Humidifier and water quality.

[Shnorky]

Hey everyone!

It's a topic which crops up every now and then. Whether to use distilled water in the humidifier or if tap water/mineral water is also good.
I went to Estonia for a few days, where it was impossible to find any distilled water. So I bought a bottle of still local mineral water. This is the result, after 4 nights of "reducing" the water and filling it up without cleaning (usually the tank was dry by the morning, I didn't really check it)

IMG_20191127_121324.jpg (440.7 KiB) Viewed 1272 times

[Pugsy]

Yuck...that's in the bottled drinking water? EWWWW,

[Shnorky]

Yuck...that's in the bottled drinking water? EWWWW,

big EWW.
breathed that at high pressure all night long.
it looks like swamp water or some kind of sewage.

[D.H.]

If you can't get distilled water, second choice is purified water. If you can't get that either, use any potable water (except flavored, colored, or carbonated).

If you normally use distilled water, but can't due to travel, dump the water every morning, and clean the tank with vinegar when you get home.

[zan]

Probably a dumb question: would boiling the water be of any use or does water like this need more rigorous purification?

[Pugsy]

Probably a dumb question: would boiling the water be of any use or does water like this need more rigorous purification?

Boiling wouldn't really help.
The main reason for distilled water use is to limit mineral content build up inside the water chamber. It's not for germ killing or prevention.
If you boil the tap water all you do is increase the concentration of minerals left in the water and build up with happen faster.

Now as for the OP in this thread...he's in an area of the world where the water quality is obviously seriously lacking. Mineral deposits are probably the least of his worries. Breathing it wouldn't be nearly as worrisome to me as drinking it.

[Biomed_ZZZ]

I think bottled water quality is questioned even in the US. I remember about 5 years ago (maybe longer) there were reports on the NY/Philly TV stations about bottled water quality. I would think that different countries may have different requirements for bottled water than the US does. I mostly drink Poland Spring or Nestles bottled water when I do drink bottled water and remember buying Nestle water in Florida and the taste was much different ... who knows what else was different.

I also think air quality plays a role in what bacteria, if any, enters a machine. Since HEPA filters are not being used as filters I would think some contaminants would enter and fall into the water as well. I know some people use hypoallergenic filters but what doe that exactly mean to the filter manufacturers.

I guess if the water looked clear, didn't smell funny, again Florida water to a New Yorker is much different in taste and smell, and is potable as was said then it's safe to assume it is OK to use. I'm sure it is already cleaned but I would dump it, clean it and disinfect with vinegar for piece of mind. I may also disinfect the rest of the airway items "just in case".

[zan]

Probably a dumb question: would boiling the water be of any use or does water like this need more rigorous purification?

Boiling wouldn't really help.
The main reason for distilled water use is to limit mineral content build up inside the water chamber. It's not for germ killing or prevention.
If you boil the tap water all you do is increase the concentration of minerals left in the water and build up with happen faster.

Wait, so the cloudiness in OP's water is from minerals ..?? Whatever it is, that's pretty nasty.
Another dumb question: does a CPAP's humidifier work at all like a mini distiller? I bet not since it probably doesn't get hot enough, but I'm still curious. Edit: Cursory reading on distillation answered my question for me -- no. :p

Shnorky, did you wash your hose out at all during that time? Did it turn the same color?

[Pugsy]

Wait, so the cloudiness in OP's water is from minerals ..?? Whatever it is, that's pretty nasty.

We have no idea what was in the OP's water but it's not normally what we encounter here in the US.
The most usual culprit here in the US is limestone or calcium in the water. That white stuff. You know the stuff that will kill coffee makers if you don't clean it out every so often.

Red/brown water....who knows but a lot of rust or iron will do that. Not normally what we see here in the US and certainly not in any bottled water. That's what we might see in water from really old rusty pipes.
You get into other areas of the world....there's just no telling what is in the water or where it came from even if the water is sold as bottled water. I would assume it looked normal in the bottle but something caused some sort of chemical reaction most likely. What that might be I don't know.

But for you in the US....the main potential issue might be that white stuff building up on the water chamber. It all depends on how hard the local tap water is. Even if you do get a little build up...a little vinegar or lemon juice will clean it right up.

[Shnorky]

Yes, the water in the bottle was crystal clear. not sure at all what happened. not sure I want to know, either

And I now cleaned everything, back home, with vinegar and soap. The hose did not seem to have any such color, neither did the mask.

But, at least to me, it was eye-opening that what can look clean and clear and "commercial safety grade" to the eye... might not be so.

[Pugsy]

I am thinking maybe some sort of chemical reaction happened....but if it did...sure makes a body wonder about the chemicals in the water.
Glad you or your equipment don't seem any worse for the experience.
This is right up there with the creepy crawly thread for gross factor. You get an award for that.

[palerider]

Yuck...that's in the bottled drinking water? EWWWW,

big EWW.
breathed that at high pressure all night long.
it looks like swamp water or some kind of sewage.

Well... no, you breathed the *vapor* off of that all night long, if you'd breathed *that*, then it would have still been clear and not concentrating whatever was in the water.

But, that does highlight that if you're using tap/bottled water, rinse out the tank every day.

[palerider]

Probably a dumb question: would boiling the water be of any use or does water like this need more rigorous purification?

boiling would further concentrate the minerals in the water. so boiling actually makes things worse.

The reason you boil drinking water is to kill some of the bugs that might be in it... but when you use the humidifier in your cpap, all that comes off is water vapor, which can't carry any bacteria or minerals in the water... so boiling actually does nothing beneficial.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3716664/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16236866

[palerider]

Breathing it wouldn't be nearly as worrisome to me as drinking it.

*exactly*... you're breathing pretty pure water *vapor*... now, when you SHOWER with whatever's coming out of the tap... you're actually breathing in water droplets, with whatever minerals, and or bugs happen to be in the water....

Nobody thinks about THAT.

[palerider]

I mostly drink Poland Spring or Nestles bottled water when I do drink bottled water and remember buying Nestle water in Florida and the taste was much different ... who knows what else was different.

Nestle is an amoral company, taking advantage of poor areas ahd sucking them dry so that they can sell their bottled water... I avoid them whenever possible.

I also think air quality plays a role in what bacteria, if any, enters a machine. Since HEPA filters are not being used as filters I would think some contaminants would enter and fall into the water as well. I know some people use hypoallergenic filters but what doe that exactly mean to the filter manufacturers.

hypo filters don't filter bacteria. they're going for much larger pollen.

. I'm sure it is already cleaned but I would dump it, clean it and disinfect with vinegar for piece of mind. I may also disinfect the rest of the airway items "just in case".

Whatever floats your boat.