Re: Humidifier question - Do you need to use distilled water or
Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2013 5:09 pm
"Aerosols" (small droplets) of dirty water are a concern for health. If you spray water droplets into the air, germs and minerals will come along with the droplets. The droplets may dry out and form dust particles, which can be harmful because they may get deep into the lungs. Even if they don't dry out, they may still carry germs and minerals into your airway and lungs.jencat824 wrote:she said particles of water from the humidifier could break off & lodge in your lungs. I'm still trying to figure out just how that could happen.
In theory, water will evaporate from the surface of the water in the humidifier and leave the germs and minerals behind in the water tank. You'd prefer to not make any droplets of water.
In practice, if the air flowing through the humidifier is turbulent and stirs the water up enough, it might actually make some droplets of air small enough to carry minerals and germs into the hose. The humidifiers should be designed to not stir up and concentrate the airflow enough to "aerosolize" the water, but if you look into the water tank on my S9 machine, the air stirs the water up pretty good when I inhale.
Some people have suggested S9 machines may spray water droplets, especially if the tank is too full.
I'm not that concerned about it, but it is possible. If you look at the water tanks in S9 or PRS1 machines, there are baffles and such that direct the air to flow quickly over the water, and there's some chance they'll make droplets.