Humidifier Water Poll

[Sleeprider]

Its back!

Still using tap water, and never had deposits or a problem for 2-years. If you water leaves deposits, speak for yourself. Mine doesn't.

[CanadaColin]

When picking up my S9 yesterday I also sprang for the Resmed stainless washable tank. I received the free jug of distilled water which I will use. The stainless tank comes apart and can go in the dishwasher (I'll hand wash). This suits my requirements as I travel a bit and don't want to have to think about my water source when away or packing for a trip.

[BlackSpinner]

Originally I voted for distilled but that was before winter, icy side walks and a bout of pneumonia. It is a reall challenge to get those jugs home on the bus under those conditions so I have been using tap water and I deconstructed a bottle washing brush and created a wierd bent brush that gets into those aerodynamic curves the damned thing has. with vinegar, dish soap and tea tree oil I feel safe from anything.

[Kevin G.]

In areas where the water is well treated I believe tap water is fine. Remember you drink it all the time. On the other hand in locations where they do not treat the tap water, such as New York City, I would be more religious about changing the water and cleaning the machine after every use.

Vinegar is effective in dealing with the deposits in the humidifier although I would consider mineral deposits a visual issue and not a health problem.

18 years on XPAP with tap water and still alive.

[bilnap]

I was just wondering what everyone uses. ResMed only specifies "fresh clean water."

I drain and fill each day with distilled water and use a vinegar soak once a week during my mask cleaning chores.

[happysleeper]

I, too, have a home distiller, and only use distilled.

This may have already been answered, but for our daily maintenance, does any one know why the S9 Clinical Manual instructs us to:

* wash the tank daily with a mild detergent
* not wash the hose daily, just let it hang dry, and then
* wash our mask daily?

It seems odd to treat the three components each differently. Washing the mask makes sense, to preserve the plastic from skin oils and wash off germs from exhalation. Per instructions, I've been washing the tank with tap water and mild detergent, rinsing (which is a hassle getting the bubbles out) and then rinsing the tank with distilled water. I make sure that all three components are dry between uses (the s9 cool down soft air blow is great for that) which helps my confidence that germs or mold won't be growing in moist, dark places.

I'd like to not wash my tank daily, and just rinse it with distilled water, and dry in between uses. Any thoughts against that?

Happy Sleeper

[Roman Hokie]

Newbie here. I plan on using distilled water for my H5i humififier, which will have the portable / removable tank that is dishwasher safe.

Question regarding that is what is the tank / reservoir capacity? I know a lot of what I read from posts on cpaptalk.com has many of you not using the entire tank's capacity during a night. So, if the tank were full, how many ml would it hold?

Obviously, I want to make sure I have enough distilled water in the house, but at the same time, I do not want to put in too much "excess" that will need to be dumped out in the morning.

Does that make sense now that I have it typed out? I'm not sure it does, but I'm no expert.

Thank you!

[happysleeper]

Hi Roman Hokie,

My S9 H5i tank holds 2 cups at the highest fill mark. I typically use a little less than 1.5 cups during an 8 hour night. I use a non-heated hose, and this summer I am setting the humidity at 5.5. I find that the climate control 80% humidity is leaving my nose too dry. I may go back to to climate control or lower the humidity in the colder season, when rainout is more likely. Depending on what hose or humidity you use, and the ambient humidity in the air, you'll need more or less water.

Like you, I don't want to waste distilled water, but I don't want to run the machine dry at night either, as I've found that my nose and sinuses suffer if I have no humidity with my CPAP air. I try to have a little extra water left over in the tank in the morning. Hence my question about the necessity of actually washing the tank, vs just rinsing with distilled water and letting the tank try.

Cheers,

Happy Sleeper

[Roman Hokie]

Thanks, Happy Sleeper. We're going to fill it tonight to the max line. Then we'll see how many oz are left in the morning.

[happysleeper]

Hi all, I have an answer to my question about why to wash the tank daily but not wash the tube daily.

I visited my DME today; I'm trying a new mask to lessen my mouth breathing. While I was there, I asked him why the recommendation is to wash the humidifier tank daily and not wash the tubing daily. He agreed that it didn't make sense, and advised me to do what I'm now doing; use the distilled water, be sure that the tank is emptied each day, and since my S9 will blow it dry, allow that to happen. Since I use distilled water only in it, I won't need to do the weekly vinegar rinse, but if I was using tap water, he advised a weekly vinegar rinse to get the minerals out of there; smoother non-mineralized surfaces lessen the chance of germs growing.

I like when things are logical!

Happy Sleeper

[IsrvChrist]

I was just wondering what everyone uses. ResMed only specifies "fresh clean water."

I never realized that it only said "Fresh Clean Water". My DME said to use distilled water, so I thought that was factory specs. I know when watched there promotional video for the ResMed S8 - HumidAire 3i (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0E_MG-OHcQ ) it showed only using tap water. We have well water with no conditioning, totally undrinkable, leaves stains everywhere, so I wouldn't dare use it.

[sharyks]

I always use distilled water.

[TedVPAP]

I use softened tap water. As long as you don't boil all the water off, you should be able to rinse the remaining water out, and any remaining minerals. I have had no build up over two months so far.

[torontoCPAPguy]

Only the best in distilled water dahlings.
Wipe the mask with a green wipe thingy daily to get rid of the blech.
Wash the humidifier tank, hose, mask every weekend in odorless soap/water.
So far so good.
Occasionally I use a shot of Johnny Walker Red to disinfect. For some reason I sleep best on those nights. Thanks Johnny.

[chunkyfrog]

We have exceptionally hard water; so distilled water was a no-brainer! We had to toss 2 Bunn coffee-makers, a water heater, and all of our garden sprinklers because of incredible lime build-up. I don't want my tank to look like downtown Thermopolis, WY.