Obsession with distilled water

OutaSync wrote:By the time I got my Auto, I knew better than to take the humidifier apart or introduce any bacteria by cleaning it. For nearly a year I have been topping it off, occassionally filling up my iron with any leftovers. My humdifier is sparkling clean and I have had no leaking or problems with it. Thank you Rested Gal, Wulfman and others who had posted this early in my game. You have saved me hours of washing!

Bev

WHATS an iron??

And WHAT is RO?? LOL

You know, I don't consider it "obsession", I call it just plain smart to use distilled water. When I have this expensive piece of life saving equipment in my possession, I prefer to be careful and take care of it. Knowing that it would be almost impossible for me to replace because of the monetary cost of it. I figure that if I take as good care of it that I can, maybe it will give me a lifetime of good use. Like RG and the others said, I also just add to water that is in it. Maybe clean it every couple of months (if then). No Problems.

Distilled water can become contaminated as I found out when I came home from my vacation (I had opened the bottle about a month before) I don't know what got into it, but it smelled like spoiled meat. The humidifier in my home machine also had a little slime in it.

I'm not saying that I believe that distilled water is not the best solution, especially if you live somewhere like me that you chisel yourself off a drink of water, I'm just saying that a 64 cents per gallon, a few precautions won't cost you a lot. I dump my humidifier water once a week (got house plants?) and clean it with a vinegar solution.

I don't understand why some of you are afraid to "introduce" bacteria by opening the humidifier to clean it. Bacteria is already there. Distilled water breeds bacteria just the same as tap water, albeit more slowly. The only way to get it really clean is to use an old tooth brush and an anti-bacterial solution or to soak is in a solution about once a week to maintain it properly. If you're worried about the seal giving out, you can always by a new tank for about 20 dollars. It's not like it'll wear out after a few months of regular cleaning.

Would Aunt Weeza take the bacteria from her mouth to put in her humidifier? I think not.

yorkiemum01 wrote: WHATS an iron??

And WHAT is RO?? LOL

Since you wrote "LOL" I can't tell if you are serious or not, but since others may be wondering, too, "RO" stands for "reverse osmosis." It is a process for treating water for various problems. There are systems that can be installed in homes. I believe it is a fairly expensive process but results in pretty high quality water.

I have only a water softener in my home, but I still only use distilled water in my humidifier. It's just not that expensive.

Melinda,

Those humidifer chambers come apart for ease of cleaning, however, the more you take them apart, the more apt they are to leak, causing expensive damage to the CPAP machine. If one only puts in distilled water and there is never any bacteria introduced to the inside of the chamber, it will stay clean and (knock on wood) never have to be taken apart and cleaned. Mine stays pristine clean even in this humid weather. I hold it up to the light and check the connections with a flashlight. No mold, no fuzzy stuff, nothing. The mask has to be cleaned because it comes in contact with your face, but you don't have to take that apart every time, either. Despite the dire warnings you may hear, lots of us wash our masks with baby shampoo or some hypoallergenic soap, air dry and we are good to go. YMMV

I'm familiar with the battlegrounds in Cold Harbor. I live more towards the Old Church area. My son found three civil war bullets in one day of metal detecting in my back yard. That was before they bulldozed it all down and built a subdivsion.

Bev

> What is the obsession with distilled water for humidifiers

Back in March the Associated Press on their own tested a number of municipal water supplies. They found "pharmaceuticals" in many. Yesterday they released an update on that study. Here are just a couple of paragraphs from yesterday's article.

----------

Drugs Affect More Drinking Water
By Martha Mendoza, AP National Writer

Testing prompted by an Associated Press story that revealed trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in drinking water supplies has shown that more Americans are affected by the problem than previously thought — at least 46 million.

That's up from 41 million people reported by the AP in March as part of an investigation into the presence of pharmaceuticals in the nation's waterways.

The AP stories prompted federal and local legislative hearings, brought about calls for mandatory testing and disclosure, and led officials in at least 27 additional metropolitan areas to analyze their drinking water. Positive tests were reported in 17 cases, including Reno, Nev., Savannah, Ga., Colorado Springs, Colo., and Huntsville, Ala.

The test results, added to data from communities and water utilities that bowed to pressure to disclose earlier test results, produce the new total of Americans known to be exposed to drug-contaminated drinking water supplies.

The substances detected in the latest tests mirrored those cited in the earlier AP report. Chicago, for example, found a cholesterol medication and a nicotine derivative. Many cities found the anti-convulsant carbamazepine. Officials in one of those communities, Colorado Springs, say they detected five pharmaceuticals in all, including a tranquilizer and a hormone.

The drug residues detected in water supplies are generally flushed into sewers and waterways through human excretion. Many of the pharmaceuticals are known to slip through sewage and drinking water treatment plants.

While the comprehensive risks are still unclear, researchers are finding evidence that even extremely diluted concentrations of pharmaceutical residues harm fish, frogs and other aquatic species in the wild and impair the workings of human cells in the laboratory.

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Distilled water: 7 cents per night and so easy to do. And it returns the favor by making cleaning easier.

When I'm on a trip and can't find distilled I don't obsess about it. I use whatever is available and clean the humidifier when I get home.

xyz wrote:...Testing prompted by an Associated Press story that revealed trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in drinking water supplies has shown that more Americans are affected by the problem than previously thought — at least 46 million.

So if you're needing a pharmaceutical you can't afford, just drink unfiltered tap water.

xyz wrote:> What is the obsession with distilled water for humidifiers

Back in March the Associated Press on their own tested a number of municipal water supplies. They found "pharmaceuticals" in many. Yesterday they released an update on that study. Here are just a couple of paragraphs from yesterday's article.

----------

Drugs Affect More Drinking Water
By Martha Mendoza, AP National Writer

Testing prompted by an Associated Press story that revealed trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in drinking water supplies has shown that more Americans are affected by the problem than previously thought — at least 46 million.

That's up from 41 million people reported by the AP in March as part of an investigation into the presence of pharmaceuticals in the nation's waterways.

The AP stories prompted federal and local legislative hearings, brought about calls for mandatory testing and disclosure, and led officials in at least 27 additional metropolitan areas to analyze their drinking water. Positive tests were reported in 17 cases, including Reno, Nev., Savannah, Ga., Colorado Springs, Colo., and Huntsville, Ala.

The test results, added to data from communities and water utilities that bowed to pressure to disclose earlier test results, produce the new total of Americans known to be exposed to drug-contaminated drinking water supplies.

The substances detected in the latest tests mirrored those cited in the earlier AP report. Chicago, for example, found a cholesterol medication and a nicotine derivative. Many cities found the anti-convulsant carbamazepine. Officials in one of those communities, Colorado Springs, say they detected five pharmaceuticals in all, including a tranquilizer and a hormone.

The drug residues detected in water supplies are generally flushed into sewers and waterways through human excretion. Many of the pharmaceuticals are known to slip through sewage and drinking water treatment plants.

While the comprehensive risks are still unclear, researchers are finding evidence that even extremely diluted concentrations of pharmaceutical residues harm fish, frogs and other aquatic species in the wild and impair the workings of human cells in the laboratory.

----------

Distilled water: 7 cents per night and so easy to do. And it returns the favor by making cleaning easier.

When I'm on a trip and can't find distilled I don't obsess about it. I use whatever is available and clean the humidifier when I get home.

I'm confused........
I can't find a consistent term of "water source" (or "water supply") in that damn article.......they keep using different phrases, but seem to keep referring to "drinking" water and then switch to the type of water that would have sewage in it.

Are they drinking "sewage water" in the big cities? How do the "pharmaceuticals" get into the drinking water if they're being flushed into the sewage?

On the other hand, think of how many free "DRUGS" those people are getting.


Den (not worrying about a little "pasture runoff" in his drinking water)

> Are they drinking "sewage water" in the big cities? How do the "pharmaceuticals" get into the drinking water if they're being flushed into the sewage?

Two ways that I can think of.

1. Some cities (not many) expressly use "treated water" from their sewage plant for drinking water. Meaning the water that comes out after all the filtering and treating has been done. They claim that it surpasses the "usual" level of filtering and treating at "regular" sewage plants. One city near us does this. (Not ours, TG.) Eeeeew.

2. The water that comes out of standard sewage plants has to go somewhere. If that city is near a river, it eventually gets to the river. Cities that are downstream (and every city is downstream of _some_ city; except for one I guess) take water from the river, which has pharmaceuticals in it, and run it through their municipal drinking water system. Which the Associated Press says doesn't get everything out.

Going back hundreds of years ago, cities were built along rivers, as that was the principal means of transportation in those days.

Does anyone remember the Tom Lehrer song "Pollution"? That was back in 1965!
If you visit American city,
You will find it very pretty.
Just two things of which you must beware:
Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air.
...
Lots of things there that you can drink,
But stay away from the kitchen sink.
The breakfast garbage that you throw in the Bay,
They drink at lunch in San Jose.

Here is my somewhat-related question, if anyone has a comment or observation:

If I leave the water (distilled or RO) in the humidifier chamber, instead of dumping it out every morning as I have been, would it be good for me to seal off the chamber to keep air out of it during the day? Does anyone think that might lessen the potential for crud growth? (My apartment is climate controlled 24/7, so we leave the windows closed all day. But still.) It is easy to "plug" the detachable chamber that goes to my 3i, since it came with a little, yellow, odd-shaped plastic piece that covers both holes, for when you want to swish a vinegar solution around inside the chamber. And I would still remove the chamber each morning before I put the rest of the machine in a drawer. I had previously been leaving the humidifier chamber out to air dry, but the statements made in this thread have got me wondering if maybe sealing it off when not in use might make more sense for keeping the water pure if I leave the water in it. For that matter, what about keeping the chamber in the refrigerator? Or am I overthinking the trivial things in life again? (It's the little things in life that drive me bananas.) This forum never ceases to amaze me in how people here point out angles I never would have thought of. So, any thoughts? Besides seeking professional help, I mean. Because, look, distilled water is only one of many obsessions for me.

jeff

Jeff,

I consider my arrangement about as "sealed" as it can be. When I take my mask off in the morning, I lay it and the hose (where the hose and mask connect) across the humidifier tank, behind where the hose is connected to the tank.......it just makes kind of a handy "hanger" there (siting on the corner of the night stand). Anyway, the hose hangs down and loops around and since there is no air being sucked in from the air intake in the back, for anything to get in there, it would have to go UPHILL (through the hose loop).

Den

I too appreciate others telling me early on that they don't wash all their equipment such as hoses and water chamber - saved LOTS of time for me too!

However, I do take out my chamber each morning and dump any dregs of water, invert it to dry, and refill at night. Since I live in such a humid climate where bacteria can grow on the head of a dry pin, I think having the chamber dry between uses mitigates the chance I'll grow a lab experiment.

I do the same thing with mine. I figure like you that nothing can get inside since it is closed case with no power going to it. But I do rinse out the chamber a couple of time a week. So time will tell if that is a good system. Melinda

I consider my arrangement about as "sealed" as it can be. When I take my mask off in the morning, I lay it and the hose (where the hose and mask connect) across the humidifier tank, behind where the hose is connected to the tank.......it just makes kind of a handy "hanger" there (siting on the corner of the night stand). Anyway, the hose hangs down and loops around and since there is no air being sucked in from the air intake in the back, for anything to get in there, it would have to go UPHILL (through the hose loop).

Den[/quote]