CPAPtalk.com

Sheriff Buford wrote:

LSAT wrote:

Biguugly wrote:Anyone out there NOT using distilled water? Not just a day or two, but for a long time. I had my water tested at my expense, and lab said It was a waste of money to distill it. Have own still, but getting annoying. Thanks Guys........and Gals.

¢

Distilled water at Kroger is 75¢ gal. A gal last me about 3 weeks. That won't break the bank.

You guys got a Kroger way up there??

Sheriff

Kroger is the second largest retailer in the US behind Walmart. Last I heard...Kroger had 3800+ stores in 35 states. (Many under different names).
https://stores.org/stores-top-retailers-2017/

We have very hard water here in Florida - lots of calcium and other minerals. However, several years ago we installed a very good softener with an excellent carbon filter bed that takes out a lot of the minute bits and pieces as well as minimizing the chlorine smell and taste. Prior to that build up of minerals were a large problem requiring a lot of remediation. Now, no problem whatsoever. Cleanup of tanks is dead simple - just rinse it out and occasionally clean it with a light baking soda scrub.

It would be nice to have softened water, with the exception of the cost , and higher sodium from the softener. With high blood pressure that's a concern. It's moot for me as I can no longer service one, when I was using my HH, Five dollars a year kept me in fresh distilled water, less than one bag of salt. Jim

Soft water here in Boston - I hardly ever use distilled water. In fact, I usually don't bother to dump the unused water - I just keep adding tap water. Maybe every few weeks I rinse and wipe. It get a little crufty after a year or so and I replace it.

From one who CAN read goofball...... I meant Goofproof, I sincerely appreciate all the responses. Nothing to go to war over, I just respect SOME of the educated opinions on here and appreciate their input. As I said, have own distiller, but at my age, it and a lot of other stuff getting annoying. Thanks again.

At my age...I am a lazy sot for sure.
I do use distilled water most of the time but I buy it at WalMart...I have no desire to distill my own and I don't have room in my kitchen or counter for another gadget taking up space.

Now sometimes I run out and forget to replenish the stock (I only buy one gallon at a time...again my house is tiny and I just don't want more stuff sitting around) or WalMart runs out....or the roads are bad or whatever...and I just use tap water.
Now I am out in the country and on a well and our water is "hard" in terms of mineral content especially the limestone stuff which seems to be mainly what I see accumulate on stuff.
I can go about 2 weeks before I start seeing the water chamber cloud up a bit from the minerals...and I don't dump the tank in the morning either..remember I am a lazy sot. I usually end up with very little water in the chamber though...I use a high humidity setting so not really much to dump anyway.

Only once have I been so lazy that I used the well water long enough to have enough mineral build up for it to be annoying...and it was easily cleaned up with just a little vinegar soak.

But I wouldn't have a problem using well water long term if I needed/wanted or had to for some reason.

Pugsy wrote:At my age...I am a lazy sot for sure.
I do use distilled water most of the time but I buy it at WalMart...I have no desire to distill my own and I don't have room in my kitchen or counter for another gadget taking up space.

Now sometimes I run out and forget to replenish the stock (I only buy one gallon at a time...again my house is tiny and I just don't want more stuff sitting around) or WalMart runs out....or the roads are bad or whatever...and I just use tap water.
Now I am out in the country and on a well and our water is "hard" in terms of mineral content especially the limestone stuff which seems to be mainly what I see accumulate on stuff.
I can go about 2 weeks before I start seeing the water chamber cloud up a bit from the minerals...and I don't dump the tank in the morning either..remember I am a lazy sot. I usually end up with very little water in the chamber though...I use a high humidity setting so not really much to dump anyway.

Only once have I been so lazy that I used the well water long enough to have enough mineral build up for it to be annoying...and it was easily cleaned up with just a little vinegar soak.

But I wouldn't have a problem using well water long term if I needed/wanted or had to for some reason.

As always,Dear, you’re a breath of fresh air! I’m going with the lab advice and see what happens. I just checked my last invoice and the water chambers only cost me $1.67 after insurance pays, so no biggie. Thanks again. BTW, your advice on bipap settings for my friends ResMed autoset were spot on. Now he has one he can leave at home and one to travel with,as he hauls mail and lives in a motel 5 days a week. We both appreciate your input.

I still buy, tap water here is over 25 grains in hardness although i do have a water softener I'm not sure what that takes it down too.
At 79 cents a gallon which last weeks its worth the convenience of having the bottle next to my nightstand rather than wondering off to the bathroom to fill the tank, yes I'm that lazy

Biguugly wrote:BTW, your advice on bipap settings for my friends ResMed autoset were spot on. Now he has one he can leave at home and one to travel with,as he hauls mail and lives in a motel 5 days a week. We both appreciate your input.

So happy to hear it was so easy and quick to get him all setup. Sometimes "close enough" works out quite well.

Biguugly wrote:From one who CAN read goofball...... I meant Goofproof, I sincerely appreciate all the responses. Nothing to go to war over, I just respect SOME of the educated opinions on here and appreciate their input. As I said, have own distiller, but at my age, it and a lot of other stuff getting annoying. Thanks again.

I can read Goof's post easily, and I find some of them amusing. I guess that says a lot about me.

Sheriff

I largely use distilled water because I happen to have a pharmacy across the street from me...but when I travel I just use bottled water. And occasionally at home when I'm feeling lazy and have run out of distilled water, I just pour water from my Brita water pitcher. I've never really had any issues with build up or residue.

The only reason you are using distilled water is to reduce mineral buildup. There are LOTS of CPAP users who do not buy distilled water either because their water simply is not hard or because they regularly put it into a bath with 1:10 vinegar and dissolve the buildup OR just buy a new one every 6 months and switch it out.

My BIL's son just uses tap water. It's not worth the time and energy for him to buy distilled water since it is not sold at the local grocery store (it's simply not important to him to go out of his way for this). He saves leftover pickle juice for a variety of things and one of them is to dissolve the buildup in his water bin.

I wouldn't really worry about it, unless your water is coming from a river or lake (i.e. camping) and then I think it seems reasonable to boil the water first before putting it into your device.

At Walmart, it's 82¢ for a US Gallon (3.78 liters). There's no Kroger near me. If you're in the U.S. you can get a price like this. If you're elsewhere, you'll need to check the local price.

BTW, when I'm outside the U.S., I generally don't use distilled water, as I'm on vacation really no in a position to find it. I just clean out the tank thoroughly upon returning (and it gets filthy).