[CPAP] Water and the different type of water

[Hydrangea]

I have a whole house water filter. So I just use water from the tap.

Yes, I do get a small bit of build-up of minerals, so I rinse (with tap water) the tub every couple days. If the build-up is visible (after a couple weeks, or a month or so), then I soak it in 50/50 vinegar/water for the day, and gently scrub it off (my fingertips work just fine for that "scrubbing").

If I sleep too long and my humidifier loses all its water (because I live in a very dry climate), I'll wake up to a burnt-popcorn smell, an empty humidifier tub, and visible minerals stuck on the bottom of the tub. I do the vinegar/water soak for the day, and it comes right off.

I imagine if I used distilled water, I would avoid this "trouble". But I think it'd be more hassle to use distilled water, so I'm content with my choice to use my home's filtered tap water.

When I've traveled and not had access to my home's water (because I usually try to bring it with me... I'm a bit of a water snob LOL), I use bottled water.

[Newbee2016]

I’m making a trip to Scotland and the water is apparently good to drink from the tap. Well they use the local source to make some of the best whiskies so can’t be all that bad..hehehe. I’m curious to know whether the chlorine content is such that you can smell it when straight tap water is used in the humidifier.

Back home I just use filtered tap water which removes most of the chlorine.

[CB91710]

I'm not familiar with alkaline water, but if it isn't acidic it should be ok.

Alkaline Ph (above 7) is just as bad as an acidic Ph (below 7).
Honestly, "Alkaline water" is snake oil and does nothing beneficial for the body.
Pure water has a Ph of 7.  Blood is around 8.  Saliva and urine are around 6.  Anything above 9 or below 5 can be irritating or harmful.


The reason manufacturers specify "distilled" water is because any dissolved solids will be left behind as the water evaporates into the CPAP stream.
Spring water is naturally, and sometimes artificially fortified with minerals.  This may be beneficial to your body to drink it, but they will be left behind in the bottom of your humidifier tank and will provide no benefit to your CPAP therapy.

Distilled water is cheap (I pay a buck a gallon at Walmart), clean, effective, and won't cause your humidifier to deteriorate.
Alkaline water could be damaging to your equipment, and could be irritating to your lungs.  Spring water will promote mineral deposits in the tank.


https://www.womenshealthmag.com/food/a21...-benefits/

Enter alkaline water, which is rich in alkalizing ingredients like calcium, silica, potassium, magnesium, and bicarbonate, explains Amy Shapiro, R.D.,

Looks like "alkaline water" is spring water on steroids.   I would not put it in my CPAP equipment.

[Sleep2Snore]

I am very lucky here, I can use water straight out of the tap/faucet.
There is few minerals or anything to leave a film/scum in the humidifier chamber.
A wash is all it needs and a scrub with a light brush every year.
I use them for a year with a light wash and there is hardly a mark inside the humidifier chamber.
Maybe just the slightest hint of a stain on the bottom, which comes off with a scrub.

Only thing that I am bothered with is a pink slime which I am lead to believe is a air-born, but it is not easy to get rid of.  So I have to clean it every week just to keep it at bay!  It gets into every crevice it can.  I just scrub it with soap and a brush, but I wish there was anther way to get rid of it without stinking the chamber up with vinegar or other strong smell.
I have no idea if this slime is harmful or not, any ideas?
If it was I think the years I have been exposed to it I would have come down with something bad!

Once you are north of the Central Belt there is no real need for distilled water, it is pure enugh, just like me, never kissed or cuddled!  

[Sleep2Snore]

Waits for Dave or Walla Walla to respond to last line! 

[Newbee2016]

I am very lucky here, I can use water straight out of the tap/faucet.
There is few minerals or anything to leave a film/scum in the humidifier chamber.
A wash is all it needs and a scrub with a light brush every year.
I use them for a year with a light wash and there is hardly a mark inside the humidifier chamber.
Maybe just the slightest hint of a stain on the bottom, which comes off with a scrub.

Only thing that I am bothered with is a pink slime which I am lead to believe is a air-born, but it is not easy to get rid of.  So I have to clean it every week just to keep it at bay!  It gets into every crevice it can.  I just scrub it with soap and a brush, but I wish there was anther way to get rid of it without stinking the chamber up with vinegar or other strong smell.
I have no idea if this slime is harmful or not, any ideas?
If it was I think the years I have been exposed to it I would have come down with something bad!

Once you are north of the Central Belt there is no real need for distilled water, it is pure enugh, just like me, never kissed or cuddled!  

Good to hear the water is good! Thanks.

You may wish to look up wiki on Serratia Marcescens, an airborne bacteria. It’s probably the same thing if your bathroom has it too. The section on pathogenicity is particularly worrying.

[Sleeprider]

The pink bacteria is harmless, and ubiquitous in the environment. It will colonize any wet warm surface, and it can occur with distilled water as well as tap water. I have seen it in the shower and swimming pool under the right conditions. For your CPAP, the best way to clean it is to use hydrogen peroxide which will physically remove it from every crack and crevice, and acts to sanitize. Just use the stuff from the drug store or Walmart that comes in the brown bottle. It is diluted to about 3.5% and is safe, costs less than $1.00 per quart. Soak and agitate and the treatment will last a month or more.

Most surfaces like the shower or pool it is eliminated using a chlorine disinfecting cleanser or pool shock.

[SarcasticDave94]

Waits for Dave or Walla Walla to respond to last line! 

Happy Friday! I'm out of snarky comments today. AND I'm on tea break...

I have used distilled water from the beginning, and I may continue to do so just so I don't have to clean the humidifier tub of deposits. 9 months on tub one and counting...with 2 backup tubs, 1 of the fresh tubs went to the hospital with me several weeks ago and the other is still bagged.

[Melman]

You may wish to look up wiki on Serratia Marcescens, an airborne bacteria. It’s probably the same thing if your bathroom has it too. The section on pathogenicity is particularly worrying.

Please note, the WIKI describesSerratia Marcescens as an opportunistic pathogen. Many normally non-pathogenic environmental bacteria are opportunistic pathogens and we encounter them frequently. Opportunistic  pathogens rarely cause disease in individuals with healthy immune systems and are no cause for worry for most of us. As noted in the quote below from the Journal of Medical Microbiology, it is also a growing cause of hospital acquired infection. 

"S. marcescens is rarely associated with primary invasive infection. It operates as a true opportunist producing infection whenever it gains access to a suitably compromised host. Patients most at risk include those with debilitating or immunocompromising disorders, those treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics and patients in ICU who are subjected to invasive instrumentation."

Serratia is not the only pink pigmented bacterium. A more likely cause of pink slime in humidifiers is Methylobacterium, and environmental organism which is encountered frequently in industrial purified water systems. It is rarely found in clinical specimens, but like most bacteria, is probably an opportunistic pathogen. It is probably what Sleeprider has seen and others have seen. Although there may be no bacterial species that is 100% harmless it's about as close to harmless as any.

[fs12]

I just use standard tap water. At home I run it through a Brita filter, but when on the road I'll use whatever comes out of the faucet unless there's a very specific reason not to.
Bottled water is really no different than your tap water, just more expensive and comes in a plastic bottle you throw away.