) certainly will - it's available at hardware stores and most supermarkets with the cleaning solutions.

LSAT wrote:
I think one of the reasons for using distilled water is to get rid of the minerals.

Yep! Mineral water is pretty much the OPPOSITE of distilled! But now the OP has a funny story to tell on himself...

Even if it doesn't come out, it won't hurt anything (or you).


Den

.

Unless it's really nasty, tap water will be better than mineral water. Good bottled drinking water may be better than tap water, especially if the tap water has a smell of chlorine or something.

Thanks everyone for the responses...

One day after starting using distilled water again, the minerals layer came off by itself. I soaked the chamber in diluted vinegar solution just to be sure, and it seems clean as new....



regards...

Quick update...

I woke up in the middle of the night with weird smell blowing from the mask, when I checked the water chamber I found layer of what seems to be bacterial growth. I also noticed that the Vinegar I used earlier to clean the chamber has damaged its inner lining. I have been using APAP for 5 months now and this is the first time I encounter this issue. Perhaps the water I used to clean the chamber while I was away (hotel tap water) wasn't clean enough.

I soaked the chamber for several hours using baby soap and I think it is free of bacteria now (I hope). And I ended up ordering new chamber.

My advice to anyone who is trying to clean the chamber from any minerals, Never use Vinegar!

I would recommend that you try white vinegar first. and if that does not work pour some bleach. soak the inside of the water chamber with bleach and let it sit for 20 minutes then give your water chamber a VERY GOOD CLEANING then rinse it extremely well before you put any distilled water into it you don\'t want the smell of bleach going into your lungs. I am surprised that where ever you went on vacation they had no distilled water in their stores. I hope this works for you.

Be very careful of what you use to clean the chamber. I would avoid any strong substances such as a commercial lime remover.

Even vinegar might be too strong. The machine was designed for neutral or near neutral water.

Also, ordinary water typically doesn't just have calcium and magnesium, it has silica. So when the water becomes saturated, such as when it is being evaporated, there is a deposit of silica as well as calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate.

So a slight acidic solution would dissolve the carbonates, but not the silica.

If I was to use vinegar, I would use a diluted solution. Maybe 10 parts water to one part vinegar. It would still be plenty acidic to dissolve calcium and magnesium carbonates, but minimize any corrosive impact. The silica will likely come loose with the dissolving carbonates, but I can't assure that it will happen.

Tap water is loaded with stuff. If you use purified and deionized water in your industrial processing you know that tap water is loaded. It is okay for human consumption, but it has organics, silica, and depending on where you are salts or alkali or chlorides. I wouldn't put it into equipment on a bet.