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+--- Thread: Speaking of Distilled vs. Tap Water. (/Thread-Speaking-of-Distilled-vs-Tap-Water)
RE: Speaking of Distilled vs. Tap Water. - me50 - 01-26-2014
or the bathroom is in the bedroom lol
RE: Speaking of Distilled vs. Tap Water. - Sleepster - 01-26-2014
It's close! I could probably make it in one step because I have long legs.
RE: Speaking of Distilled vs. Tap Water. - Moriarty - 01-26-2014
I have taken the opportunity to re-read the label on the De-mineralised water I use...
Since I last read it there has been a disclaimer put on it to say that it is not suitable for "Human consumption or Medical use".
I plan to keep on using it.
RE: Speaking of Distilled vs. Tap Water. - DocWils - 01-26-2014
Demineralised water ISN'T suitable for human consumption. Never has been.
RE: Speaking of Distilled vs. Tap Water. - Sleepster - 01-26-2014
As far as I know there is no bottled water sold in retail stores in the US that is not suitable for human consumption.
I can't for the life of me figure out how demineralising water would make it unfit for human consumption. Why would someone go to all the trouble to demineralise non-potable water?
RE: Speaking of Distilled vs. Tap Water. - zonk - 01-26-2014
Maybe to use with steam iron, steam mop, top-up car batteries and radiators
RE: Speaking of Distilled vs. Tap Water. - DocWils - 01-26-2014
Won't kill you, won't taste good, either. And yes, sold for use in certain devices.
RE: Speaking of Distilled vs. Tap Water. - Bladskinner - 01-26-2014
(01-26-2014, 05:41 PM)DocWils Wrote: Demineralised water ISN'T suitable for human consumption. Never has been.
So isn't breathing it consuming it.
RE: Speaking of Distilled vs. Tap Water. - Moriarty - 01-27-2014
(01-26-2014, 06:08 PM)Sleepster Wrote: As far as I know there is no bottled water sold in retail stores in the US that is not suitable for human consumption.
I can't for the life of me figure out how demineralising water would make it unfit for human consumption. Why would someone go to all the trouble to demineralise non-potable water?
I guess it is for technical uses...
I imagine that the reason for the disclaimer is the same st the food product labelled as 'may contain nuts' just because the are made in the same factory as makes food lines containing peanuts. The product isn't designed to contain nuts but there is a .00000001% chance that a peanut could find its way in there so the disclaimer goes on because it is cheaper than the alternatives.
RE: Speaking of Distilled vs. Tap Water. - archangle - 01-27-2014
Misconceptions:
1) Manufacturers require distilled water.
Wrong.
Resmed sells a "standard" tank in the US and a "cleanable" tank. The "standard" tank says "distilled water only." The cleanable tank does not say that. Outside of the US and a few other countries, distilled water is hard to obtain.
Philips Respironics recommends distilled water in its US manuals. I don't know what they recommend in locations where distilled is not commonly available. All of the Respironics tanks are openable and cleanable.
2) Boiling water concentrates the gunk in the water
Only if you boil it long and hard enough to boil away a significant percent of the water. You only need to heat it up to boiling temperature and let it boil gently for a short period of time. It takes a lot of time and heat to boil away a significant percent of the water, and you don't need that.
For instance, if you boil 1000 ml of water and end up with 950 ml of water at the end, you've only increased the concentration of minerals by about 5% at most.
3) Refrigerate and seal the distilled water bottle.
I disagree. Regular store bought distilled water is not sterile when it's bottled nor refrigerated in storage or transport. While I agree to keep the top on it, there's no need to be especially digilent. Some small amount of air will get in when you use it, but the air that gets in is what you breathe 16 hours a day.
As to refrigerating, distilled water doesn't support growth of germs because there are very few nutrients for the germs to feed on. Germs can't synthesize protein and multiply unless they have the chemicals they need to build protein, and an energy source.
Humidifier water is not as critical as water that would be injected into the body, or used in surgery. We breath unsterile air and drink unsterile water all the time.
4) Reverse osmosis filters out partcles.
The reason to use reverse osmosis is to filter out minerals such as salt and some other soluble contaminants. You filter out particles with cheaper and simpler fiber filters before running it through a RO filter.
-----
I recommend using distilled water if you can get it reasonably cheaper.
If you use tap water, dump and clean the tank every morning. Both for germ reasons, and for preventing mineral buildup.
In theory, even if the humidifier water is somewhat "germy", the germs will not go up the hose because the water comes out of the humidifier as a vapor, not a liquid, or even as droplets. As I say, that's "in theory".
I want it clean and reasonably germ free anyway.
As for the hazards of breathing tap water, you're breathing it every time you breathe after drinking, or whenever you take a shower.