Is tap water OK for 2 nights?

Is tap water in the humidifier OK for 2 nights or should it be avoided?

yes

im new to this, really, but I think people sweat the small stuff way too much. tap water for a couple nights won't hurt. it's prolonged use that causes problems. If you are out of distilled water and can't get to the store to get more, IMO use tap for a couple of days until you can get distilled.

Sure! My experience, nearly one year in, is that tap water is fine. I use distilled most of the time, but tap water every time I travel.

I think that the rule of thumb is if you can drink the water it is of for the humidifier for a few nights. Obviously if you are in Mexico and told not to drink the water do not put it in your machine.

It is my understanding that the recommendation of using distilled water is for machine maintenance... not your personal health. In other words, tap water won't hurt you, but long-term usage of tap water will cause build-up in the humidifier chamber.

It really depends on the quality of your water. I've been using tap water exclusively since I started about 5 months ago and I've had zero buildup. But then I have really good, soft water with little minerals in it. Would I use the well water at my parents house? No way. Well especially since it has high levels of arsenic, but that's another story.

I have used nothing but tap water for over a year and have no problems or build-up. I have the Respironics M-Series humidifier whcih just uses a warming plate so there is no place for any scale to build up. I dump the water each day and put in fresh, so no chance for this alleged buildup.

Distilled water is nothing more than evaporated water. What do you think evaporated tap water is? Oh yeah! Distilled.

I don't see why not. I use nothing but tap water and I am on a well.

I use tap water every night as well. I do have some build up and it causes me to wash it more often, but I've had no health issue due to it.

I did have a problem two times. once I forgot to add salt to the water softner and the other time was after my surgery when I coudln't carry the salt to put in my softner. I got mineral build up quickly in just a matter of a few days in the humidifier chamber and some rust discoloration of the plastic. I just mixed some vinegar in with some water in the sink and soaked it for a while, then rinsed it and let it air out overnight and used a backup chamber.

Gerry

We have really hard water, and when we ran one of those ultrasonic humidifiers in the room when the kids were small, we noticed a mineral dust on surfaces. I would not want to breathe it all night every night.

gbuskirk wrote:We have really hard water, and when we ran one of those ultrasonic humidifiers in the room when the kids were small, we noticed a mineral dust on surfaces. I would not want to breathe it all night every night.

An ultrasonic humidifier works by using rapid vibration to atomize water particles into a forced air-stream. This is completely different from an evaporative (heated) humidifier which only conveys water vapor that is evaporated from the liquid supply water. Evaporated water is the same as distilled water. Ultrasonic is just a way of creating a liquid mist and includes all the contaminates of the supply water.

Distilled is always recommended for use. I always bring enuff for at least 2 days when traveling. Ask the hotel (or cruiseline) to see if they can/will supply any.

I think sound judgement should be used when distilled water is not available. Of course, the source of the water and what it might contain should always be considered.

I used tap water my first two nights, before the water distiller arrived....no problems with that. Though it was tap water that I had filtered and left out for a while....in the winter time tap water has a funny smell to it....

And, when I've traveled, I have used bottled water a couple of times. Last trip I both transported distilled water, and was able to get distilled water....

The Dreamer.

If you are using tap water you may want to drain and dry the water chamber after each use in the morning. Then re-fill with tap water before you are ready to use it at night. This should help prevent any potential problems.