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I haven't had a chance to even think about traveling since I started cpap but if I did and I got somewhere late and too much hassle to go buy distilled, I'd chance the tap water. One night and then beg hubby to purty-please make a water run.

Yes, I always use distilled water in my humidifier. I also carry it with me when I go on trips, usually in the gallon container. It is kind of inconvenient, but I'd rather deal with the inconvenience than get some kind of bug from using water from the tap.

I use tap water every night. If you dump the tank each morning, minerals won't build up
as they will remain in solution in the remaining water. And, as Pugsy said, if I forget and let it run dry,
a quick soak with vinegar dissolves them.

As for bugs in the water, the heat in the humidifier evaporates the water, and only the water molecules
leave the tank.

I don't like Walmart and don't shop there even though there is one across the street from where I work.
And while I know that I can get cheap distilled water elsewhere, why should I bother to drag eight-pound
bottles home?

That said, I have high-quality tap water supplied from a utility. If it was poor quality, I would probably use
distilled.

I think that it is interesting to note that the instructions for my H4i do not call for distilled water. I
think that the manufacturers now call for distilled because they don't have to pay for it, don't have
to lug it home, and they worry about some misguided jury siding with a plaintiff claiming that the
use of tap water caused their diabetes, or any other ailment from which they happen to suffer.

jdm2857 wrote:I don't like Walmart and don't shop there...

I'm not a fan of Walmart either...haven't shopped there in about 8 years.

I always use distilled water. Our tap water is way to strong with Chlorine I can't stand the smell.

Distilled water here. For traveling, I've got a 20 oz sport bottle that lives in the CPAP case, just for that. It's enough for a weekend, and I haven't been away for more than that in a long time. I won't go into Wal-Mart, but the regional grocery stores around here stock distilled water in gallons, right next to the spring water. And if I forget and run out, my house mate also uses a CPAP and I can tap his supply.

Really pure, high quality tap water that tastes good and is good for your body may be hard for your CPAP. The minerals that "hurt" your CPAP may very well be good for your body.

However, at worst it's going to harm your water tank, which is easily replaceable. In theory, it might put some gunk in your hose, which is also easily replaceable. If you dump the water and rinse the tank every morning, the problem in the tank is much less.

Distilled water is worth the effort to me, even when traveling most of the time. If for some reason, distilled isn't convenient for me, I will just use tap water for a night or two and rinse daily, unless I'm somewhere the water stinks so badly I can't stand it.

If you're in a hotel or a friend's house, it's a good idea to take the water tank out in the morning anyway before some maid or other idiot moves your machine.

I always use distilled unless I can't get any.

I've had several trips using tap water where it was fine, if a bit weird smelling.

I've also had a few where it seemed to do very weird things to my nose and machine. Not always something I can taste in the water, either!

After one or two bad experiences with tap water causing nasal reactions, I have relegated tap water to emergency only.

I think tap water, unless it's very hard, should be okay on the machine if you rinse it frequently - I'm more concerned about my nose and lungs!

I use filtered tap water and can get 2-3 nights from one tank - then I tip what is left out and rinse well out and refill for another 2-3 nights. I'm probably pushing the limits a bit, but the humidifier is still squeaky clean and I don't think it has affected me in anyway yet - maybe others here would say differently!

I use distilled water, and I take it when I travel. I have a reusable water container intended for drinking. It works well for 1-2 nights.

Around here, tap water is nasty and smells bad to me. I won't dare try it. And when I first started out. I would drain the tank every day, but it never dried. Now I just top it off. I will be at a year with the first tank on April 30.