Humidifier Water - Do You Dump Remaining Each Morning?

[archangle]

Here's a little science:

humidity + heat + darkness = mildew/mold
(if not cleaned)

Think about your shower.

No, that's not science. You also need an energy source, which can be organic material in the water.

You also need available nitrogen, which can NOT be airborne nitrogen for mold or fungus, or probably for any disease organism. You can't make protein without nitrogen.

There are other nutrients that are needed.

Algae might be able to use light for their energy source, but they can't fix nitrogen, so they need a source of nitrogen.

Some forms of bacteria and maybe some other organisms can fix nitrogen, but they would need some form of food in the water.

Distilled water reduces the potential for germ growth because there is little or no food or trace nutrients (available nitrogen and other chemicals) in the water.

Your shower has lots of other contaminants such as skin cells, body oils, etc. on it. Plus the tap water in the shower spray has organic material and minerals in it.

In the CPAP humidifier and tubing, there will be SOME "germ food." The dust that gets through the filters has various germ nutrients in it in small quantities. There's some small amount of germ food even in distilled water because it's not 100.0000% pure. Some germs might be able to get some sustenance by eating the plastic, but the manufacturers try hard to no let this happen. You can also contaminate the tubing and tank yourself when cleaning or handling it. I wonder if some types of soap may be germ food when sufficiently diluted.

Distilled water makes it much harder for germs to grow, but there's still some risk.

Personally, I'm not that worried. I use distiled and wash the tank and hose every week. I wash the tank in the dishwasher, and rinse the hose with hot water. I have two tanks and several hoses. Every week, when I wash them, I put the clean parts away to sit dry for a week, and use the parts that I washed the week before. I figure that sitting dry for a week will help keep germ growth down. I also dry my freshly washed hose on an old CPAP machine that I don't use any more.

[Julie]

May I suggest that rather than worrying about a possibly imaginary 'germ' invading your already distilled water in the sealed tank at some time, you maybe switch your anxieties to world poverty, gun control and the fact that we're using up all the available clean water in the world on our lawns?

[Stevoreno_55]

May I suggest that rather than worrying about a possibly imaginary 'germ' invading your already distilled water in the sealed tank at some time, you maybe switch your anxieties to world poverty, gun control and the fact that we're using up all the available clean water in the world on our lawns?

That may be true but I have a shallow well on my property which I use to water my yard and flowerbeds; when it was drilled about 10 years ago I hit a decent although not drinkable water level at about 30 feet. The water smells horrible and contains a lot of iron; the iron is good on my yard but I don't drink it. My city water is shocked with so much chlorine; I installed a water filter under my kitchen sink years ago but I still use that water to bathe in and to wash my clothes in but I use Ozarka bottled spring water which I purchase at Walmart to make coffee and tea with and the distilled water goes into my CPAP machine's water chamber.


Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
05/12/14

[The Latinist]

After giving it some thought, I've stopped dumping out the water more than about once a week, usually when the level is unusually low. I usually just top off my tank and replace it in the unit. Since I lowered the humidity level to 2.5, I've even been able to top off my tank only every other night. I agree with those who've pointed out that there really is not anything in distilled water to promote the growth of microbes. If I've got a respiratory infection, I will probably dump the water and rinse it out; otherwise I don't see the point.

Slightly off-topic, I've also stopped hanging up my hose to dry in the morning. I think the low-pressure air the S9 blows through the hose during cool-down will probably do a better job drying it, and I've really not had any condensation issues. That may change when I install the AC, of course...

[Drowsy Dancer]

After giving it some thought, I've stopped dumping out the water more than about once a week, usually when the level is unusually low. I usually just top off my tank and replace it in the unit.

This seems to be a natural arc for many with their machines. Over time many of us have become more ... relaxed ... about our cleaning protocols.

I have become more conscientious as time goes by about washing the gray filter and changing the white filters, though.