tap water in humidifier

[Bons]

My daughter is moving to the middle of nowhere, AK. As in all food and supplies have to be flown in, which makes using distilled water pretty expensive, and since there is no recycling she doesn't want to accumulate a ton of plastic jugs.

Is it really all that awful to use tap water, or should we try to figure out how to come up with a distiller for her?

[Randyp1234]

Prepare for a heated, multi-page discussion here.

This has been asked a lot and although you'll find some people that think if your water tank comes with half a block of tap water you're going to die I think the general consensus is that the only major advantage of distilled over tap water is the lack of mineral buildup.

[Pugsy]

Using distilled water greatly reduces the chance of having in mineral build up so less cleaning.
Depending on the mineral content of the water that is used and how much someone worries about the "look" of the tank it might involve a few cleanings with vinegar (which will dissolve the mineral build up) that is about all there is to worry about.
Otherwise there really isn't any big deal with using tap water I don't think but some people get all freaked out about it.

If I was going to use tap water I would dump the tank each day and start with fresh water at night. Limit the water just sitting in the tank with any minerals in it and have a supply of vinegar on hand for when the tank got rather ugly looking.

It is really more of a visual thing than a medically necessary thing.

Heck up in Alaska she might have some really good tap water with minimal excess mineral content and it may be almost a non issue.

[tigrpal]

If you use tap water, all the water that goes to you nose is distilled by the process of evaporation. The minerals stay in the tank.

[Bons]

Heck up in Alaska she might have some really good tap water with minimal excess mineral content and it may be almost a non issue.

The water system is a pump, so the natural mineral count is probably high. We're talking isolated village with airplane being the only means of getting in and out, except for dog sled half of the year.

Hubby and I use distilled water all the time, but she will manage without. I've heard that denture cleaners do a good job of getting mineral deposits off the humidifier sides.

[Gerald]

If it's good enough to drink, it's good enough for your humidifier. Pugsy is correct.....swish, dump, and rinse each time you refill the reservoir....and you'll have no problems.

Gerald

[Pugsy]

Never know about the water supply up there in the boonies. I thought I had hard water here in Missouri with a high mineral content until I lived in Las Vegas a while...OMG horribly high mineral content.

Vinegar makes an excellent agent for dissolving any mineral scale build up on the inside of the plastic tank.
I have also heard that the polident denture cleaners works well also. I have never used it but I did have an occasion to use vinegar.

I like living out in the boonies myself...don't know if I would want to go that far though. Sounds like quite an adventure. I wouldn't worry about using tap water at all. The tanks will clean up if needed and there is no real medical need to use distilled and if need be...can always get another tank.

[2 B Sleeping Soundly]

As I have said in at least one other thread about this topic, I feel that the quality of your tap water and the chemicals that they use to make it 'potable' (usable) can be a determining factor as well. Where I live the tap water has the strong smell of chlorinated pool or spa water and has the added benefit of fluoride being in it as well . My decision to use distilled water has nothing to do with what my tap water would do to my humidifier chamber, to me that is secondary. For me it is all about what breathing in all of the chlorine and fluoride in my tap water every night will do for my lungs. Last time I checked, chlorine and fluoride were not missing nutrients the body needs for good lung health and function . To me, residual tap water chemicals matter in this equation substantially more than mineral content.

John

[user from Singapore]

My daughter is moving to the middle of nowhere, AK. As in all food and supplies have to be flown in, which makes using distilled water pretty expensive, and since there is no recycling she doesn't want to accumulate a ton of plastic jugs.

Is it really all that awful to use tap water, or should we try to figure out how to come up with a distiller for her?

Just a suggestion... check this
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Distilled-Water

[Matty332]

If you use tap water FTLOG boil it first and let it cool in a sealed container before using it.

[Burkebang]

If they have a clothes dryer that is a condenser dryer, the water from those machines are condensed/destilled. On most european machines, the buildt in tank can be bypassed with a hose, that way the water can be gathered in clean cans.

[IndyDave]

There are some home distiller machines available for around $100-150. I don't know how good they are, but check Amazon and read reviews.

[msla]

Try a home under the sink reverse osmosis system. They are available for $250 and up. They remove most all of the minerals. The filters can be replaced. It will greatly reduce the amount of cleaning needed on the tank. If the tap water has an off flavor, RO water would be good in the coffee maker too.

[nanwilson]

I lived in a fly in only community up north (150 miles north of the acrtic circle ) for 3 1/2 years. Our water was from wells and was sure alot cleaner than down south. Sure the mineral content might be high but they do not use chlorine or flouride. I didn't use a cpap then, but I always cleaned my coffee maker and kettle with vinegar every so often as we did have ahigh mineral content. The water tasted wonderful and was as clear as you can get. I would not hesitate to use it and clean my humidifier with vinegar regularly.
Bons, tell your daughter good luck and she will just love it up there, it is so pristine and if you are the type of person that can make your own "fun"...she will love it. We had no tv, just radio (sometimes) but we really enjoyed the experience, we played lots of outdoor sports, organized tons of card parties and had a ball. My son, still talks about the dog sled trips he made with an eskimo family.

[VikingGnome]

Are you kidding me? Here in Mississippi we get "boil water" notices all the time. It means that the tap water has too much bacteria in it to meet government standards. So you can't drink it without boiling it for a few minutes to kill whatever is lurking in it. I wouldn't think of putting that kind of tap water in my humidifier and know I was breathing documented bacteria all night. Yikes.