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I used bottled water on a trip to Thailand. It is hard to get distilled in foreign countries. I did get deposits on the bottom of the tank. I was happy to get rid of them when I got back home.

My guidance when I got my machine, and I buy it, is this: If you don't want it in your lungs, don't put in or near your machine.

I use distilled water in my humidifier even though I live far enough out in the country that we have no additives, not even chlorine, in our water. Imagine, pure enough to drink without any treatment!

However, we do have enough calcium in our water that if I put an ice cube that fell on the floor into a flower pot, I can see a white line the next day - calcium residue. Enough said? I don't want that much calcium in my humidifier tank. Breathing it? I would prefer not to worry, so I use distilled water.

Mr Capers wrote:My guidance when I got my machine, and I buy it, is this: If you don't want it in your lungs, don't put in or near your machine.

I use distilled water in my humidifier even though I live far enough out in the country that we have no additives, not even chlorine, in our water. Imagine, pure enough to drink without any treatment!

However, we do have enough calcium in our water that if I put an ice cube that fell on the floor into a flower pot, I can see a white line the next day - calcium residue. Enough said? I don't want that much calcium in my humidifier tank. Breathing it? I would prefer not to worry, so I use distilled water.

Calcium: that's a huge problem with our local water. It's hard on the plumbing, so I wouldn't dare put it in my CPAP tank. The car washes and the pet groomers even use filtered water.

The following rant is NOT directed at Mr. Capers specifically; but at the way-too-common and erroneous notion that distilled water is somehow "healthier" in your humidifier. He only provided the catalyst by repeating the misconception.

Mr Capers wrote:I don't want that much calcium in my humidifier tank. Breathing it? I would prefer not to worry, so I use distilled water.

No need to worry... Have you considered WHY it builds up in your tank? (Because it's NOT getting thru to your lungs...) Unless your humidifier exceeds 860 degrees C, you won't be breathing any calcium. It's the law!

By all means use distilled to keep your tank free of crud. But don't believe (or worse, perpetuate!) the fairytales that distilled is somehow better for your lungs/health. It's bad enough the HS-dropouts at the DMEs are talking that crap.

Also, consider this:
Compared with city water, distilled actually facilitates the growth of bacteria in your tank!
Many, if not most, localities chlorinate their water supply to kill bacteria. Sometimes it enough to taste, more often not. Any "beasties" that find their way into the tank will be killed by the residual chlorine (which will actually build up as the water evaporates). Distilled water has no chlorine in it. If you are seriously worried about bacteria growing in your tank, you should switch to city tap water and clean any mineral buildup daily.

Here's what the equipment manufacturers say:

http://www.resmed.com/us/patients_and_f ... tients#Q11
If I run out of distilled water, is it ok to use tap water once in a while?
Using distilled water will maximize the life of the water chamber and reduce mineral deposits. However, it is ok to occasionally use tap water to clean your humidifier

http://sleepapnea.respironics.com/patie ... aring.aspx
Always use distilled water in the humidifier to avoid mineral deposit build-up.

http://www.fphealthcare.com/osa/faqfamilies.asp
It is strongly recommended that you use distilled water in the chamber as it is free of minerals and will prolong the life of the chamber and prevent mineral buildup on the inside of the chamber making it appear dirty. Distilled water is “pure” and therefore the most suitable to use. However, the use of normal tap water will not harm you but may cause the chamber to deteriorate at a rate faster than expected. (Note: if your chamber begins to leak replace it immediately)

NOTHING in there about health concerns!

Other knowledgable sources:

http://www.sleepmed.com/cap_tips.htm
Distilled water--use for cool and heated humidifiers. Distilled water helps avoid mineral build-up inside the humidity chamber.

http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/sleep-dis ... chat.htm#6
The HumidAire is a stainless steel tray with a durable polycarbonate lid. The unit can be easily opened to clean, so it does not require any special water, thus tap water should be adequate. If you live in an area that has very hard water, or question your source of water, ResMed recommends the use of distilled water.

STILL nothing about health...just equipment.

STILL nothing about health...just equipment.

When you have calcium and mineral deposits in your tank, in a lot of cases they are they are inside your machine, tubing and i've even seem them in masks. If they are traveling that far, you are breathing it in.
You just never know. I would not risk it if I did not absolutely have too, especially when there is a simple solution such as distilled water.

If you want to use tap, be my guest.
I would not recommend it to any patient of mine.

You could also boil tap water to drive out the stuff like chlorine and other stuff that will evaporate out of the water. I'm not sure if boiling helps with the mineral build up, though.

But really, I don't see how it is any different than taking a shower. You're surrounding by copious amounts of tap water at higher temperatures than what is in your tank. You are breathing all that stuff in then.

When the water evaporates, it leaves the liquid water molecule by molecule. The minerals stay behind. All of them. 100%.

Any deposits you find anywhere but the water chamber did not come from the humidifier. Could not.

This process is exactly the same as distillation, except that the evaporated water is not re-condensed. If the minerals could travel with the water vapor from your humidifier, they'd be in distilled water, too.

spacetoast wrote:You could also boil tap water to drive out the stuff like chlorine and other stuff that will evaporate out of the water. I'm not sure if boiling helps with the mineral build up, though.

But really, I don't see how it is any different than taking a shower. You're surrounding by copious amounts of tap water at higher temperatures than what is in your tank. You are breathing all that stuff in then.

Boiling will actually increase the mineral content of the water as you will boil off some of the water but none of the minerals.

jdm2857 wrote:

spacetoast wrote:You could also boil tap water to drive out the stuff like chlorine and other stuff that will evaporate out of the water. I'm not sure if boiling helps with the mineral build up, though.

But really, I don't see how it is any different than taking a shower. You're surrounding by copious amounts of tap water at higher temperatures than what is in your tank. You are breathing all that stuff in then.

Boiling will actually increase the mineral content of the water as you will boil off some of the water but none of the minerals.

True, but I was reading a book about making beer and I may be wrong, but I thought I read that boiling water may precipitate some of the minerals out of the water. Of course you have to transfer the water to another pot leaving the sediment behind.

What about using a Brita water filter? Has anyone used one of those for their humidifier water over a long period of time? I would imagine those do a good job of removing some of the mineral content.

Not all chemicals will stay behind in your humidifier chamber. For example, chlorine will evaporate into the air, even without being heated. So you could let your tap water sit for a few hours to let the chlorine dissipate into the air prior to using it in your humidifier if you were worried about breathing it in.

Water that is safe to drink is not necessary free of pathogen that may be harmful to your lungs. Your stomach is much better at handling foreign bacteria than are your lungs.

CpapRRT wrote: When you have calcium and mineral deposits in your tank, in a lot of cases they are they are inside your machine, tubing and i've even seem them in masks.

If it's in those places, it would be from washing the components in tap water and letting the water evaporate, leaving the minerals behind. The mineral deposits did not travel thru the air, or in the water vapor. It's physically impossible.

I'm certainly not advocating using tap water in a humidifier. I use distilled myself. But it's only to preserve the equipment. There is no health concern. You aren't breathing anything but filtered air and pure H2O.

CpapRRT wrote: You just never know.

If you passed high school chemistry you DO know. It's only those who DON'T know (or have been misinformed by folklore) who worry about it.

Seliina wrote: let your tap water sit for a few hours to let the chlorine dissipate into the air prior to using it in your humidifier if you were worried about breathing it in.

Chlorine is a gas at temps above about -30, even when it's dissolved in water. It's also a natural constituent of air. If you are worried about breathing chlorine, you'd better stop breathing altogether...

In harmful concentrations your eyes, lungs and mucus membranes will all know instantly. (Ask anyone who owns/maintains a pool!)

The bottom line is, you aren't going to get a harmful concentration of chlorine from your humidifier unless you fill it with Chlorox. Maybe not even then...

Speaking of Clorox, it's not a bad idea to add a few drops of chlorine laundry bleach to each gallon of distilled water. That way you are sure nothing will grow in your humidifier.

jdm2857 wrote:...add a few drops of chlorine laundry bleach to each gallon of distilled water.... That way you are sure nothing will grow in your humidifier.

No way I'd go that JDM! The chlorine likely breaks down some of the chemicals in the plastic container; my lungs have enough challenge dealing with pressurized air as it is, those cells don't need to deal with any strange volatiles that might end up in that air. I figure daily washing, then spraying with vinegar and letting the tub sit a few mins kills any bugs left after the tap water wash.

Like arguing with a dining room table.