Distilled Water Replacement Daily?

[ruthcatrin]

A netti pot applies the water directly to the body though. The cpap humidifier heats the water to evaporate it, which is why hard water leaves a residue. I'd expect the amoeba to be left behind with the hard water residue. *disclaimer I use distilled water, cause we have mad hard water and I don't feel like dealing with the residue in the cpap machine

[Melman]

Neti pots employ a fairly large volume of water (approx 8 oz.) injected into the nostrils to put one at risk of the brain eating amoeba. Very little water is aerosolized from the humidifier. Most of the water from the humidifier is evaporated and the amoeba cannot be transferred in water vapor. The uses are not comparable.

There have been only two documented cases of infection from neti pots and one from tap water in a water slide since the disease was first documented over 50 years ago.  This is an extremely rare infection. Anyone who is worried about contracting the brain eating amoeba from tap water should avoid showers. We inhale more aerosolized water in a single shower than we probably inhale in months of CPAP use. I was one of the first to work with this organism in the laboratory and appreciate the risks. It doesn't prevent me from taking showers or using tap water in my humidifier. I usually use distilled water just to avoid mineral build up, not out of concern for infection.

[zzz1]

Neti pots employ a fairly large volume of water (approx 8 oz.) injected into the nostrils to put one at risk of the brain eating amoeba. Very little water is aerosolized from the humidifier. Most of the water from the humidifier is evaporated and the amoeba cannot be transferred in water vapor. The uses are not comparable.

There have been only two documented cases of infection from neti pots and one from tap water in a water slide since the disease was first documented over 50 years ago.  This is an extremely rare infection. Anyone who is worried about contracting the brain eating amoeba from tap water should avoid showers. We inhale more aerosolized water in a single shower than we probably inhale in months of CPAP use. I was one of the first to work with this organism in the laboratory and appreciate the risks. It doesn't prevent me from taking showers or using tap water in my humidifier. I usually use distilled water just to avoid mineral build up, not out of concern for infection.

This is comforting.  I believe the case from 2017 did raise questions about potable water use because they weren't able to get it out of the water supply very quickly.

What is your opinion on more mundane contaminants like E. coli?

[Melman]

E. coli will not grow in clean water. It's not a risk in CPAP humidifiers. Most strains of E. coli are harmless and there should not be sufficient numbers of E. coli in potable water to cause disease. Most organisms that are likely to be found in humidifier water and on CPAP components are non-pathogenic environmental organisms that we inhale and ingest frequently.

[zzz1]

E. coli will not grow in clean water. It's not a risk in CPAP humidifiers. Most strains of E. coli are harmless and there should not be sufficient numbers of E. coli in potable water to cause disease.  Most organisms that are likely to be found in humidifier water and on CPAP components are non-pathogenic environmental organisms that we inhale and ingest frequently.

Thanks for taking the time to dispel those concerns.  As you can tell I'm a distilled water user, but if push comes to shove and I need to use tap water I know the science doesn't support my fears .

[Mosquitobait]

If you are using distilled, there is no reason to dump and dry every day. Except in summer, when I get this pink slime, I just topped off. These days though, I use tap water because with the water softener, there is very, very little mineral buildup.

If you feel you must dump daily, then just fill a little above the line of your usage. There is no reason to fill to the max only to dump it. It's true, if you have a leak, you will go through the water much faster, but typically, you will notice that you are using more water.

[Big Guy]

When I was using distilled water, I was using about 1 gallon per week. I bought it @ Walmart, and it was $0.99 a gallon.

It wasn't expensive, but I just couldn't justify the continued use of it, if our tap water would suffice. I figure the money I save by not using distilled water, is additional gas money for my motorcycle.