CPAPtalk.com

archangle wrote:

ozze_dollar wrote:I am having some trouble finding the distilled water. Anyone else from Sydney know where to get it.

You're not the first person to report problems finding distilled water outside the US. Purified bottled water for drinking might be better than tap water, but you can't be sure. Drinking water may actually add minerals to the water to make it taste better. Maybe it's got fewer other contaminants, though.

You may just have to dump the water every night and clean the tank more often.

I think all ResMed machines in Australia come with the tank that can be disassembled and washed in the dishwasher unlike the sealed tanks supplied in the US.

I have filtered water in the kitchen. I have found the "pure" water they sell in the shops to be of a similar quality. I still find that after a week there is a clear thin sludge on the bottom of the tank. Its something you have to look for so perhaps its not a problem.

GumbyCT wrote:

jmcanzo wrote:at .89 a gallon I just buy mine at Kroger

I wonder how many gallons you'd have to make before you break even on the cost of a distiller. Any accountants in the audience?

Add to the fact that these distillers things probably generate some heat.
I'm paying $400 a month for electricity with the a/c in Arizona in the summer.
I don't need to be generating any more heat and adding to my electricity usage.
89 cents a gallon for me

jmcanzo wrote:at .89 a gallon I just buy mine at Kroger

Ditto. No point in reinventing the wheel. Plus with distilled water, I just top it off. No need to change water daily. I'm a 'low maintenance' type of person, so the least I need to do the better it is for me. And with over 20 years experience, I know what works for me.

Hi Peeps,
The purpose for using distilled water is to minimize mineral build-up. reverse Osmosis water which is usually labeled as "drinking water" in the store is usually somehere below 25 parts per million in disolved solids and for all practical purposes (EXCEPT CAR BATTERIES PERHAPS) can be substituted for distilled.

Don't use spring water though since it has loads of dissolved solids.

I had a one gallon batch distiller but it died and now I use Culligan's RO water delivered to my home. I use it for drinking and cooking too...as well as rinsing off my mask and hose after washing.
Cheers,
Jamis

PS Ozze, I'll bet the Sydney stores carry RO water.

Agreed on RO vs. distilled water. Normally, RO is not economical for an individual - unless it is produced and delivered by a company - because a lot of water is 'wasted' in the RO process. An industrial process would minimize that waste. But as the previous poster noted, the objective is to use sterilized water with minimal dissolved solids. Both distillation and reverse osmosis provide both.

Used distilled water for over ten years. About six years ago I shifted to using softened water. Some solids collect in the humidifier tank but doesn't stick.

Crock pot - check
$2 worth of copper tubing from Home Depot - check
Plastic water jug filled with ice - check
Containter to catch distilled water - check

$2 crockpot distiller....

nosbig17 wrote:Used distilled water for over ten years. About six years ago I shifted to using softened water. Some solids collect in the humidifier tank but doesn't stick.

I use softened tap water in the winter (when the air is drier). Never had a problem. I empty and refill daily, and no solids ever show. Maybe that's overkill.

But then I DRINK tap water, too.

It is perfectly right to say drinking unfiltered water is unsafe, however, it is equally right to say drinking distilled water on a regular, daily basis is potentially dangerous. This might provoke the anger to most health fanatics, where they spend higher price to acquire the bottled distilled water as per liter basis.