Humidifier Water

[Chainsaw2608]

Still debating on the use of a humidifier, but if I do is it necessary to use the distilled water the mfg. recommends? I do live in a hard water area, but since I have a salt water aquarium I have a RO/DI system for water changes. I would assume RO/DI water would work as well as distilled since most a mineral content is removed. Any recommendations?

[blakepro]

Still debating on the use of a humidifier, but if I do is it necessary to use the distilled water the mfg. recommends? I do live in a hard water area, but since I have a salt water aquarium I have a RO/DI system for water changes. I would assume RO/DI water would work as well as distilled since most a mineral content is removed. Any recommendations?

Its been debated by different people. I suggest the use of distilled water if you want to get the most life out of your humidifier chamber. Otherwise you get mineral deposits and other buildup in there.

[jdm2857]

You can find a couple of opinions here.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=42773&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... water+poll

[DreamStalker]

Everyone is different and some do just fine without a humidifer.

If you decide to go for a humidifer, do use distilled water. The purpose of using distilled water is to prevent mineral deposits on the aluminum warming plate.

RO may only filter out large mineral ions, but not all of them. Some HH reservoirs are fairly inexpensive and maybe distilled is not as cost effective. All depends on what HH you go with.

I recommend the HC-150 stand alone HH

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/fisher ... ifier.html I got mine brand new in sealed box for $50 free shipping off http://www.cpapauction.com

... but what do I know?

[jabman]

I was told to use distilled water because any other water has minerals and/or bacteria in it and you don't want that getting in your lungs.
wether or not that is true I will stick with distilled water just to be safe.

[xyz]

There are two principle benefits from using distilled water.
Hard minerals aren't left anywhere in the system (humidifier, machine, hose, mask).
And organic materials aren't either.

For those who have allergies, it's necessary.

For those who don't have allergies, and don't mind a little fecal matter in their water (if you don't believe this, look up your water district's water quality standards on the internet; I'm not making this up), then it's optional.

But there's another way to look at this.
Distilled water? Not distilled water? What to choose.

Using distilled water is only a _4 cents per night_ decision.
That's the cost of a gallon of distilled water (not even the cheapest price) divided by 30 days.

It's not even worth your while to spend time thinking about it.
Just use distilled water.

And don't obsess if you're on vacation for a few days and don't have any.
Start using it again when you get home.

Clean out your humidifier once a month. Rinse well under hot water using the spray setting. Fill with regular distilled vinegar and let soak a couple of minutes. Rinse. Wash well with a mild soap, like a free and clear. And rinse very well under hot water using the spray setting.

[kempo]

Distilled water at Wally World is 98 cents a gallon. Looking at the container I have used maybe 25 % of it in 8 days. Too cheap not to use.

[Mary Z]

I use RO water my roommate brings me home from a dialysis unit. I think RO water is equal to if not superior to distilled water.

[Chainsaw2608]

You can find a couple of opinions here.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=42773&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... water+poll

I like the Grey Goose Vodka option. May need to try that

[DreamStalker]

I use RO water my roommate brings me home from a dialysis unit. I think RO water is equal to if not superior to distilled water.

Sorry to inform you that RO water is most likely not equal to and certainly not superior to distilled water.

Distilled water is pure H2O. Sure the plastic bottle may contaminate the purity if left in plastic for a prolonged period in warm to hot temperatures but "distilled" is by definition " pure water.

RO water on the other hand only removes whatever gets filtered by the RO membrane. So there will be some micro constituents other than pure water in any RO water. Perhaps those constituents are harmeless and by that you may mean that it may (though it may not) be equal to distilled water ... but certainly it is not superior to distilled water.

[megawill]

You can find a couple of opinions here.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=42773&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... water+poll

I like the Grey Goose Vodka option. May need to try that

me too...but it is a tad bit more expensive than distilled water....

[jdm2857]

You can find a couple of opinions here.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=42773&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... water+poll

I like the Grey Goose Vodka option. May need to try that

me too...but it is a tad bit more expensive than distilled water....

But sometimes you do get what you pay for.

[Dave or VA3AEQ]

First, Let me introduce myself. My name is Dave. I have been lurking on the site for a few weeks. I had my sleep clinic night a few weeks ago and I am waiting for the lab and the sleep doc to complete the data analysis.

I am a chemist and I have had the opportunity to set up 2 lab grade deionized water setups.

The distilled water you buy from Walmart is likely not truly distilled water. It is likely reverse osmosis ion exchange water produced in a local plant. Distilling water is VERY energy intensive and will be worth FAR MORE that $0.98 a gallon.

I strongly doubt that the distilled water being sold by any retailer is strictly abacterial/afungal. Once again, the cost to assure that the bottles are sterile would push the cost over $0.98 a gallon.

Here is the take home message, Distilled Water from Walmart is roughly equivalent to RO/DI water. Use the best water you can afford in your equipment. It is a big investment and you will want it to last a long time.

Dave.....

[jabman]

First, Let me introduce myself. My name is Dave. I have been lurking on the site for a few weeks. I had my sleep clinic night a few weeks ago and I am waiting for the lab and the sleep doc to complete the data analysis.

I am a chemist and I have had the opportunity to set up 2 lab grade deionized water setups.

The distilled water you buy from Walmart is likely not truly distilled water. It is likely reverse osmosis ion exchange water produced in a local plant. Distilling water is VERY energy intensive and will be worth FAR MORE that $0.98 a gallon.

I strongly doubt that the distilled water being sold by any retailer is strictly abacterial/afungal. Once again, the cost to assure that the bottles are sterile would push the cost over $0.98 a gallon.

Here is the take home message, Distilled Water from Walmart is roughly equivalent to RO/DI water. Use the best water you can afford in your equipment. It is a big investment and you will want it to last a long time.

Dave.....

So where can I get "true" distilled water?

[DreamStalker]

First, Let me introduce myself. My name is Dave. I have been lurking on the site for a few weeks. I had my sleep clinic night a few weeks ago and I am waiting for the lab and the sleep doc to complete the data analysis.

I am a chemist and I have had the opportunity to set up 2 lab grade deionized water setups.

The distilled water you buy from Walmart is likely not truly distilled water. It is likely reverse osmosis ion exchange water produced in a local plant. Distilling water is VERY energy intensive and will be worth FAR MORE that $0.98 a gallon.

I strongly doubt that the distilled water being sold by any retailer is strictly abacterial/afungal. Once again, the cost to assure that the bottles are sterile would push the cost over $0.98 a gallon.

Here is the take home message, Distilled Water from Walmart is roughly equivalent to RO/DI water. Use the best water you can afford in your equipment. It is a big investment and you will want it to last a long time.

Dave.....

Well then I suspect there is a lawsuit waiting for WalMart. They should be labling that water as "pruified" in order to sell RO/ion exchange (which is also different than DI water) as distilled at least before it goes into the plastic.

I agree that container sterility and any subsequent offgassing of the plastic may render the distilled water somewhat contaminated. However, I doubt that it will have any ions.

RO and ion exchange will very likely have some type of ions that can end up as scale.

I don't have any numbers but I suspect the DI (deionization) may be just as energy intensive as distilled.

In any case, there is a difference between purified water and distilled water and drinking water and RO water ... at least from a water chemistry perspective.

I'm not a chemist, but I do know my water.

What I did not know is that WalMart is flimflamming it's customers ... whooda thunk it?