Distilled Water or Filtered?

[Doza25]

Hey guys,

I'm inquiring about the selection of water, I looked online and it says distilled is the best to use on the machine to provide longevity. I've been using filtered, but I am just wondering if it really makes a big difference haha.

[palerider]

Hey guys,

I'm inquiring about the selection of water, I looked online and it says distilled is the best to use on the machine to provide longevity. I've been using filtered, but I am just wondering if it really makes a big difference haha.

The *only* reason to use distilled water is to avoid mineral buildup in the tank.

Me, I don't care, let it build up, when the reservoir gets that frosty appearance, I line the sides with a paper towel, and pour in a little vinegar. come back later, rinse it out, and it looks like new.

[Becca59]

They don't recommend tap water unless you boil it on the stove for 5 min (rolling boil). or you can put the water in a glass measuring cup & nuke it in the microwave for 2-3 min. It's about using STERILE water. That is why distilled water is recommended and filtered water is the next best choice if distilled water is not readily available. It's about your health not water spots. I used distilled water until we installed a water softener. We paid extra to also have it filtered. I now use tap water, but I still boil it in the microwave to make sure it's sterile. I knew a person who used tap water without boiling it first to clean out her sinuses. She ended up dying of a bacterial infection. As long as you don't use straight out of the sink tap water, you should be fine.

[palerider]

They don't recommend tap water unless you boil it on the stove for 5 min (rolling boil). or you can put the water in a glass measuring cup & nuke it in the microwave for 2-3 min. It's about using STERILE water.

This is absolutely, completely 100% FALSE.

Here's a published study from 2005: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16236866

Completely false

That is why distilled water is recommended and filtered water is the next best choice if distilled water is not readily available.

NO, Distilled water is recommended in the USA out of CONVENIENCE. Manuals from other countries like the UK and Europe s
simply say "use water" NOT "use distilled water' like here.

It's about your health not water spots.

Again, false.

I used distilled water until we installed a water softener. We paid extra to also have it filtered. I now use tap water, but I still boil it in the microwave to make sure it's sterile.

Boiling water for cpap is a bad idea, it concentrates the minerals and make the problem WORSE. Besides. ordinary distilled water isn't sterile.

I knew a person who used tap water without boiling it first to clean out her sinuses. She ended up dying of a bacterial infection.

That's an entirely different thing, and it's an amoeba, not bacterial.

Please stop misleading people with your 'ooooh, scary' posts.

As long as you don't use straight out of the sink tap water, you should be fine.

On the contrary, as long as the water is safe to drink it's safe to use DIRECTLY in the cpap humidifier.

[Pugsy]

They don't recommend tap water unless you boil it on the stove for 5 min (rolling boil). or you can put the water in a glass measuring cup & nuke it in the microwave for 2-3 min. It's about using STERILE water. That is why distilled water is recommended and filtered water is the next best choice if distilled water is not readily available. It's about your health not water spots. I used distilled water until we installed a water softener. We paid extra to also have it filtered. I now use tap water, but I still boil it in the microwave to make sure it's sterile. I knew a person who used tap water without boiling it first to clean out her sinuses. She ended up dying of a bacterial infection. As long as you don't use straight out of the sink tap water, you should be fine.

Just curious. Who told you all this?

Funny how manufacturer manuals for parts of the world where distilled isn't readily available they just say tap water. Nothing in the manuals from the machine manufacturers about boiling or using sterile water at all.
BTW distilled doesn't equal sterile. If you sleep better boiling your water that is fine but 99.9999999999% of the rest of the world will do just fine with tap water.

[zonker]

They don't recommend tap water unless....

who are "they"?

[palerider]

They don't recommend tap water unless....

who are "they"?

mebbe it's the cpap police... I've heard there's a 50$ fine if they bust your door down and find tap water in your reservoir.

[Sheriff Buford]

They don't recommend tap water unless....

who are "they"?

mebbe it's the cpap police... I've heard there's a 50$ fine if they bust your door down and find tap water in your reservoir.

Hey!! I'm the only police around here!! And I will take the $50!!

Sheriff

[ChicagoGranny]

Becca59

You lost all credibility with that scaremongering post.

I knew a person who used tap water without boiling it first to clean out her sinuses. She ended up dying of a bacterial infection.

You are a rare individual if you actually know someone who died this way. According to the CDC, there were only three deaths in ten years. That's among a population which is now 320 million.

Naegleria fowleri infections are rare*. In the 10 years from 2008 to 2017, 34 infections were reported in the U.S. Of those cases, 30 people were infected by recreational water, 3 people were infected after performing nasal irrigation using contaminated tap water, and 1 person was infected by contaminated tap water used on a backyard slip-n-slide.https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/naegleria/general.html

Did you really know one of these three? Or, are you just reporting a case you "heard about"?

Just curious. Who told you all this?

My money is on a typical scaremongering, clueless DME employee.

[nicholasjh1]

Hey guys,

I'm inquiring about the selection of water, I looked online and it says distilled is the best to use on the machine to provide longevity. I've been using filtered, but I am just wondering if it really makes a big difference haha.

I think it depends on how hard your water is. Mine has a ton of chlorine, and even filtered starts leaving deposits after only 1 night, so I always try to use distilled and will only use filtered as backup if I run out of distilled. otherwise I have to constantly rinse it with vinegar.

[nicholasjh1]

Also I'll back up that distilled water is in fact NOT sterile. when I use sprouts distilled water I always get this weird pink mold, so I've stopped ever using it for that reason. I use king soopers instead.

[babydinosnoreless]

They don't recommend tap water unless....

who are "they"?

mebbe it's the cpap police... I've heard there's a 50$ fine if they bust your door down and find tap water in your reservoir.

Hey!! I'm the only police around here!! And I will take the $50!!

Sheriff

Wait a second. The sheriff never collects the fines they just write the tickets. we need to appoint a fine collecter!

[palerider]

depends on how hard your water is. Mine has a ton of chlorine, and even filtered starts leaving deposits after only 1 night, so I always try to use distilled and will only use filtered as backup if I run out of distilled. otherwise I have to constantly rinse it with vinegar.

Chlorine, or more likely, chloramine, doesn't leave deposits, it evaporates. (chlorine is a gas, after all). And, vinegar would not remove it.

[palerider]

Also I'll back up that distilled water is in fact NOT sterile. when I use sprouts distilled water I always get this weird pink mold, so I've stopped ever using it for that reason. I use king soopers instead.

The pink stuff isn't any form of mold, it's an airborne bacteria: http://edenprairieweblogs.org/scottneal/post/1338/

[palerider]

They don't recommend tap water unless....

who are "they"?

mebbe it's the cpap police... I've heard there's a 50$ fine if they bust your door down and find tap water in your reservoir.

Hey!! I'm the only police around here!! And I will take the $50!!

Sheriff

Wait a second. The sheriff never collects the fines they just write the tickets. we need to appoint a fine collecter!

Maybe the mythical cpap police are different??? maybe our sheriff is on the take??? questions abound!