Obsession with distilled water

[MMCGOWAN]

What is the obsession with distilled water for humidifiers warm and cold

I have been using bottled or ro water since 1994

even resorted to running tap water through the hotel room coffee pot to get rid of the chlorine.

What magic am I missing ????

[jules]

Most ppl use distilled to minimize mineral deposits and slime growth in the humidifier tank. RO will solve a lot of that for you however coffee pot water won't do anything on solving these.

Of course, some of us ignore the whole issue and refuse to put water in the humidifier.

[MMCGOWAN]

if they get slime can i guess it does not get cleaned out each morning ??

[Guest]

if they get slime can i guess it does not get cleaned out each morning ??

Now you know what you are missing, time each morning. Something you can never get back.

[rested gal]

If "they" (I'm one of them) use only distilled water, the water chamber itself and the water in it can stay crystal clear and not need "cleaning" for weeks and months at a time. I rarely dump the unused distilled water out. I just add more distilled as needed.

[MMCGOWAN]

now I see.
As I travel 13 -15 days a month dumping water to catch another plane check out of a hotel etc... has just become common place

when I retire I will have to get some distilled water

[Guest]

When you retire you'll have time to clean it, so why bother?

[DreamStalker]

If "they" (I'm one of them) use only distilled water, the water chamber itself and the water in it can stay crystal clear and not need "cleaning" for weeks and months at a time. I rarely dump the unused distilled water out. I just add more distilled as needed.

or years at a time as in my case

[rested gal]

or years at a time as in my case

Well, yeah...that too!

Viva distilled water!

[jnk]

" . . . there's no other choice. God willing, we will prevail, in peace and freedom from fear, and in true health, through the purity and essence of our natural fluids."--General Jack D. Ripper, as quoted by General "Buck" Turgidson, in the war room.

I clean out the tank every morning and have been a bit O/C about using RO or distilled. But this series of posts has convinced me to try to lighten up. Thanks.

jeff

[Wulfman]

From Page 5 of my humidifier user's manual: Distilled water is recommended.

It's relatively cheap and it's purity is better than other alternatives.

Den (also in the group that just keeps adding water and eventually dumps the remainder and rinses before refilling)

[OutaSync]

By the time I got my Auto, I knew better than to take the humidifier apart or introduce any bacteria by cleaning it. For nearly a year I have been topping it off, occassionally filling up my iron with any leftovers. My humdifier is sparkling clean and I have had no leaking or problems with it. Thank you Rested Gal, Wulfman and others who had posted this early in my game. You have saved me hours of washing!

Bev

[Sergeant Bob]

I probably clean mine once a year, using RO water. Even then it's not really dirty at all but, I guess it's kind of like taking a bath every Saturday night, whether you need it or not.

[ColoradoDreamer]

The magic for me is the lack of minerals. If I consistently use the hard water from my tap I will end up with mineral deposits in the humidifier. If there has to be a plus side to mineral buildup, it would have to be that it will seal any humidifier gasket leaks.

One will get interesting things growing in their humidifier if not cleaned periodically even with distilled water. The air is filled with interesting critters that will eventually end up in the humidifier and grow. I experienced it first hand with using distilled water and not cleaning it out periodically.

I try to dump the humidifier in the hot soapy water once a month with the mask and reusable filter. I don't open it up (if the seal still works why tempt it leaking by opening it to clean).

RO, tap, bottled, distilled, pure waters are fine to use...but the magic for me is mineral free!

[rejoicem56]

Well now I see from reading these posts that I don't have to clean my humidifer every day. But what do you all mean about cleaning the inside of humidifer ? And Bev do you live near the cold harbor battlefields? Melinda