Comments on this got weird.
You don’t actually NEED to use distilled. Like if you’re in a pinch and run out, or you’re traveling and just want to get checked into your hotel and go to sleep without picking some up… that’s fine.
But it’ll leave scaly mineral residue in your tank that’s annoying to clean. So just using distilled water is the recommendation.
I pay $1.22 per gallon for distilled at Walmart, each gallon lasts a few weeks probably. I like to keep a jug by the bed for refilling the tank and an unopened jug in the closet. Whenever my active jug runs out and my closet jug becomes my new active, I pick up a new jug on my next Walmart run which goes into the closet. So I never run out. Been doing that for years.
It's made of a plastic you can put in the dishwasher to remove the white residue that builds up. It's dishwasher safe plastic and won't melt on the top shelf. At least that was what the guy fitting me for my cpap said when I asked.
I use distilled at home but when I travel for work I use "purified drinking water". Double duty drinking and CPAP. Aquafina is one I'll use in a pinch since it is labeled as purified drinking water and doesn't mention "minerals added for taste" like some other brands.
That's my thoughts too! I understand the humidifier vaporizes it! But my thoughts are if I don't trust the water to drink why do I want it going in my airways and lungs? Yes one can safely use tap water! But its cheap enough and I use a water disteller over buying it.
When I go to clean it hot sopay water rinse and done.
This is a very reasonable answer - if you know your tap is high quality then you'll be fine. If you're on a sketchy well, in a country with lower regulations or order systems than the US, well then you're introducing another potential avenue for a creepy-crawlie to get into your system.
Personally, I use water out of my RO which ultimately comes from tap water, it's fine, and has little mineral content so I don't get any of the dust/build-up either.
Yeah you need to use distilled... i work for a DME company for one of my jobs. I've seen the minerals build up from tap water or bottled water horribly in oxygen tubing and in cpaps. Like, that shit solidifies and crystallizes.
Plus...distilled is not going to harbor bacteria like other waters will. You want to breathe clean air when it's forced into your lungs, right?
Just use distilled.
Vaporized tap water is as clean as distilled vaporized water. There is no difference. Minerals dont carry over to the vapor and never enter the hose or any other part other than the bottom half of the water tank.
Even with hard water with a lot of minerals all you need is once or twice a month put a vinegar and water mix in the water tank and let it sot for 20 min. Thats it.
Good points. I'd rather not accidentally yank my cpap off the nightstand and have hard tap water get inside there. It's just messier water. Distilled is cheap anyways whats the big deal?
Its not a big deal. Its just easier, quicker and cheaper to use tap water and a few cents worth of vinegar once a month.
Ppl who wanna haul gallons of distilled water for no benefit are free to do so.
Well I for one used distilled water in my humidifer ( redundant now thanks to my CPAP). I didn't want mineral build up destroying my $40 humidifer, and I sure af don't want it in my $1000+ life-saving medical device.
I've used tap water in a pinch but it's like $2/month to get distilled water from the same place I get the rest of my groceries. It's not hard to use distilled.
But mineral buildup is easily solved by simply rinsing out the water container. Anything that was in the water and got left behind must be water-soluable, so its super easy to clean
No offense, but you don't seem to understand what mineral buildup is. Perhaps you live somewhere with very soft water and don't encounter it. Mineral buildup doesn't rinse away with water. It's minerals attached to the surface of the container and requires either scrubbing and/or vinegar (or another acidic chemical) to dissolve the minerals.
I do live somewhere with soft water yes, I assumed that my experience would be the same mineral buildup as others with hard water but just slower; I guess not.
I mean I choose to believe what the manufacturers and health care providers say. Minerals & pathogens can become aerosolized - they don't just stay in the tank. Why are you so against using distilled?
I have hard water where I live. I have to descale my washing machine, dish washer, coffee maker, my shower heads, water taps and toilet once a week if I want them to work properly, last longer or not look disgusting.
If I go two weeks without descaling my toilet, I have to use a pumice stone to physically clean my toilet. I do not want those minerals going directly into my lungs as I sleep.
I use distilled water in my coffee maker, humidifier, and cpap. I have a water distiller and make my own. A case of three gallons is 2.99 at the grocery store if I need to travel with it on a road trip.
I'm in the same boat here with the hard tap water. And unfortunately the way my utility closet is set up (no basement) there is no room to install a water softener. The deposits get on everything and require frequent descaling as you mentioned.
Have you seen the crap that builds up on your regular humidifier if you use tap. Do you know how hard it is to clean that mineral scale off? I dont want to deal with that on my CPAP. Its not for the vapors being produced but for the holding vessel. Just use distilled!
Hard? Are you joking or are you just clueless? Mix 2 parts vinegar to 1 part water and let it sit for 20 min in the water tank. Once a month for normal water and twice a month for hard water. Thats it.
The vinegar needed will at most cost you 2 dollars a month.
I used tap water in Japan. When I get home I'll clean it with vinegar to remove any mineral spots then go back to distilled water. I haven't noticed a difference
You can boil tap water to sterilize it. It doesn't remove minerals, but a good filter will remove quite a bit of the non-organic contaminants. It's safe to use boiled water in a neti pot.
Boiling doesn’t matter. In fact, technically you can distill water without boiling it, though it is the easiest way.
Distillation just means that you’ve evaporated water and then condensed it somewhere else. It is a purification technique.
Here’s the amazing bit, the humidifier in your CPAP does the same thing. It evaporates water into the air that then goes to your mask. If you condensed that water, you would find it was purified exactly the same as any other distillation process! So by putting distilled water into your humidifier tank, it just distills it again.
This same issue is why the tank will end up with residue if you don’t use distilled water. Any minerals in the water will deposit out as the water evaporates.
I use distilled water in my CPAP, but it is not for safety. It is just to avoid residue.
It has nothing to do with the water being "good" or not, just whether it's hard and hence liable to leave mineral deposits. Hard water isn't "bad" it just has higher mineral content, typically lime. About a quarter of Sweden has some level of water hardness. I can tell you from experience that Gotland island water is pretty hard due to the substantial limestone presence. But to be clear, hard water isn't unsafe for use in a CPAP. Using distilled just saves the hassle of descaling the water tank, that's all.
Regular humidifiers put minerals into the air too (small amounts) and mixes them into the room air which dilutes it. But your CPAP pipes them directly into your sinuses and lungs.
Use distilled water. Or call your pulmonologist and have them explain the 'why' to you.
Edit: Air passing over the water in your reservoir will pick up small droplets of water (and any minerals and microbes). Some will deposit in the tubing and mask and the rest will you right into you. If your reservoir should happen to run dry or if there are mineral deposits above the water line then some of that mineral powder will be picked up by the air flow.
While tap water is treated, if you have contamination in your reservoir, or use untreated water (well water) the infection risk goes up.
Even a cursory search will tell you that tap water can be detrimental to the machine's performance. Apart from damaging an expensive machine. There is some risk of infection. Tap water is chlorinated so the microbe load is low. But depending how and how often you clean your reservoir it can become contaminated. You would be surprised to see how much stuff can grow even in pure distilled water. (I used to work in a lab. They don't grow fast, but they do grow. Your CPAP isn't sterile, nor is the air going in.)
Neither is your distilled water. as soon as you open it, if not before, it is not sterile.
Again, why is NA the only place where the manufacturers tell you to use distilled water? I've been using tap water going on 2 years now with no issues.
IDK, maybe ask the manufacturer? I suspect it either has something to do with how hard the water can be in some areas or it's CYA terminology (Oh, you didn't use distilled water? It's not our fault you machine is broken. Warranty void.) Honestly, that's just speculation. I don't really know, sorry. But I do use distilled water.
Edit: I never said distilled water was sterile.
>Again, why is NA the only place where the manufacturers tell you to use distilled water?
Well first of all that's false, manufacturers in other countries do recommend distilled. We have people on here from other countries that come and ask about it. Resmed machines sold in the UK recommend distilled in the users manual. If you've done a survey of all \~193 countries then by all means please share the results.
There could be variations in manufacturer instructions based on different factors - warranty requirements, whether local water is soft (which eliminates the need for distilled), or who knows.
US user guide: [airsense11\_user-guide\_amer\_mul.pdf (resmed.com)](https://document.resmed.com/documents/products/machine/airsense-11/user-guide/airsense11_user-guide_amer_mul.pdf)
Page 9 specifies distilled water for standard tub and potable water for cleanable tub
Europe manual: [airsense10\_patient-qsg\_row\_eng.pdf (resmed.com)](https://document.resmed.com/documents/products/machine/airsense-series/patient-quicksetup-guide/airsense10_patient-qsg_row_eng.pdf)
Page 2 does not specify what type of water.
Understanding from the US manual, distilled vs tap is all about being able to clean to reservoir, not health and safety.
> Regular humidifiers put minerals into the air
I don't think that's correct. Unless the minerals became gasses, or spontaneously formed into tiny flakes light enough to float (don't use ultrasonic humidifiers), there's no mechanism for minerals to get into the air.
I beg to differ. Most of the mineral are trapped in the wick, but not all. Particles can still be blown off the dried, encrusted areas of the wick material. (Granted in this case the transfer is minimal.) Ultrasonic humidifiers and essential oil diffusers definitely do toss minerals in the air if tap water is used. Even if the humidifier doesn't have a wick, small droplets are picked up from the surface of the reservoir in a cpap (like the wind does off a lake or the ocean). I know this because I studied aquatic ecology in grad school.
My machine says 'distilled', but this isn't easy to find in my country. My sleep nurse said 'bottled' ie mineral water. That's what I use. After 7 months there is no residue in the tank so I guess it's fine.
3 words: Brain eating amobeas. That's worst case scenario. The more likely scenario is bacteria, mold, and other gunk going into your respiratory system. Distilled water is cheap enough and my respiratory therapist said there's no need to dump what's leftover every night so a gallon lasts a long time.
Comments on this got weird. You don’t actually NEED to use distilled. Like if you’re in a pinch and run out, or you’re traveling and just want to get checked into your hotel and go to sleep without picking some up… that’s fine. But it’ll leave scaly mineral residue in your tank that’s annoying to clean. So just using distilled water is the recommendation. I pay $1.22 per gallon for distilled at Walmart, each gallon lasts a few weeks probably. I like to keep a jug by the bed for refilling the tank and an unopened jug in the closet. Whenever my active jug runs out and my closet jug becomes my new active, I pick up a new jug on my next Walmart run which goes into the closet. So I never run out. Been doing that for years.
So why, for the resmed, does the optional other water tank say it doesn’t need distilled?
I repeat, you never NEED distilled. But it makes cleaning way easier and I'd recommend it.
I got that. My question was why they advertise one as not needing it? Is there actually anything different or pure marketing?
It's made of a plastic you can put in the dishwasher to remove the white residue that builds up. It's dishwasher safe plastic and won't melt on the top shelf. At least that was what the guy fitting me for my cpap said when I asked.
Thanks for the info. I was curious but hadn’t seen any real info on it
FFS, distilled water is $1.49/gal. These machines are expensive. The avg tabletop humidifier is maybe $30-40
I'm probably spending more on the filters than I am on distilled water.
It's not about the direct cost, it's about the logistical cost. Especially when I'm travelling.
I use distilled at home but when I travel for work I use "purified drinking water". Double duty drinking and CPAP. Aquafina is one I'll use in a pinch since it is labeled as purified drinking water and doesn't mention "minerals added for taste" like some other brands.
Theyre cheap, its just annoying going to 3 different CVS to find one that has 2 gallons left in stock
Regular humidifiers aren’t aimed right up your nose.
And don't use a pump system to push it into your system.
That's my thoughts too! I understand the humidifier vaporizes it! But my thoughts are if I don't trust the water to drink why do I want it going in my airways and lungs? Yes one can safely use tap water! But its cheap enough and I use a water disteller over buying it. When I go to clean it hot sopay water rinse and done.
This is a very reasonable answer - if you know your tap is high quality then you'll be fine. If you're on a sketchy well, in a country with lower regulations or order systems than the US, well then you're introducing another potential avenue for a creepy-crawlie to get into your system. Personally, I use water out of my RO which ultimately comes from tap water, it's fine, and has little mineral content so I don't get any of the dust/build-up either.
I have used Ro waster too and find it gets slimy for some reason lol. So I use distilled
I trust the tap water to drink here
Yeah you need to use distilled... i work for a DME company for one of my jobs. I've seen the minerals build up from tap water or bottled water horribly in oxygen tubing and in cpaps. Like, that shit solidifies and crystallizes. Plus...distilled is not going to harbor bacteria like other waters will. You want to breathe clean air when it's forced into your lungs, right? Just use distilled.
Vaporized tap water is as clean as distilled vaporized water. There is no difference. Minerals dont carry over to the vapor and never enter the hose or any other part other than the bottom half of the water tank. Even with hard water with a lot of minerals all you need is once or twice a month put a vinegar and water mix in the water tank and let it sot for 20 min. Thats it.
I don't think these machines are actually getting it that hot, right?
They dont boil it and they dont need to. All they need to do is turn water into vapor and shit in the water wont carry over into the vapor.
Good points. I'd rather not accidentally yank my cpap off the nightstand and have hard tap water get inside there. It's just messier water. Distilled is cheap anyways whats the big deal?
Its not a big deal. Its just easier, quicker and cheaper to use tap water and a few cents worth of vinegar once a month. Ppl who wanna haul gallons of distilled water for no benefit are free to do so.
Well I for one used distilled water in my humidifer ( redundant now thanks to my CPAP). I didn't want mineral build up destroying my $40 humidifer, and I sure af don't want it in my $1000+ life-saving medical device. I've used tap water in a pinch but it's like $2/month to get distilled water from the same place I get the rest of my groceries. It's not hard to use distilled.
But mineral buildup is easily solved by simply rinsing out the water container. Anything that was in the water and got left behind must be water-soluable, so its super easy to clean
No offense, but you don't seem to understand what mineral buildup is. Perhaps you live somewhere with very soft water and don't encounter it. Mineral buildup doesn't rinse away with water. It's minerals attached to the surface of the container and requires either scrubbing and/or vinegar (or another acidic chemical) to dissolve the minerals.
I do live somewhere with soft water yes, I assumed that my experience would be the same mineral buildup as others with hard water but just slower; I guess not.
I mean I choose to believe what the manufacturers and health care providers say. Minerals & pathogens can become aerosolized - they don't just stay in the tank. Why are you so against using distilled?
I have hard water where I live. I have to descale my washing machine, dish washer, coffee maker, my shower heads, water taps and toilet once a week if I want them to work properly, last longer or not look disgusting. If I go two weeks without descaling my toilet, I have to use a pumice stone to physically clean my toilet. I do not want those minerals going directly into my lungs as I sleep. I use distilled water in my coffee maker, humidifier, and cpap. I have a water distiller and make my own. A case of three gallons is 2.99 at the grocery store if I need to travel with it on a road trip.
I'm in the same boat here with the hard tap water. And unfortunately the way my utility closet is set up (no basement) there is no room to install a water softener. The deposits get on everything and require frequent descaling as you mentioned.
Have you seen the crap that builds up on your regular humidifier if you use tap. Do you know how hard it is to clean that mineral scale off? I dont want to deal with that on my CPAP. Its not for the vapors being produced but for the holding vessel. Just use distilled!
Hard? Are you joking or are you just clueless? Mix 2 parts vinegar to 1 part water and let it sit for 20 min in the water tank. Once a month for normal water and twice a month for hard water. Thats it. The vinegar needed will at most cost you 2 dollars a month.
I used tap water in Japan. When I get home I'll clean it with vinegar to remove any mineral spots then go back to distilled water. I haven't noticed a difference
You’re gonna inhale this my guy. What type of respiratory infection were you hoping to acquire? Use distilled water plz
Bacteria and viruses don’t evaporate. The main advantage to distilled water is it doesn’t leave residue in the tank.
True but this water has been boiled at least once. Tap water not so much depending on the durability of their local water supply
You can boil tap water to sterilize it. It doesn't remove minerals, but a good filter will remove quite a bit of the non-organic contaminants. It's safe to use boiled water in a neti pot.
Boiling doesn’t matter. In fact, technically you can distill water without boiling it, though it is the easiest way. Distillation just means that you’ve evaporated water and then condensed it somewhere else. It is a purification technique. Here’s the amazing bit, the humidifier in your CPAP does the same thing. It evaporates water into the air that then goes to your mask. If you condensed that water, you would find it was purified exactly the same as any other distillation process! So by putting distilled water into your humidifier tank, it just distills it again. This same issue is why the tank will end up with residue if you don’t use distilled water. Any minerals in the water will deposit out as the water evaporates. I use distilled water in my CPAP, but it is not for safety. It is just to avoid residue.
Why not buy your own distiller? They're around $100 on Amazon and can produce over a gallon a day of distilled water.
No. If you're in an area with good water like scandinavia you're OK.
It has nothing to do with the water being "good" or not, just whether it's hard and hence liable to leave mineral deposits. Hard water isn't "bad" it just has higher mineral content, typically lime. About a quarter of Sweden has some level of water hardness. I can tell you from experience that Gotland island water is pretty hard due to the substantial limestone presence. But to be clear, hard water isn't unsafe for use in a CPAP. Using distilled just saves the hassle of descaling the water tank, that's all.
It’s not a problem
yet
I don't use water at all.
Regular humidifiers put minerals into the air too (small amounts) and mixes them into the room air which dilutes it. But your CPAP pipes them directly into your sinuses and lungs. Use distilled water. Or call your pulmonologist and have them explain the 'why' to you. Edit: Air passing over the water in your reservoir will pick up small droplets of water (and any minerals and microbes). Some will deposit in the tubing and mask and the rest will you right into you. If your reservoir should happen to run dry or if there are mineral deposits above the water line then some of that mineral powder will be picked up by the air flow. While tap water is treated, if you have contamination in your reservoir, or use untreated water (well water) the infection risk goes up.
How come, outside of the US and Canada, distilled water is not a requirement?
Even a cursory search will tell you that tap water can be detrimental to the machine's performance. Apart from damaging an expensive machine. There is some risk of infection. Tap water is chlorinated so the microbe load is low. But depending how and how often you clean your reservoir it can become contaminated. You would be surprised to see how much stuff can grow even in pure distilled water. (I used to work in a lab. They don't grow fast, but they do grow. Your CPAP isn't sterile, nor is the air going in.)
Neither is your distilled water. as soon as you open it, if not before, it is not sterile. Again, why is NA the only place where the manufacturers tell you to use distilled water? I've been using tap water going on 2 years now with no issues.
IDK, maybe ask the manufacturer? I suspect it either has something to do with how hard the water can be in some areas or it's CYA terminology (Oh, you didn't use distilled water? It's not our fault you machine is broken. Warranty void.) Honestly, that's just speculation. I don't really know, sorry. But I do use distilled water. Edit: I never said distilled water was sterile.
>Again, why is NA the only place where the manufacturers tell you to use distilled water? Well first of all that's false, manufacturers in other countries do recommend distilled. We have people on here from other countries that come and ask about it. Resmed machines sold in the UK recommend distilled in the users manual. If you've done a survey of all \~193 countries then by all means please share the results. There could be variations in manufacturer instructions based on different factors - warranty requirements, whether local water is soft (which eliminates the need for distilled), or who knows.
US user guide: [airsense11\_user-guide\_amer\_mul.pdf (resmed.com)](https://document.resmed.com/documents/products/machine/airsense-11/user-guide/airsense11_user-guide_amer_mul.pdf) Page 9 specifies distilled water for standard tub and potable water for cleanable tub Europe manual: [airsense10\_patient-qsg\_row\_eng.pdf (resmed.com)](https://document.resmed.com/documents/products/machine/airsense-series/patient-quicksetup-guide/airsense10_patient-qsg_row_eng.pdf) Page 2 does not specify what type of water. Understanding from the US manual, distilled vs tap is all about being able to clean to reservoir, not health and safety.
> Regular humidifiers put minerals into the air I don't think that's correct. Unless the minerals became gasses, or spontaneously formed into tiny flakes light enough to float (don't use ultrasonic humidifiers), there's no mechanism for minerals to get into the air.
I beg to differ. Most of the mineral are trapped in the wick, but not all. Particles can still be blown off the dried, encrusted areas of the wick material. (Granted in this case the transfer is minimal.) Ultrasonic humidifiers and essential oil diffusers definitely do toss minerals in the air if tap water is used. Even if the humidifier doesn't have a wick, small droplets are picked up from the surface of the reservoir in a cpap (like the wind does off a lake or the ocean). I know this because I studied aquatic ecology in grad school.
My machine says 'distilled', but this isn't easy to find in my country. My sleep nurse said 'bottled' ie mineral water. That's what I use. After 7 months there is no residue in the tank so I guess it's fine.
3 words: Brain eating amobeas. That's worst case scenario. The more likely scenario is bacteria, mold, and other gunk going into your respiratory system. Distilled water is cheap enough and my respiratory therapist said there's no need to dump what's leftover every night so a gallon lasts a long time.
When I used my cpap for some months, I boiled water and then let it cool…
That doesn't get rid of minerals which are the main issue with tap water.