"Just to tidy this up, I finally had an in-person review by my sleep clinic yesterday, who agreed the ResMed AirSense 10 was "wheezy" and replaced the machine."
Sleep Apnoea Forum Bringing Help + Support to the Patient
Water for humidifier
My husband has now bought a CPAP with the agreement of his sleep clinic. Could you please guide us re water for the humidifier. Does it have to be distilled water? If so how do we get it in large volumes-our local chemist says they cannot help for this. We have Scottish tap water - can this water boiled be used?
Views: 2609
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by David on
-
Hi Christine . I've used boiled water for over a year with no problems and during our fortnight holiday in the outer Hebrides I used it straight from the tap with no problems because we were in hotels. more important is to wash the tank out weekly to stop bacteria growing in the warm wet atmosphere. Could you not get one on the NHS for nothing?
-
Permalink Reply by Christine Woods on
-
Thanks David
My husband has had his NHS CPAP since about 1996 but now we are retired he is finding it so heavy and cumbersome to take on holiday. The NHS would not change his CPAP saying he woulde need to break his in order to get another. Thanks to the forum and talking to Kath and everyone about CPAP and travel my husband has now bought a private lighter CPAP. For his NHS CPAP he has used always used boiled tap water (the CPAP separate chamber has been replaced a few times over the years by the sleep clinic without question ).
This new CPAP has an integrated water chamber so my husband wants to look after it correctly from the start-hence my asking for guidance.
David said:Hi Christine . I've used boiled water for over a year with no problems and during our fortnight holiday in the outer Hebrides I used it straight from the tap with no problems because we were in hotels. more important is to wash the tank out weekly to stop bacteria growing in the warm wet atmosphere. Could you not get one on the NHS for nothing?
-
Permalink Reply by Terry Vella on
-
Christine, distilled is supposed to be the best, you can boil it and some people even use tap water but empty it each day, I always use distilled because with boiled and tap water you dont know what chemicals are in them and then what you are breating in. I'm fairly sure your Chemist over there sell distilled water and some of your supermakets. I buy 2 lts for $1.39 and it last me two weeks.
-
-
Thanks Terry
Once on a cruise we were given 2 bottles of distilled water for CPAP use but for hotels I have usually packed a travel kettle and boiled water for each night. Tomorrow I will ask around locally and see if we can buy distilled water-our local chemist does not stock DW. Amazon UK sell distilled water and also machines to make it. I am reading you cannot drink distilled water so there must be a difference between purified (eg Brita) and distilled machines. >
Terry Vella said:Christine, distilled is supposed to be the best, you can boil it and some people even use tap water but empty it each day, I always use distilled because with boiled and tap water you dont know what chemicals are in them and then what you are breating in. I'm fairly sure your Chemist over there sell distilled water and some of your supermakets. I buy 2 lts for $1.39 and it last me two weeks.
-
-
Hello Christine,
You should be able to get distilled water through your pharmacy. I am getting it from my local pharmacist in 5 litre containers. The label on container says it comes from Ultra Pure Laboratories , Shraheen, Foxford, Co. Mayo, Ireland. You should be able to get it on prescription.
-
-
Hi Lisa have just phoned our local Boots chemist and they can't help for a distilled water supplier. Good news is I have heard back from new CPAP supplier who say we can use our own Scottish tap water as it is soft. Have also been told my husband can clean the reserviour in the dishawasher providing it is on the glass cycle. This will make such a change as the NHS chamber cannot be washed this way.
Thanks for all your guidance, I will look at also buying DW online for when we travel to rest of UK that has harder water.
Lisa said:Hello Christine,
You should be able to get distilled water through your pharmacy. I am getting it from my local pharmacist in 5 litre containers. The label on container says it comes from Ultra Pure Laboratories , Shraheen, Foxford, Co. Mayo, Ireland. You should be able to get it on prescription.
-
-
Hi the new CPAP has just arrived so hubby is reading all about the amazing functions compared to his NHS model!
I spoke to a friendly chap from Scottish Water today , he tells me that the Glasgow water( from Loch Katrine) has very low hardness at 15 milligrams per litre. Thought I would share if anyone with CPAP visits our area.
I spoke also to our Doctor's surgery and have been told that distilled water is not on prescription. Notice that Amazon is selling distilled water plus machines to make it. The Scottish Water rep says that Scottish bottled water has a much higher hardness level so should not be used for the CPAP.
Christine Woods said:Hi Lisa have just phoned our local Boots chemist and they can't help for a distilled water supplier. Good news is I have heard back from new CPAP supplier who say we can use our own Scottish tap water as it is soft. Have also been told my husband can clean the reserviour in the dishawasher providing it is on the glass cycle. This will make such a change as the NHS chamber cannot be washed this way.
Thanks for all your guidance, I will look at also buying DW online for when we travel to rest of UK that has harder water.
Lisa said:Hello Christine,
You should be able to get distilled water through your pharmacy. I am getting it from my local pharmacist in 5 litre containers. The label on container says it comes from Ultra Pure Laboratories , Shraheen, Foxford, Co. Mayo, Ireland. You should be able to get it on prescription.
-
Permalink Reply by Kath Hope on
-
Thanks for the info Christine. The interesting thing is that I've been speaking to one of our other forum members lately about distilled water, and she's in Scotland and gets it on prescription for her child. I'll ask her to come and confirm on here.
Hope your hubby likes his new machine
-
-
Hi
My almost 3 year old uses cpap and we got distilled water through our community nurses Baxter H2O ref : UKF7114 it is sterile water for irrigation 100ml bottles it isnt in the prescription formula but can be prescribed as a "Special" which means the gp surgery pay the levy out of there budget so it may depend on the area etc you could always contact your PCT to see what they say
-
-
Thanks Carol
My husband used tap water for his new CPAP (takes about 350mls) so your guidance is really appreciated. I will talk over with our GP to see if they could treat my hubby as a 'special'. Seemingly no-one at the sleep clinic has ever given water quality/ distilled water guidance, Hubby has had his NHS CPAP for around 16 years , the Resipronics chamber has been changed quite a few times with no problems (depostis were gathering on the base and once there was a small hole in it! )/>
carol murphy said:Hi
My almost 3 year old uses cpap and we got distilled water through our community nurses Baxter H2O ref : UKF7114 it is sterile water for irrigation 100ml bottles it isnt in the prescription formula but can be prescribed as a "Special" which means the gp surgery pay the levy out of there budget so it may depend on the area etc you could always contact your PCT to see what they say
-
-
Hi,
I used to buy "Purified Water BP" from the chemist. My local Sainsbury's pharmacy sold it in 1 litre bottles, but eventually I found a pharmacy who sold it in 5 litre bottles. You can find it on-line, but bear in mind that it weighs 5kg. Then I tried Highland Spring water from the local supermarket which worked pretty well. The doctor at the sleep clinic was happy for me to use either.
When I had my kitchen refitted I installed a whole-house water softener, and now I just use water out of the tap. That works really well, and must have paid for itself compared to buying purified water! As I live in London with very hard water, it's also great that the shower doesn't gum up with lime scale etc :)
When travelling, once I've got through airport security the first thing I do is buy a bottle of water so I know I will be able to use the machine at the destination.
Whenever the CPAP reservoir gets a bit chalky, I wash it out with neat vinegar.
Jonathan.
-
-
Hi Jonathan, pleased to hear the ping of the Ipad with your words. Following Lisa's and Carol's guidance I am awaiting our local Boots to help with a price for Baxters H2O. The new CPAP rep phoned hubby last night and said again that tap water was OK and mentioned the vinegar rinse.
The CPAP humidifier booklet is a bit vague re type of water required -we have also been advised not now to put the chamber in the dishwasher but use vinegar. This also is new to us. Do you use white vinegar , would not imagine the malt for fish and ships was ideal but maybe hubby would enjoy !
We used to live in Enfield so know the hardness of the water there. All forum help is appreciated
Jonathan said:Hi,
I used to buy "Purified Water BP" from the chemist. My local Sainsbury's pharmacy sold it in 1 litre bottles, but eventually I found a pharmacy who sold it in 5 litre bottles. You can find it on-line, but bear in mind that it weighs 5kg. Then I tried Highland Spring water from the local supermarket which worked pretty well. The doctor at the sleep clinic was happy for me to use either.
When I had my kitchen refitted I installed a whole-house water softener, and now I just use water out of the tap. That works really well, and must have paid for itself compared to buying purified water! As I live in London with very hard water, it's also great that the shower doesn't gum up with lime scale etc :)
When travelling, once I've got through airport security the first thing I do is buy a bottle of water so I know I will be able to use the machine at the destination.
Whenever the CPAP reservoir gets a bit chalky, I wash it out with neat vinegar.
Jonathan.
About
Sleep Apnoea Forum
New to the Sleep Apnoea Forum?
1. Stop by our Sleep Apnoea Welcome Center to introduce yourself to the SleepGuide community.
2. Start a New Topic of Conversation.
3. Post your photos - of yourself, your old CPAP machine, your new CPAP machine, your pet, something about you!
Interested in advertising, have a problem or need to contact us? Click the Report an Issue page.
Latest Activity
"thank you jonathan,i did get the it pack so tried the small and still struggled but i was sat up in bed so will try lying down great suggestion "
"Hi
My first thought is "don't panic"! We're all a bit different, and there are many things that can be tweaked. I took to CPAP therapy like a duck to water, but I've had friends who say they can't cope, but…"
1st time and I’ve failed the mask leak test
Hi everyone, today I received my rental kit - prisma smart max, plus a Philips dreamwear mask which I’ve been wearing unconnected to try and get used to it. I just did a mask fit test using a medium mask and got a constant red/orange leak warning…See More
Are every small CPAP machines any good?
Travel sized, micro - any good?See More
"Ha well it lasted a couple of days but started howling again. But it's a step in the right direction, just needs a bit more work."
"Nope, I just accept that some people's throats tend to close when they sleep, due to a loss of muscle tone during deeper sleep. Back when I was diagnosed, the sleep lab just filmed you whilst you slept, stuck an O2 meter on your finger,…"
"Did anyone tell you exactly what the anatomical issue is, Jonathan?"
"Can't say I know about this."
"So I tore some fabric from one of the filters and glued it over the holes - and it worked!It was dead quiet, and the air was still flowing freely.It was quiet all night then after a few hours a bit of whistling until I gave it a wipe.Vast…"
"Hi Jonathan, well see my nose is blocked a lot, so I mouth breath which really sucks a lot more moisture and makes my mouth dry. So I put humidity on maximum, which makes for condensation at the mask end, which becomes a demonic reed instrument.Now…"
ResMed AirSense 10 getting noisy
HelloI have an NHS issued ResMed AirSense 10 with heated humidifier. In the last couple of weeks, it's developed an annoying noise, when I inhale. It bothers me a little and my partner a lot! I sometimes get problems if the water container in the…See More
"Hi
My first question is why is condensation forming? I very occasionally get some condensation, may be once a month, but I can quickly run a finger around the inside of the mask, and wipe it away. I use a nasal mask, with the humidifier…"
"11K+? Ok that's probably where I should look then :-)"
"Hi John. Thanks for the compliment as I do my best popping on here, but it's difficult due to us now supporting 25k+ patients at the charity. To be honest, the forum is quiet because most people seem to prefer Facebook and forums aren't as…"
"There's some information here, but generally it's very common and likely due to our anatomy."
© 2024 Created by The SleepGuide Crew.
Powered by
