filtered water versus distilled

Jack Burton · Post by **Jack Burton** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 11:42 am

I have been dutifully buying and lugging 9 pounds of distilled water home from the store on a regular basis.
After reading this forum for a couple of weeks I think maybe I will switch to using filtered water in my humidifier.

I welcome your advice.

raisedfist · Post by **raisedfist** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 11:50 am

How fast do you go through a gallon of distilled water? Mine lasts for a good two weeks. I just pick up a gallon when I am at the pharmacy for other things.

JimW159 · Post by **JimW159** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 12:04 pm

A purely personal opinion:
1) It depends on what you know and what you believe.
2) Is the source of the filtered water known?
3) What is your definition of "filtered" in this context?
4) Is the "hardness" of the water known? See https://www.wqa.org/learn-about-water/p ... e-deposits for guide.
5) If high (a high level of dissolved minerals in the water), is that treated and how well?
6) Do you believe you can understand what you actually know about the water you use and how important those bits of knowledge are?

It is my understanding that the primary reason for distilled water is to minimize mineral deposits in the humidifier tank. If so, water that is both filtered to minimize particulate matter and treated to minimize dissolved mineral level should, in my opinion, serve the same goal.

Jack Burton · Post by **Jack Burton** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 12:46 pm

JimW159 wrote:A purely personal opinion:
1) It depends on what you know and what you believe.
2) Is the source of the filtered water known?
3) What is your definition of "filtered" in this context?
4) Is the "hardness" of the water known? See https://www.wqa.org/learn-about-water/p ... e-deposits for guide.
5) If high (a high level of dissolved minerals in the water), is that treated and how well?
6) Do you believe you can understand what you actually know about the water you use and how important those bits of knowledge are?

It is my understanding that the primary reason for distilled water is to minimize mineral deposits in the humidifier tank. If so, water that is both filtered to minimize particulate matter and treated to minimize dissolved mineral level should, in my opinion, serve the same goal.

The water is Toronto municipal filtered through one of these http://www.kubewater.com/the-kube.aspx
My tank is stainless steel so I will give it a try and watch for deposits.

chunkyfrog · Post by **chunkyfrog** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 1:06 pm

In the US, municipal water supplies are analyzed yearly, and the results are freely available to the public.
I would imagine the same or better in Toronto; look for the grains of hardness.

LoBattery · Post by **LoBattery** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 1:19 pm

I just use tap water. The only caution is to add enough so it doesn't run dry. That will cause minerals to deposit. Generally any minerals that deposit can be cleaned with white vinegar, a mild acid. Filtered water is not much different tan tap water. Many bottled waters add minerals for better taste. Try tap water for a couple weeks. If there is no buildup, there is no reason not to use it. Rinse it out each day to reduce minerals from concentrating in the water. Mineral buildup is easy to feel on the bottom of the tank. I've had buildup when I've run out of water. Some vinegar sitting in the tank for an hour dissolved it.

chunkyfrog · Post by **chunkyfrog** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 1:29 pm

I have had a chalky deposit from reverse osmosis water.
They were giving it away, and the stupid manager of the Fresh Thyme store
claimed it was the "same thing" as distilled. I didn't really believe him, but
the price was right for an experiment.

linuxman · Post by **linuxman** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 1:35 pm

chunkyfrog wrote:I have had a chalky deposit from reverse osmosis water.
They were giving it away, and the stupid manager of the Fresh Thyme store
claimed it was the "same thing" as distilled. I didn't really believe him, but
the price was right for an experiment.

Yeah, filtering can't remove dissolved metals. That has to be done with ion exchange (water softener). Still, hard water deposit should be mostly harmless. The tub can be cleaned with vinegar and the same with the tubing and mask if need be. Generally speaking the dissolved solids would only be in the tub, as it's hard for those to aerosol into the airflow (and for some metals it may not even be possible).

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 2:00 pm

There are rules for a reason, many people ignore them, some can't even read, feel free to do what you want. We won't be paying the price, you are a Big Boy! Jim

Wulfman... · Post by **Wulfman...** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 2:17 pm

I've almost always used distilled. With "passover" humidification, a gallon of distilled will last me about 2 1/2 months. Occasionally, I use (Brita) filtered water to stretch it out even further.

Den

.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 5:38 pm

At $0.88 a gallon I find it cheap insurance that I won't trash the machine. A gallon every 2 weeks isn't bad, even if it was $1.00 a gal..

Jack Burton · Post by **Jack Burton** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 6:58 pm

Goofproof wrote:There are rules for a reason, many people ignore them, some can't even read, feel free to do what you want. We won't be paying the price, you are a Big Boy! Jim

"What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitchens's_razor

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 7:03 pm

Jack Burton wrote: I welcome your advice.

BlackSpinner · Post by **BlackSpinner** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 8:27 pm

Guest wrote:At $0.88 a gallon I find it cheap insurance that I won't trash the machine. A gallon every 2 weeks isn't bad, even if it was $1.00 a gal..

More like over $2,00 here. Tap water doesn't trash the machine, it just means cleaning your humidifier tank more often to prevent the calcium build up.

I stopped using distilled water one February after the sidewalks all iced up. Hauling a gallon of water on the bus and over icy sidewalks was just not feasible. Three years of Montreal tap water use did nothing horrible to the tank. The only reason I use distilled now is that Edmonton water stinks and I have a car. Even though I have a car if I run out and it is -27c with a wind chill of -38c I am using tap water - just let it sit for an hour.

SewTired · Post by **SewTired** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 9:08 pm

+1 what Black Spinner said. I just use tap when distilled isn't available. It's not a medical need - it just saves you on cleaning.

filtered water versus distilled

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