Irish anyone? Where do you get your distilled water?

We spent three weeks in England and Cornwall in 2012. We bought the water that they sell to put in car batteries (hardware and automotive stores). It is deionized which means that the salts are removed. The acid reaction in car batteries gets messed up without the right water. We had no problems with using it. If you want to "test" it, let a spoonful evaporate on a dark color plate or bowl. If you see a white residue the next day, then you might try a different brand. Should also mention that in the 1990s my husband spent several 6 week periods in Turkey and used it with no trouble. When I worked in a lab and we needed water that was pure enough to not mess up the chemical reactions in our processes, we used the building's deionized water supply.

Cost about the same as distilled water in the US.
Linda

jcray wrote:Two things.

Apparently he minerals in water can be harmful to your lungs. They have no way of evacuating or dealing with minerals that would be deposited when using regular water.

I was finally able to find a solution in Dublin. Every pharmacy will carry or can order a 1 liter bottle of distilled water for EUR 17. Pretty expensive if you live here. I found a 25 liter container on Amazon for EUR 75 shipped. That brought the cost down to just over EUR 2 per liter. Hope this helps someone out there.

Probably won't help the orgional poster, after 6 years he probably dried up and blew away. Jim

jcray wrote:Two things.

Apparently he minerals in water can be harmful to your lungs. They have no way of evacuating or dealing with minerals that would be deposited when using regular water.

Just a reminder. The only reason why manufacturer's recommend distilled water is because of the mineral buildup in the tank. Has nothing to do with 'breathing it in.' Sterile water used in hospitals for respiratory machines have minerals in them. Sterile water simply means 'free of all bacterial life'. Had a discussion with the RT in the ICU while bro was on respiratory assist and I was spending the night with my cpap.

DublinBoyo wrote:

pitrow wrote:seems to me you could make a home 'still pretty easy out of a pressure cooker, like you'd use for canning vegetables and pickles and whatnot.

If you took the weight off the vent, and put a hose on the port, ran the hose through an ice water bath and into a container to collect the water, you'd get distilled water without much effort.

Or, if you could find a way to seal a lid on a regular pot, you could just drill a hole in the lid and fit it with a brass barb to attach a hose to. On second thought, it wouldn't even really have to be that good of a seal, just enough that the steam will be forced through the hose instead of leaking around the lid.

That sounds like a lot of hard work

I will rather use my bottled mineral water, let the scale build up over time and clean the tank with white viegar every now and then... that sounds easier to me. By the way I have started using bottled mineral water already because there is no frigging way I get distilled water in Ireland. I tried my best!!!

Mineral water would be a poorer choice than just plain old tap water that's potable. Mineral water, by definition, has more minerals in it than ordinary drinking water. That said, your approach of just dealing with the mineral build up as necessary is a good one.

In lieu of distilled water, have you considered using a reverse osmosis purification unit? An RO unit will remove about 90% of the minerals in the water. RO units are relatively inexpensive, use no power and are easy to install. Even a small unit will produce far more water than you will ever use in a cpap, and for just pennies per gallon. A good alternative if you can't find or don't want to hassle with buying distilled water.

jcray wrote:...

Apparently he minerals in water can be harmful to your lungs. They have no way of evacuating or dealing with minerals that would be deposited when using regular water.
...

Sheer and utter nonsense unless you are talking about inhaling the mineral water directly into your lungs. (That is called "drowning").

The evaporation of water (of wateever type) from the cpap humidifier will leave behind all of the minerals, therefore it cannot transport any of them to your lungs. The problem with high mineral content water in the humidifier is that in time, the minerals that are left behind will build up in the humidifier tank and eventually will precipitate out of solution, leaving a crust of mineral salts in the tank. This reduces the efficiency of the humidifier and in time, can damage the unit. That's the only reason why use of distilled water is recommended. If you remove the minerals from the tank by washing before they can build up, there is no harm in use of ordinary water in the humidifier.

jcray wrote:I was finally able to find a solution in Dublin. Every pharmacy will carry or can order a 1 liter bottle of distilled water for EUR 17. Pretty expensive if you live here.

Wow. I pay .69 USD for a gallon of distilled water at my local supermarket. If I need a quick supply without a trip to the supermarket, I can get it for .99 USD at the pharmacy down the street.