Humidifier and water quality.

zan wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 27, 2019 11:59 am

Another dumb question: ]does a CPAP's humidifier work at all like a mini distiller? I bet not since it probably doesn't get hot enough, but I'm still curious. Edit: Cursory reading on distillation answered my question for me -- no. :p

Not sure what you're cursorily reading, but the answer is *yes*. The heated humidifier in the cpap heats water, increasing it's evaporation rate, which is the exact first step in distillation... the second step, of course, is condensing it back, in a 'still'.

So, effectively, even if you fill your tank with tap water, when you get rainout and your hose fills up... it's full of distilled water.

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 27, 2019 2:41 pm

I am thinking maybe some sort of chemical reaction happened....but if it did...sure makes a body wonder about the chemicals in the water.
Glad you or your equipment don't seem any worse for the experience.
This is right up there with the creepy crawly thread for gross factor. You get an award for that.

Looks like pee, or apple cider vinegar, to me

palerider wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 27, 2019 4:34 pm

Biomed_ZZZ wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 27, 2019 11:56 am

I mostly drink Poland Spring or Nestles bottled water when I do drink bottled water and remember buying Nestle water in Florida and the taste was much different ... who knows what else was different.

Nestle is an amoral company, taking advantage of poor areas ahd sucking them dry so that they can sell their bottled water... I avoid them whenever possible.

Biomed_ZZZ wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 27, 2019 11:56 am

I also think air quality plays a role in what bacteria, if any, enters a machine. Since HEPA filters are not being used as filters I would think some contaminants would enter and fall into the water as well. I know some people use hypoallergenic filters but what doe that exactly mean to the filter manufacturers.

hypo filters don't filter bacteria. they're going for much larger pollen.

Biomed_ZZZ wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 27, 2019 11:56 am

. I'm sure it is already cleaned but I would dump it, clean it and disinfect with vinegar for piece of mind. I may also disinfect the rest of the airway items "just in case".

Whatever floats your boat.

IMO most big corporations are amoral, money is the only thing that matters. I don't use Exxon or Mobile gasoline because of the Valdez accident in Alaska but plenty of people do. I would venture to say almost anything bought today unless sourced and sold locally are not done for the greater good of anyone. There are some corporations that are socially conscious but they are few and far. Even Whole Foods got in trouble with some of the garbage they were selling.

As far as a filter, my point was without any hard evidence I wouldn't believe that any filter is better than any other. Knowing the microns of a filter is the only way to know what it potentially can filter.

After looking at that water and the fact it was sitting in the machine for how long? Yep disinfecting it would float my boat ... getting a few cups of vinegar and letting all the components sit in the water soaking for a while after a compete washing down wouldn't be a big deal, rinsing it all off a couple of minutes. Having piece of mind is worth an extra 5 minutes of work. If nothing was growing, no harm done, if something was growing maybe it is now killed and there's nothing wrong with being a little proactive due to a situation.

Biomed_ZZZ wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 27, 2019 7:31 pm

Having piece of mind is worth an extra 5 minutes of work.

Well, as long as you *feel* good about it

If that color was the result of bottled water--don't buy it again.
"Mineral" water is not necessarily better than any other water--they just charge more for it.

palerider wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 27, 2019 8:54 pm

Biomed_ZZZ wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 27, 2019 7:31 pm

Having piece of mind is worth an extra 5 minutes of work.

Well, as long as you *feel* good about it

Considering 1000's of Americans "feel" the need for alarm systems on their homes and "need" a gun to protect them from the nasties out there... A few ounces of vinegar and a little extra time is small price for "feeling" safe. I've never needed either that I mentioned above in the 60 years I've been on this earth as I'm sure you haven't needed to disinfect your PAP equipment as long as you've been using it! Different views same results.

Biomed_ZZZ wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 28, 2019 5:51 am

palerider wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 27, 2019 8:54 pm

Biomed_ZZZ wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 27, 2019 7:31 pm

Having piece of mind is worth an extra 5 minutes of work.

Well, as long as you *feel* good about it

Considering 1000's of Americans "feel" the need for alarm systems on their homes and "need" a gun to protect them from the nasties out there... A few ounces of vinegar and a little extra time is small price for "feeling" safe. I've never needed either that I mentioned above in the 60 years I've been on this earth as I'm sure you haven't needed to disinfect your PAP equipment as long as you've been using it! Different views same results.

The only time I 'disinfected' my PAP equipment was when a friend gave me my first machine, with a hose and mask, that he'd bought off craigslist and said "here, use this", so I downloaded a copy of the manual, and did what the manufacturer recommended. (it wasn't 'soak in vinegar')

Since then, (10 years ago) I haven't felt the need to 'disinfect' anything.

"feeling good" about something doesn't mean it's necessary, or effective.

But, as I said, as long as you 'feel good' about it...

no, go cook a turkey/ham/vegetable of your choice.

You can feel good, AND full.

Biomed_ZZZ wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 28, 2019 5:51 am

Considering 1000's of Americans "feel" the need for alarm systems on their homes and "need" a gun to protect them from the nasties out there... A few ounces of vinegar and a little extra time is small price for "feeling" safe. I've never needed either that I mentioned above in the 60 years I've been on this earth as I'm sure you haven't needed to disinfect your PAP equipment as long as you've been using it! Different views same results.

Having a little trouble understanding relevance of pointing out 1000's of Americans "feel" the need for alarm systems on their homes and "need" a gun to protect them from the nasties, as a justification for disinfecting one's own medical equipment.

I do see the and emojies, a joke perhaps. uhhhhhhh, good one?

Dog Slobber wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 28, 2019 11:49 am

Biomed_ZZZ wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 28, 2019 5:51 am

Considering 1000's of Americans "feel" the need for alarm systems on their homes and "need" a gun to protect them from the nasties out there... A few ounces of vinegar and a little extra time is small price for "feeling" safe. I've never needed either that I mentioned above in the 60 years I've been on this earth as I'm sure you haven't needed to disinfect your PAP equipment as long as you've been using it! Different views same results.

Having a little trouble understanding relevance of pointing out 1000's of Americans "feel" the need for alarm systems on their homes and "need" a gun to protect them from the nasties, as a justification for disinfecting one's own medical equipment.

I do see the and emojies, a joke perhaps. uhhhhhhh, good one?

It's a 1/2 joke. Palerider answered my post with whatever floats my boat and as long as I "feel" better about doing it and I interpreted it at the time that it is useless and unneeded to do. I think later Palerider confirmed that I interpreted it correctly. My response is that people alarm their houses and buy guns to "feel" safe when they don't really need to and it is useless and unneeded. Both me disinfecting the setup after seeing the water and people alarming their homes or buying guns for protection can be viewed by anyone as being useless and unneeded.

I hope this explains what I said.

Biomed_ZZZ wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 29, 2019 8:16 am

Dog Slobber wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 28, 2019 11:49 am

Biomed_ZZZ wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 28, 2019 5:51 am

Considering 1000's of Americans "feel" the need for alarm systems on their homes and "need" a gun to protect them from the nasties out there... A few ounces of vinegar and a little extra time is small price for "feeling" safe. I've never needed either that I mentioned above in the 60 years I've been on this earth as I'm sure you haven't needed to disinfect your PAP equipment as long as you've been using it! Different views same results.

Having a little trouble understanding relevance of pointing out 1000's of Americans "feel" the need for alarm systems on their homes and "need" a gun to protect them from the nasties, as a justification for disinfecting one's own medical equipment.

I do see the and emojies, a joke perhaps. uhhhhhhh, good one?

It's a 1/2 joke. Palerider answered my post with whatever floats my boat and as long as I "feel" better about doing it and I interpreted it at the time that it is useless and unneeded to do. I think later Palerider confirmed that I interpreted it correctly. My response is that people alarm their houses and buy guns to "feel" safe when they don't really need to and it is useless and unneeded. Both me disinfecting the setup after seeing the water and people alarming their homes or buying guns for protection can be viewed by anyone as being useless and unneeded.

I hope this explains what I said.

Looks like you could use some help:
You're welcome.

JPB

Geez....give it a break.

Float your boat means "if it makes you happy I don't really care what you do or don't do".
There is no cpap law that says what makes you or me or someone else happy must be loved or endorsed by everyone else.
And it is perfectly okay to have differing opinions on EVERYTHING. It's expected. Who cares...
It's not worth taking up band width on the forum going back and forum trying to get the last word in.

Lots of people do lots of stuff that I think is needless extra work. I figure it's their life and their work load and not my place to tell them what to do based on my own personal opinions on the matter....so they get a "whatever floats your boat" response.

Get over it an move on and back on topic or STFU please.

I only use distilled water. That said do I need to empty what is left and refill each night?

TCB wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 30, 2019 7:02 am

I only use distilled water. That said do I need to empty what is left and refill each night?

IMHO - No.

When I used to use distilled, I never did. I always topped it up

Using distilled water is a cleaning convenance, not for medical reasons.

When one routinely evaporates water, the remaining water will leave mineralization. With distilled water, there is no minerals to leave behind. That said, every once in a while, whatever your comfort level is, dump it , rinse and star over again.