New Dream Station Questions

[Tinkerbell]

Thank You again. I also saw a Youtube demo and it showed how to tell if the Tap water or Distilled water was good. It seems that you put 500ml of water in a clear glass and add .75cc of StarSan and stir. If it stays clear you are OK. If it turns cloudy and gets worse as a few minutes go by, it means your water neutralized the acid and it will do no good. This seems like a cool test.

[Sleeprider]

It's also a good indicator of whether your tap water might cause deposits in the humidifier. My tap water works just fine and has never left a deposit. In general, water with a lot of hardness (minerals calcium carbonate). Hard water forms scale and prevents soap from lathering. You usually know if you have it. On the other hand, this is why Starsan can actually remove a mineral deposit.

The test you are talking about is 1/2 liter of water and only 1/8 teaspoon of Star San.

Edit: you made me look! Did the test, and my water stays clear.

[Tinkerbell]

Great! We will order 8 oz today. We have a filter at the sink and also Distilled water. We use the distilled water in the CPAP but will test the filtered water as well.

Also, we need Sleepyhead for this DreamStation BADLY!

[Tinkerbell]

sleeprider...FiveStar said that the undiluted product is only good for a year? Have you used that much in a year? Does it really only last a yeaar? They warned about foaming, too.

[Sleeprider]

I have had mine over a year, no problem. I keep it in a dark cupboard. Foaming is a problem to bottlers if they are trying to rinse, the foam does not come out of the small neck of the bottle. For my uses it's not a problem as I just wet and drain. If you want to see the problem, pour some into a beer or wine bottle and shake. When you try to empty the bottle the foam will stay behind. This also happens in large glass carboys. Remember it's a sanitizer and rinsing can actually recontaminate. Not a problem for CPAP to rinse because potable water contaminate levels are very low and not hazardous to you. In unprimed beer (wort) or wine it can allow unwanted infections to inoculate the liquid that alter tastes.

[Tinkerbell]

I have had mine over a year, no problem. I keep it in a dark cupboard. Foaming is a problem to bottlers if they are trying to rinse, the foam does not come out of the small neck of the bottle. For my uses it's not a problem as I just wet and drain. If you want to see the problem, pour some into a beer or wine bottle and shake. When you try to empty the bottle the foam will stay behind. This also happens in large glass carboys. Remember it's a sanitizer and rinsing can actually recontaminate. Not a problem for CPAP to rinse because potable water contaminate levels are very low and not hazardous to you. In unprimed beer (wort) or wine it can allow unwanted infections to inoculate the liquid that alter tastes.

Great, we are now thinking that a 4 oz bottle will last a while. ie: if my math is correct...

1.5 cc per quart is 0.050721 oz. So a 4 oz bottle will make 70 quarts!

[Sleeprider]

CPAP cleaning was incidental to other uses for me. I have used far more for kitchen disinfection and brewing. It just happens to work well for this CPAP stuff. I was kind of negligent in routine cleaning, and had to resort to using vinegar to kill the plaques in the humidifier tray. I just graduated to the logical substitute, Starsan.

Use it in the kitchen, and you won't have any trouble going through 8-oz. I have the quart container, but 16 oz would have been fine.

[Tinkerbell]

CPAP cleaning was incidental to other uses for me. I have used far more for kitchen disinfection and brewing. It just happens to work well for this CPAP stuff. I was kind of negligent in routine cleaning, and had to resort to using vinegar to kill the plaques in the humidifier tray. I just graduated to the logical substitute, Starsan.

Use it in the kitchen, and you won't have any trouble going through 8-oz. I have the quart container, but 16 oz would have been fine.

Our 8oz bottle should be here today. Thank you.
I guess we can use 1/8 teaspoon to 16 oz.

[Sleeprider]

There is a neat calculator here. http://www.calczilla.com/brewing/sanitizer-dilution/

The 16 oz container = 2-cups, so the calculator says:
Starsan
0.03 Ounces
0.05 Tablespoons
0.15 Teaspoons
0.74 Milliliters

This is why I like using a 1-CC syringe (1 cc = 1 mL) because I can get exactly the measure I want. The actual dilution for 16-oz is between 1/6 and 1/7 teaspoon. So a full 1/8 teaspoon is just fine.

You can buy a 1-cc syringe without a needle at any drug store or veterinary supply without a prescription.

[Tinkerbell]

Thank you!