Distilled Water for Humidifier

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

krl wrote: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.

I "top off' the tank for 5-6 nights and then dump whatever's left, then, clean with (gasp) a very dilute solution of sodium hypochlorite and water and allow it to thoroughly dry for 5-6 days while the alternate tank does service. I can and do go a little longer between changes in the cold weather/heating season. Works for me, YMMV though. FWIW....some member (who shall go unnamed) actually stated that the heater in the humidifier would kill any bacteria that might grow in there ! Last I checked....these devices DO NOT produce steam generating temps. Might produce a great facial if they actually did, though............ Good luck.

I think the distilled water I buy costs a whopping $0.86/gallon. Regardless, it wouldn't break the bank or be a huge hardship if I had to completely change the water daily. Still waaaaay cheaper than a daily cup of Starbucks swill.

You'll do just fine topping off the distilled water. The suppliers are trained to say that in case anything should happen they can say you didn't follow directions. Those who don't want to top off learn to add just enuff to get thru the nite.

The pink slime mentioned normally results from using tap water which contains minerals that bacteria need to live and distilled doesn't contain. So I don't even rinse with tap or leave the chamber to dry > why bother?

Search this forum for many thousands of discussions on this very topic. Now you have your own.

I try to rinse it out every night but sometimes I forget and go a few days using the same water. I haven't noticed any issues from it. I usually don't even need more water since I set my humidity at level 3. Sometimes I just fill it up with just enough water and rinse it out every night.

Guest wrote:You'll do just fine topping off the distilled water. The suppliers are trained to say that in case anything should happen they can say you didn't follow directions. Those who don't want to top off learn to add just enuff to get thru the nite.

The pink slime mentioned normally results from using tap water which contains minerals that bacteria need to live and distilled doesn't contain. So I don't even rinse with tap or leave the chamber to dry > why bother?

Search this forum for many thousands of discussions on this very topic. Now you have your own.

Bacteria do not need minerals to live. They don't consume minerals but their acidic secretions do dissolve minerals.
Any slime accumulation is due to improper cleaning, not the use of non-distilled water.

paprt wrote: . . . 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.

As long as you rinse the tank every day and only fill it at night you wont have any problems. I've been using a humidifier since 2006 and only use the water from my dug well which is right in the aquifer and never had a mineral buildup...even though it corrodes my copper pipes like crazy.

And truth be known, all I ever do is occasionally rinse out my tank, never experienced any accumulation of any kind, mineral or otherwise. I empty the tank on my PRS1 every night through use so water never sits in it.

OK.....I have been using my current machine for 30 months. In that time I have used distilled water exclusively and have only "rinsed" my tank about 6-8 times during that time. My original tank is crystal clear...it gets topped off every 2 nights. Still using original hose which has never been cleaned.

i only use distilled water and i've never rinsed out or cleaned the tank, i always just top it off. still alive.

paprt wrote: Bacteria do not need minerals to live. They don't consume minerals but their acidic secretion do dissolve minerals.
Any slime accumulation is due to improper cleaning, not the use of non-distilled water.

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

chunkyfrog wrote:

paprt wrote: . . . 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.
A pap user who faithfully uses distilled water in his/her humidifier can still get water deposits in it due to washing with tap water. An occasional soak in a vinegar/water solution should help with that. Keep in mind that if a home has hard water, water deposits are more likely to be a problem if you rinse/wash your chamber with tap water.

Our tap water is so hard, I have to rinse my nasal pillows with distilled water.
Otherwise, there is a chalky film on them when they dry.
When we replaced a toilet, the inside of the tank looked like a limestone cave.

They tell you to use distilled water to prevent mineral build up.

I used Montreal city tap water for 3 years and washed the tank weekly with a vinegar solution. I started out with distilled but then February happened and I wasn't dragging a gallon of water across icy sidewalks. My grocery store delivered but didn't carry distilled water. I switched back to distilled water when I moved because the water here stinks and now I have a car.