Using and type of water in the humidifier

[MiggsEye]

When I picked up my unit the consultant at Apria told me that I should use distilled water, but can also boil tap water and use that as well if I don't have distilled. Is that true? Boiling removes all of the minerals, etc. from water?

Also how do you all manage the humidifier when you travel and may not have ready access to distilled water or a place to boil water?

[NightMonkey]

The reason to use distilled water is to prevent buildup of minerals in the humidifier tank. Alternately, you can use any potable water.

The mineral buildup is mostly a cosmetic issue and if you don't like it you can clean it out with vinegar solution.

Boiling is total nonsense. The minerals will not "boil away". If you use potable tap water there is no bacteria in it, so no reason to boil it. The Apria employee is very poorly informed.

[NightMonkey]

Let me add this>

Most of us use distilled water at home. You can use tap water when you travel and unless you are gone six months a year, the amount of mineral scale buildup will be very small.

When I am traveling, I will usually buy a bottle of drinking water in the hotel for the humidifier. This is because I do not like the chlorine odor in some tap waters.

The bottled water will have minerals in it, but if you use it for a few weeks or less per year the mineral buildup is very slight and can be cleaned out or just left there.

[Bert_Mathews]

The boiling just removes the Chlorine smell!

Bert

[TalonNYC]

It's possible the Apria employee meant you could use a home distilling device, which boils the water, then collects and condenses the steam. THAT would create something close to pure distilled water, but it's a lot more than just bringing a pot of H2O to a boil =)

If you search Amazon.com you can find home distillers. For me, I find it easier to just grab jugs of pre-distilled water from the drugstore.

As others have said, the idea is to keep minerals from building up in the humidifier tub. Boiled water still contains all the minerals, so that doesn't help, but it won't specifically destroy the unit either. You'll just have to descale it (use vinegar during cleaning, a search of the forum will yield instructions) more often.

[NightMonkey]

It's possible the Apria employee meant you could use a home distilling device,

You are being very kind. I know Apria and their employees do not even know what distilled means.

[TalonNYC]

You are being very kind. I know Apria and their employees do not even know what distilled means.

Yeah, I use them too, and you're right. I'm just a nice guy =)

[robysue]

There is one mineral that boiling will typically remove from tap water: Calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is more readily dissolved in cold water than in hot. That's why you get the mineral buildup in coffee pots and tea kettles and heated humidifiers: The calcium carbonate precipitates out as the water gets hot. It's also why vinegar will work to remove the build up---if it's not too much: Calcium carbonate (as a weak base) is readily dissolved in any acid.

So using water that you boil and then immediately pour out of the tea kettle you used to boil it in should in theory have less calcium carbonate than the tap water originally did. And hence keep the humidifier "cleaner" in the sense of mineral buildup.

My own reason for using distilled water is the chlorine smell: I don't want to be breathing even the smallest, tiniest, most residual bit of chlorine if I don't have to. When traveling, I use bottled water.

[DennisG]

Boiling tap water is not necessary and will make very little difference in humidifier performance. The mineral content in tap water can vary significantly based on the source, surface water sources tend to have less mineral content compared to well sources. You can usually notice a taste with high mineral content water.

Tap water usually also contains chloramine as a disinfectant used by most water treatment facilities. Chloramine is now used instead of chlorine for secondary disinfection because it does not dissipate as quickly and provides better long term performance. It can result in a noticeable odor for longer periods of time. Boiling for a short time would remove this odor. It will also dissipate if you leave the water in an open container for several hours.

I would recommend not using tap water on a regular basis at home as all tap water contains minerals that will build up with time in your humidifier. It is fine to use tap water for short periods of time such as when traveling. I would recommend emptying and rinsing out the humidifier every morning when using anything other than distilled water in your machine.

I use bottled water when traveling since it is usually easy to get, does not have chloramine or other odor issues, and to keep from having taste issues, the mineral levels are kept relatively low.

Good luck
Dennis

[mstevens]

When I travel, I just buy cheap bottled drinking water to use in my humidifier.

At home, I use tap. In my case, I know the mineral content of my water (very low) and how many bacterial and fungal contaminants it contains (practically none). By the time it gets through my house's water-treatment system, it has no chlorine.

Even if my water were packed with minerals, as long as the reservoir never dries out in use it's not going to build up a mineral deposit. There's always at least a little water that I pour out before refilling. I don't do this if I'm using bottled water.

I don't use tap water away from home since it usually smells funny to me and disturbs my sleep. Otherwise, I don't worry nearly as much about water as the typical DME seems to.

[chunkyfrog]

We just used the distiller last night, hooked up to the Kill-a Watt:
Turns out our distilled water costs about 27cents a gallon during the summer (at 9.7 cents per KWH), and about half that the rest of the time.
Of course, we got our distiller for next to nothing. DIY could be expensive if you bought new.

[greg-g]

I've been using tap water for the past 9 months and have had virtually no mineral build up.
Our tap water is very good quality with a very low mineral content, but I do boil to remove the chlorine and reduce any possible bugs.
I never let the tank run dry, top it up every second day, and wash it after every litre of water.
I really can't see any negatives in doing this, especially as distilled water isn't easily available.

[bayourest]

I traveled once with my CPAP and it was only a few days after I got it. I just picked up a bottle of distilled water in a cvs that was located nearby. I attended an AWAKE meeting last night and folks were saying If you are staying in a hotel or taking a cruise you can call in advance and ask for distilled water in your room. That could be a solution for some. I have also heard of people packing a plastic soda bottle or 2 (16 oz size) filled with dH2O in their suitcase...so there are lots of options depending on where you're going and for how long etc.

[MiggsEye]

Where does one buy distilled water? I can't find it in Stop & Shop. Only purified, filtered, spring waters.

[Wulfman...]

Where does one buy distilled water? I can't find it in Stop & Shop. Only purified, filtered, spring waters.

Is there a Wal-Mart in your area? Grocery stores usually have it. It's usually about 80-some cents a gallon at Wally World.


Den