Leftover water in humidair

[drmaestro]

Hi,

First night with CPAP so I wasn't sure how much water was going to be used by the humidair in Resmed S10, so I filled it halfway (around 250 ml probably) with distilled water. Humidification was set at 4. In the morning, the level of water left was nearly identical so it didn't use a lot of water probably. Now my question is, what to do with this water. The manual suggests emptying leftover water but I don't want to spill it, as it isn't always easy to find distilled water. Can I leave it in the humidair? Can I put it back to its original bottle instead of throwing away? Also, what is the expected amount of water to be used by the humidair (of course this would depend on how long you use it and what is the humidification setting, but I am trying to understand what ballpark we are talking about? For example 8 hours on seting 4)

Thanks...

[BadSleepIsNotTheWay]

I'm no expert but my doctor told me to discard the water, rinse it and apply new water EVERY day. Just imagine water sitting in the same chamber for days.

My device does not use that much water as well, i guess thats just how it is.

[MitchS]

Water usage depends on humidifier settings and ambient humidity so it can vary from day to day. 

I use distilled water, as well. I add water as needed and only dump the water once a week when I wash the water chamber. I wouldn't dump the water in the chamber back into the original bottle, however. 

It's not really necessary to use distilled water unless your tap water has a high mineral content and even then, tap water can still be used with a good cleaning routine. It is advised to dump the water daily to limit mineral deposits in the humidifier chamber when using tap water.

[Ockrocket]

Periodically soaking your humidifier tank by partially filling it with white vinegar and allowing it to stand for the day will remove mineralization from the tank.. [also works when trying to remove the calcium build up in a kettle as well.   ]

[drmaestro]

I assume commercial de-calcifiers would also work. Doesn't using vinegar add some smell to the air (I don'^t really like how vinegar smells)

[OpalRose]

I use white vinegar about once a month, then follow with a cleaning of Dawn liquid dish soap or whatever available and rinse well. There's no smell after that.

[DreamDiver]

I assume commercial de-calcifiers would also work. Doesn't using vinegar add some smell to the air (I don'^t really like how vinegar smells)

...
I use distilled water, as well. I add water as needed and only dump the water once a week when I wash the water chamber. I wouldn't dump the water in the chamber back into the original bottle, however. 

It's not really necessary to use distilled water unless your tap water has a high mineral content and even then, tap water can still be used with a good cleaning routine. It is advised to dump the water daily to limit mineral deposits in the humidifier chamber when using tap water.

I use white vinegar about once a month, then follow with a cleaning of Dawn liquid dish soap or whatever available and rinse well.  There's no smell after that.

drmaestro, 

There are a lot of approaches to tank water management. All of the above suggestions are viable. In our town, the water is so hard it only takes days for minerals to deposit, so I use distilled water. White vinegar is only smelly while you're soaking with it. Once you rinse and dry your tank, all traces are gone. I use a mild soap about once a week.

From my own experience, I prefer not to leave water in the tank longer than a week because it leaves a biofilm that's noticeably slimy when you go to wash the tank any later than that. With my old S9, I used to disassemble and wash even the non-dishwashable tank and put it in the top rack of the dishwasher every so often without heated dry. The tank looks and functions no differently than the day I bought it with my original S9.

I've got two non-dishwashable AS10 Humidair tanks and will be trying one of them in the dishwasher this week, top rack, without heated dry. I'm pretty sure it will survive, but I'll post the results in a separate thread later.

A cleaning regimen is good. Just choose what works for your energy levels and your environment.

Chris

[milboltnut]

Me... I dump it every day and clean it. And I don't loose no sleep over it. Distilled water by the gallon is only a buck 29... and my tank can utilize a gallon for 16 days.

[Sleeprider]

Water in the humidifier should be emptied daily. Even distilled water provides a suitable environment for airborne bacteria and other contaminate to eventually colonize.  These common bacteria and non pathogenic and are mostly an aesthetic problem, but we would rather avoid that.  I have used tap water since starting CPAP many years ago.  It has never been a problem and dumping the water costs nothing.  For anyone concerned about minerals or other contaminates in humidifier water, I recommend getting a Zero Water Pitcher.  These provide reduction of suspended solids and organic contaminates.  This Spring our well water at the cottage was simply gross, and I was able to get clean clear water less than 2 ppm TSS using the Zero Water, which after initial investment just uses a new filter every 6 months or so.  Check this out...yuck!

[drmaestro]

Thanks for the answers.

I'll try the Zero Water approach first, as I think it is more practical and I won't feel too much guilt on emptying bottled distilled water (yes, you are right, it is cheap, but somehow tap water seems more sustainable). We don't have Zero Water here but there is Brita, which I assume would be similar.