Distilled Water for Humidifier

[Guest]

. . . Bacteria do not need minerals to live. . . .

This much is pretty much correct, but tap water does contain other things,
including "acceptable" amounts of bacteria, and trace nutrients.
We use distilled water to avoid the mineral film that is so hard to remove.
This mineral gunk forms a porous surface which is an excellent habitat for these bacteria.

The use of distilled water is, in my opinion, a must. I was simply addressing Guest's assertion that bacteria need the minerals in tap water to live, when it's actually other things in tap water (and dirty pap units) that bacteria live on.

so please do tell what those "other things" are, if you know

[palerider]

so please do tell what those "other things" are, if you know

this, coming from the same cloaked id that just implied that DMEs are a credible source of information:

so do tell us the little known dme secret why they tell patients not to use tap water then?

yo, mom's calling you, dinner's ready.

[Guest]

this, coming from the same cloaked id that just implied that DMEs are a credible source of information:

you are confused again i mean still
paprt is the dme

[palerider]

this, coming from the same cloaked id that just implied that DMEs are a credible source of information:

you are confused again i mean still
paprt is the dme

when did he get demoted, or is this only in your fevered imagination?

[chunkyfrog]

"Trace nutrients"; for cripe's sake!
Microbes can live on dust, or what we perceive as dust; for example:
Dead cells from your own body, shed all over your bedroom, floating in the air.
Yes, the critters could be eating YOU,

[palerider]

\Dead cells from your own body, shed all over your bedroom, floating in the air.
Yes, the critters could be eating YOU,

apparently, we're not lucky enough for bugs to digest "guest".

[Guest]

must be a full moon
all the lunatics are out tonite

[palerider]

must be a full moon
all the lunatics are out tonite

says their leader.

of course, like most of your 'facts' you're ... off, check the calendar, or crawl outta your basement and look.

I mean, really, could you at least provide even a tiny bit of intellectual challenge?

[Guest]

oh so the lunatics are out on this forum every nite eh? you proved my point

i guess your mom doesnt mind you living in her basement with your boyfriend eh?
does she also pay for your internet?

[palerider]

oh so the lunatics are out on this forum every nite eh? you proved my point

i guess your mom doesnt mind you living in her basement with your boyfriend eh?
does she also pay for your internet?

I keep my mom in a cardboard box in the spare room.

[Guest]

for those who have the capacity to understand this is from microbeworld dot org

"They "eat" everything from sugar and starch to sunlight, sulfur and iron."

i could be wrong but i thought "sulfur and iron" are minerals found in tap, well, drinking, and/or spring water but not in distilled water or it is NOT distilled water

[SewTired]

The spectrum for hygiene varies from those who wash a kitchen floor twice a day to those who only wash the floor when they are moving out. Same thing goes for cpap machines.

You will probably find that you need to change the distilled water and clean your tub more often in the warm months - pink slime seems to be common then. After you turn on your furnace? Generally less so. I'm fine with topping it off. However, my palm tree does much better when I dump the dregs of the humidifer into it daily than if I was watering it.

[Stormynights]

The only time I don't use distilled water is when I am away from home and then I clean my tank. The rest of the time I just do a very rare occasional rinse. I have never seen anything growing in my tank. I never clean hoses. I think unless I used distilled it would be a waste of time.

[esel]

Curious - when I was getting fitted for my new mask, the cpap guy said I should be emptying out my reservoir everyday to replenish with "fresh" distilled water. I basically fill from the previous use. I know it's inexpensive but seems a bit over the top. I clean weekly, but how much germ-warfare can occur within the water reservoir in one day. I'm not bubble-boy, and my wife laughs at how infrequently I look at dates on food...but this seems extreme to me. K

when you notice pink slime growing in the humidifier tank, you know you've gone a bit too far between cleanings.

Wauu, pink ? I only get it yellow or green...

I empty it about once every 2 weeks.

Water evaporation by heating does not carry over bacteria. But this said you may be able to spit up the tube far enough to hit the water tank and things can grow up in there.
As long as you don't share the reservoir with others over night you are rather safe.

[esel]

for those who have the capacity to understand this is from microbeworld dot org

"They "eat" everything from sugar and starch to sunlight, sulfur and iron."

i could be wrong but i thought "sulfur and iron" are minerals found in tap, well, drinking, and/or spring water but not in distilled water or it is NOT distilled water

Great Guess, go back to school .

Bacteria need some source of energy, sulfur and iron by them self will not do it.
However bacteria love to feed on other bacteria even viruses. Check out the microbiome. You have more bacteria on and in your body then human cells.