Using tap water in a pinch

It's midnight and I ran out of distiller water for my H5i tub. Can I use tap water in a pinch? Not as a replacement for good. Just until I can get to the store for some distiller tomorrow

OF COURSE YOU CAN...What do you think will happen with tap water. Some people use it all the time(They just clean their humidifier tank more often).

LSAT wrote:OF COURSE YOU CAN...What do you think will happen with tap water. Some people use it all the time(They just clean their humidifier tank more often).

ditto this answer. i used it for a long time til i got tired of cleaned the white crud out of the reservoir. for a once in a while thing, no problem. just clean out your reervoir good after use.

I used just tap water for a few years, it works but you will build up scale in the humidifier chamber over time even with daily changing of the water. The best thing I found to clean off the scale and get the hot plate of the chamber clean was to fill the chamber up with white vinegar and let it sit for 10 to 30 minutes. Then wipe the scale off and rinse well. If the scale is really thick from really hard water just do the soak a few times and take it off layer by layer, by the time your done the chamber will be like new. Make sure to rinse it really good and let dry before use or it will smell badly of vinegar. Normal cleaning can be done the same way but with a 50/50 mix of water to vinegar. Depending on the water you might go with a once a week soak or once every 2 weeks. I normally did a once a week scale cleaning soak with a water change everyday.

That all said I have found I really like using steam distilled water better though.

I use tap water every night. I empty the tank in the morning and let it dry.
Every week I stick it in the dishwasher.
It still looks as new (it is now 13 months old) except for the writing on the side (1/4, 1/2, full) which is slowly fading.

I use tap water when I travel and don't feel like hauling a jug of distilled water with me on the trip (or buying some @ destination). I just run my tank through my standard cleaning procedure when I'm back at home base.

I've tried just skipping the humidifier when I travel, but that didn't work well.

It's OK to use tap water in a pinch. I think you'll be happier using distilled water when you can.

I have used tap water too. I think that you might want to let the water sit in an open container for a while to allow the chlorine fumes to disperse a little before going to sleep. I find them a little annoying.

I have always used tap water and rinse out the humidifier with white vinegar weekly. I have not noticed any down side to this, I asked the provider of machine and they were perfectly OK with tap water being used.

Chees Katagal

hades161 wrote:I used just tap water for a few years, it works but you will build up scale in the humidifier chamber over time even with daily changing of the water. The best thing I found to clean off the scale and get the hot plate of the chamber clean was to fill the chamber up with white vinegar and let it sit for 10 to 30 minutes. Then wipe the scale off and rinse well. If the scale is really thick from really hard water just do the soak a few times and take it off layer by layer, by the time your done the chamber will be like new. Make sure to rinse it really good and let dry before use or it will smell badly of vinegar. Normal cleaning can be done the same way but with a 50/50 mix of water to vinegar. Depending on the water you might go with a once a week soak or once every 2 weeks. I normally did a once a week scale cleaning soak with a water change everyday.

That all said I have found I really like using steam distilled water better though.

Really? I've always used tap water and I could never get that buildup off, even with multiple vinegar rinses. S8/S9/PRS1.

I use tap water all the time. You know an effective way to remove any scale buildup? POLIDENT !!
Yes, the denture cleaner. If after a couple weeks you get a little bit of mineral buildup, put about four tablets in the reservoir w/ a little bit of water . (enough to cover the bottom and up to the point of scale buildup). I do it in the morning before work and rinse it out when i get home. It's NON TOXIC and not stinky!
Your humidifier will be squeaky clean afterwords....no buildup!
I would never clean with vinegar.....I'm afraid I would never get the smell out....YUCK.

k4o wrote:

hades161 wrote:I used just tap water for a few years, it works but you will build up scale in the humidifier chamber over time even with daily changing of the water. The best thing I found to clean off the scale and get the hot plate of the chamber clean was to fill the chamber up with white vinegar and let it sit for 10 to 30 minutes. Then wipe the scale off and rinse well. If the scale is really thick from really hard water just do the soak a few times and take it off layer by layer, by the time your done the chamber will be like new. Make sure to rinse it really good and let dry before use or it will smell badly of vinegar. Normal cleaning can be done the same way but with a 50/50 mix of water to vinegar. Depending on the water you might go with a once a week soak or once every 2 weeks. I normally did a once a week scale cleaning soak with a water change everyday.

That all said I have found I really like using steam distilled water better though.

Really? I've always used tap water and I could never get that buildup off, even with multiple vinegar rinses. S8/S9/PRS1.

Plain old white vinegar has always cleaned it up for me, I even have done it with my heated room humidifier. But then again everyone's water quality out of the tap is different. Where I live the water quality is ranked 5 out of 10. Try soaking the metal plate over night a few times and cleaning off the top layer and then do it again. The stuff on the sides of the plastic can be a pain but with many soaks and wipes of a paper towel I have had little trouble cleaning up even a really bad chamber. I have never used a scrubber even a plastic type on any of my gear. On my new S9 I am not happy with the design of the chamber but have been thinking about buying this.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... amber.html

Just so I can clean it properly.

dozeoff wrote:I use tap water all the time. You know an effective way to remove any scale buildup? POLIDENT !!
Yes, the denture cleaner. If after a couple weeks you get a little bit of mineral buildup, put about four tablets in the reservoir w/ a little bit of water . (enough to cover the bottom and up to the point of scale buildup). I do it in the morning before work and rinse it out when i get home. It's NON TOXIC and not stinky!
Your humidifier will be squeaky clean afterwords....no buildup!
I would never clean with vinegar.....I'm afraid I would never get the smell out....YUCK.

Hmm, good tip. Never tried it as I remember the dish for my mom's false teeth soaking dish being kinda gross. One more thing to try out then. =)

(*damage) also for the people that do use tap water, imagine all that white "crud" as you call that you clean out of the water container In your lungs....

There are two issues with tapwater:

1. You might be putting things directly into your lungs that shouldn't go there.
2. You might make a mess of your humidifier, tubing, and mask.

The humidifier works by blowing air across the water. The water may be heated or not to encourage evaporation.

The resulting water vapor should not have anything in it - it's essentially performing another distillation step. But if your water has other compounds in it, compounds that also evaporate under these conditions, then those things are also going to end up in your hose, mask, and lungs. If they condense in your hose or mask you may end up having a hard time ever getting rid of them without replacing those parts.

I don't think the risk is large, most tapwater in the US has a reasonably low level of contaminants. However, the manufacturers have stuck to this recommendation so they aren't liable in case someone's water supply isn't clean. I'd be very reluctant to use water from taps that aren't known to be safe.

Beyond that, it's just the mess in the tub that this might make. As the water evaporates, dissolved solids become more concentrated in the remaining solution. If you use up half your water over one use, then whatever contaminants were in the water to begin with are now at twice the concentration, since half the water is gone.

They are much more likely to fall out of solution, crystalize, or otherwise attach themselves to the humidifier tub.

If you completely evaporate all the water, then you'l definitely find the contaminants remaining in the tub.

If you only refill the water without draining the previous water, you'll be super concentrating the solution over time, causing a much larger mess.

So if you do this, make sure you drain and rinse your tub daily, preferably immediately after use, and allow it to dry. Only add water immediately before use, then drain it and rinse it immediately after use.

This should limit, if not altogether resolve, any problems with scale.

The off gassing of other compounds into your breathable air remains, though.