Buying Distilled water in Europe

I will need to buy distilled water in the French speaking part of Switzerland and in Italy in a couple of weeks for my Xpap machine. Where can I find it? Thank you! Lisa

ResMed AirSense 10 Autoset for Her
Philips Amara View Mask

Really? Why not go into stores there and ask them? I mean it's not outer Mongolia or even the Amazon - so much bottled water in Europe comes from Switzerland. And why not look up 'distilled' in French before you go. I'm sure it's not the only word you'll need over there.

But also, you can just use tap water if you won't be there for long - and certainly can clean your tank if necessary when you get home. Lots of people do it all the time even at home. There's nothing therapeutic in distilled, it's just less likely your machine will get guncky if your own water's not very pristine.

Thanks for your snarky reply, Julie. I speak French but being a new Xpap user I have not had occasion to buy distilled water in Europe before now. I just wanted to be sure it is readily available there. Lisa.

If you can't find distilled water where you will be then just use bottled water.
The main thing about distilled water is the lack of minerals and its those minerals that tend to accumulate inside the water chamber so we use distilled tohel keep the water chamber mineral free.

It's not the end of the world if we can't use distilled for some reason and end up with some mineral build up in the chamber...its easily removed with a little vinegar solution.

In the meantime to limit the build up from water with minerals when distilled is not available....just dump the remaining water each morning and let the tank air dry. I would use bottled water if possible because we never know just how "hard" the local tap water is but even tap water can be used if that's all that's available and other than maybe having to do the vinegar soak....not that big of a deal.

Sorry, I realize it sounded a little rough, but I do get impatient with grown people who apparently do speak the language needing to be told how to ask storekeepers for water in the world's most sophisticated places.

The only reason for distilled water is so you don't need to clean the mineral build up out of the humidifier. Tap water is fine if it is drinkable. Just clean the humidifier more often. Use vinegar in the water and let it sit for 10-20 minutes.

I agree with Julie - ask in a store or at the hotel where you are staying.

Many people in Europe (and other places outside the US) have reported problems finding distilled water for sale. If they find it, it may be very expensive. This is even true in some of the more "advanced" countries.

Any tap water that's safe for drinking is OK for your CPAP machine, especially for a short time. Dump the water out in the morning, rinse the tank, and let it sit dry until you are ready to CPAP again.

Bottled water is NOT necessarily better than tap water. Bottled water may be "spring" water, which often has more minerals than tap water.

Tap water vs. distilled may cause buildup of minerals in your water tank, and require more frequent cleaning or tank replacement. There are some tricks to clean out the deposits if they happen. Tanks aren't that expensive. It won't mess up your blower unit, just the tank. It might affect the tubing or mask, but even that's very unlikely.

ResMed says not to use anything other than distilled water in their standard/non-dishwashable tanks. (Shame on you, ResMed.) Personally, I wouldn't worry about it if I got stuck, but I'd get a dishwashable/cleanable tank later.

Thank you everyone. I appreciate the time you took to answer. I am brand new to this and just trying to educate myself.

BlackSpinner wrote:The only reason for distilled water is so you don't need to clean the mineral build up out of the humidifier. Tap water is fine if it is drinkable. Just clean the humidifier more often. Use vinegar in the water and let it sit for 10-20 minutes.

I agree with Julie - ask in a store or at the hotel where you are staying.

Tap water also has more potential to grow germs because it has more contaminants that can become germ food. Probably not a big deal if you dump the water and rinse the tank every morning and don't refill it until the next evening.

Germs in the water tank also aren't as big a problem as you might think, anyway. You're only breathing the vapor, not drinking the water, or putting it into an open wound. I like to keep it clean, anyway, though.

Bonjour lathnos46,

The Migros supermarket chain has distilled water - or l'eau distillée - or destilliert wasser - but it's the kind you put in batteries and irons, and is not meant to be drunk or inhaled. That's why they keep it in the household cleaning section.

The pharmaceutical kind is harder to get - and expensive.

The best alternative, I suggest, is the poshest of posh Alpine spring waters - SWISSeau. As their website sez:

"SWISSeau is 100% natural and organic. The water has a low mineral content and neutral pH value which makes it extremely healthy and suitable even for babies and the elderly.

"SWISSeau is available at fine hotels, restaurants, bars, and private health and sports clubs, spas, and selected fine retail stores. For more about SWISSeau, visit our website: http://www.swisseau.com"

rick blaine wrote:Bonjour lathnos46,

The Migros supermarket chain has distilled water - or l'eau distillée - or destilliert wasser - but it's the kind you put in batteries and irons, and is not meant to be drunk or inhaled. That's why they keep it in the household cleaning section.

The pharmaceutical kind is harder to get - and expensive.

The best alternative, I suggest, is the poshest of posh Alpine spring waters - SWISSeau. As their website sez:

"SWISSeau is 100% natural and organic. The water has a low mineral content and neutral pH value which makes it extremely healthy and suitable even for babies and the elderly.

"SWISSeau is available at fine hotels, restaurants, bars, and private health and sports clubs, spas, and selected fine retail stores. For more about SWISSeau, visit our website: http://www.swisseau.com"

You don't need pharmaceutical grade distilled, but I agree I wouldn't drink distilled water that isn't intended to be drunk. If it's made for use in batteries, there could be other chemicals, germs, or other contaminants from the processing machinery. Even if it were pure coming out of the distillation apparatus, it might get messed up later in the processing in ways that are bad for humans, but OK for batteries.

Distilled water for batteries, irons, etc should be fine with one caution. Don't confuse distilled water with de-ionised water (also sold for topping up the liquid in car batteries), this will sometimes have a bitterant added to prevent people from trying to drink it. FYI you shouldn't drink distilled water in the first place (cant remember why, but i have heard it on a number of reputable science shows).

rick blaine wrote:"SWISSeau is 100% natural and organic.

Organic..... water

Make life easy like I do; leave the humidifier home, you cam do without it. Try at home for a few days before leaving.

palerider wrote:

rick blaine wrote:"SWISSeau is 100% natural and organic.

Organic..... water

Yes I am not sure how they can make water "organic" Add some carbon molecules? Some green slime?