Fake Distilled Water Sold in Canada

I normally buy my distilled water for my CPAP machine at Metro. (formerly Dominion) They also own Food Basics as well. The only brand of distilled water they carry is the 4 litre Selection brand. Now, they claim that the water is free of Calcium and other things which should be the case if the water is actually distilled.

Oh Really? If this water was actually distilled, then why is it leaving lime (calcium carbonate) deposits in my reservior? This is what you would expect from spring water or plain old tap water. Now to be honest, I don't clean my CPAP parts as often as I should...laziness, lack of time, you know, the usual poor excuses. Nevertheless, if this was really and truly genuine, distilled, water, it shouldn't leave any lime deposits at all.

Now it makes me wonder, if (allegedly) this water is not really distilled, then what else might actually be in it as well? I just left a message with the department at Industry Canada that deals with false advertising in food products, and I'm expecting a phone call back soon. If anyone else is experiencing this with Selection brand distilled water, the bitch-line to call about it is 1-800-667-2657.

Yam Digger

yamdigger wrote:if this was really and truly genuine, distilled, water, it shouldn't leave any lime deposits at all.

I agree... true distilled water would not leave lime deposits in your humidifier's water chamber.

Hope you find out what's going on with that "distilled" water purveyor, yam.

Hi

I am using Life Brand distilled water from Shoppers Drug Mart and also Compliments distilled water and have not experienced any problem so far in 6 weeks. It would be great to hear what you find out about Selection brand. I agree it shouldn't be leaving any deposits. I will avoid buying Selection brand.

Probably someone in the plant got it mixed up with spring water.

Good Luck trying to find out about the Selection brand distilled water.

JanSaysHi

Thanks for the info on that brand of so called distilled water at Metro. I used to get my distilled water at A & P because I liked the containters of the brand they carried. It was "Morning Mist" brand.

Just before A & P became Metro, the store I shop at stopped carrying distilled water all together. They tried to tell me that something else they had was the same as distilled water. Sorry, I don't remember what it was but I didn't want it. It may be what you got.

Since then, I have been buying my distilled water at Shoppers Drug Mart but don't like their containers as well as the Morning Mist brand I use to get at A & P. I DO want actual distilled water though so will put up with the containers at Shoppers.

Wow that sucks! I distill my own water with a little distiller I bought, it does a gallon at a time.

Thanks for the info yamdigger. I occasionally shop at Metro. So far I have been buying my distilled water at a local pharmacy. Let us know if you receive any news following your complaint.

Hmmm, you have me worried....I'm going up to Canada next week....and I've asked to distilled water waiting for me.

Wonder if I should try to see if a couple bottles will survive in my checked baggage....

The Dreamer.

TheDreamer wrote:Hmmm, you have me worried....I'm going up to Canada next week....and I've asked to distilled water waiting for me.

Wonder if I should try to see if a couple bottles will survive in my checked baggage....

The Dreamer.

Relax. It's just one Supermarket's in-house brand we're talking about. If you get your water a reputable drug store like Shoppers Drug Mart you should be alright.

nobody wrote: I distill my own water with a little distiller I bought, it does a gallon at a time.

I'd like to thank you for that idea. I think I'll invest in one of those.

Hawthorne wrote:I have been buying my distilled water at Shoppers Drug Mart but don't like their containers as well as the Morning Mist brand I use to get at A & P. I DO want actual distilled water though so will put up with the containers at Shoppers.

I friend of mine who works at Loblaws said she'd get me a bottle of distilled water that they sell there. She says it's the real deal. I'll also look at what Shoppers has in stock as well.

Thanks.

My guess is that that water plant screwed up and filled the bottles with the wrong kind of water. I doubt that a major grocery chain would buy/sell distilled water that was deliberately mislabeled. It may be that the problem involved distilled water sold under several different brand names. This sort of thing shouldn't happen, but it does.

I would take the jug back to the store and get a (free) replacement bottle of distilled water -- take the humidifier water chamber with you to show the store manager the problem. Most grocery stores will exchange products, especially store branded products, without any questions, even if the container is empty. If the manager is on the ball, he will escalate the problem with the water supplier. Verify that the lot number on the new bottle is different from your old bottle. Clean your water chamber with white vinegar and see if the new bottle of distilled water still leaves a residue. If this is a one-off issue, I wouldn't be concerned about it. I would write a letter to an executive (probably a VP of customer affairs or something) and let them know what happened.

This isn't a one off event. It actually occured over several months with use of the same brand. I'm going to start using a different brand from now on.

In a perfect world, you should be able to just call the stores managers and they will take care of it from there. But my experience has been that it simply gets swept under the rug if only one or two customers actually notice that something is wrong. That's why I got the Food Inspection Agency involved. Speaking of which; They actually called me back this morning to get more information from me about what the label actually says. They say they will let me know what the results of the investigation will be.

Usually, the in-store brands aren't actually made directly by the store itself; But rather by a third party manufacturer. In all fairness to Metro, they probably don't realize that what they're selling isn't real distilled water. All the more reason the get the agency involved, because the actual manufacturer might simply lie to the store and say the customer doesn't know what he's talking about.

I think you did the right thing in pursuing this!

Thanks from a fellow Canadian!

I normally use Distilled water from Fry's here in the Phoenix area.
No problem at all.

One time I was in Wal-Mart and bought some of their distilled water and was stunned to see a pinkish deposit in the humidifier.
I've seen that when I used water from my reverse osmosis machine or tap water when traveling for a few days.

I immediately cleaned it out and went and got some good water at Fry's.

Now I never buy it anywhere else. For sure never buy Wal-Mart distilled water.

Well, I have a distiller at home....bought it the day I started CPAP.

I have no idea where my parents are going to buy the distilled water from, last call they were still questioning why I needed it.

The Dreamer.