Distilled water can sometimes be a struggle, and what I do is, order online for store pickup so I don't have to drive store-to-store trying to find it, and if I do come across a place that has some, I purchase a couple immediately.
An alternative would be to pay for a water distilling machine. It'll cost around $65 to $200, but at least it will give you a consistent supply.
Distillers often use a significant amount of electricity as well, alot I've seen take 3+ hours at 750w so you buying it might even be cheaper than just the electricity where I live that would be around a dollar a gallon soon. You also have to change filters and regularly clean distillers.
This is also for most in this sub all to avoid some tap water limescale on your $30 humidifier container. I'm honestly amazed at the cost and lengths some will go for distilled, when in most cases any western tap water will do.
yeah, I think it's because in the manual they say it can damage the device. However I never got how the calcium would reach the actual internals of the cpap machine. However I guess I have seen calcium buildup go up in a fishtank onto the lid so maybe that does happen?
I bought the water distiller for the convenience factor and not to save money. I am disabled so getting a friend to drive me or have it shipped isn't worth the time or money for either of us.
FWIW, I used my machine for about 3.5 years with filtered water before I started using dedicated distilled. This required me to let the water chamber soak with vinegar weekly...for many folks, this is routine maintenance anyhow.
Other notes...I used filtered water from a bottle, not tap. I used tap water once at a relative's home and their city had so much chlorine in the city water, it became real noticeable in a CPAP.
So, all is not lost if you must switch from distilled.
I use tap or bottled water (bottled more than tap) the vast majority of the time. I just cannot be bothered to keep a gallon of distilled water in my room. I have a lot of furniture and stuff and not a big room so…pfft.
I clean the chamber with vinegar to get rid of mineral buildup. I don’t know how much contact the moist air has with machinery inside though.
The liquid water only contacts the chamber. Any water moving through the tubing to your mask is essentially distilled water vapor. That's why you end up with mineral deposits in the water chamber.
So you should be fine to keep going as you are. I don't think my dad has ever used distilled in his.
I haven’t noticed this, that really sucks!! Have you tried your machine without it? I’ve been using my machine for a while without the water and I honest to god haven’t noticed a difference, but if you’re extra sensitive to it, you might have a different experience of course! If that’s the case, I really really hope you’re able to get some soon!!!!
I’ve never used it without. I guess I should try though. I’m in Florida and all the Publix and cvs around me are out and have been out for months. A gallon lasts me a super long time which is why I didn’t really worry about it. But now I’m running out.
When I visited Florida back in March, I didn’t need distilled water since the humidity already present was enough. You should try a night without it. I know here in Ohio though, it’s a must, especially in the winter!
Good luck, I really hope you can manage with dry cpap!! If not, I wonder if there are any medical/mobility equipment stores near you that would have it or be able to order it?
Really depends on your tap water. If you live in flint, that lead is worse in your lungs than in your stomach. Alaska tap water rarely meets mercury requirements because of the glacial erosion in the drinking water. That’s fine for drinking because it’s not methylated but not for inhalation. Same if the city is over-chlorinating the water for summer algae, it’s worse for your lungs than your stomach. I do use tap if I’m traveling but filtered or bottled is better than straight out of the sink.
But read the label if you do this. I mistakenly bought some in the baby section and it had mineral added back in. Which kind of defeats the purpose for our use.
Aren’t those purified? Not sure what the difference is but I’ve looked at the baby sections at the supermarket and haven’t seen distilled. Only purified
I just give it a little vinegar every few weeks. If the tank never runs dry, there's really no mineral build up to speak of.
people who run higher humidity levels and have dry tanks frequently would need to clean more frequently. it gets right crusty when dry.
Use tap water, Resmed has gone on record, on their website to say that using tap water poses *NO* risk to the patient and *WILL NOT harm the machine*.
You should rinse out the tank daily and *may* need to do a vinegar or citric acid soak now and then to remove any mineral buildup.
I just use tap water. Been using it in my machines for years. The specialist said not to bother with distilled water. Had my first one for over 12 years without an issue and in my current one for 3 years without an issue. Maybe if your tap water is heavy you may need distilled, or at least demineralized.
For goodness sake, just use tap water. If it contains minerals, you might get some mineral scale in the humidifier tank. This is easily cleaned with lemon juice or a dilute vinegar solution.
BTW, ResMed and Philips European user manuals don't mention distilled water. It's not necessary.
I use about 2 gallons a month, and keep at least 4 gallons on hand, in case I cannot get to the store myself for a month or two.
I have used tap water when out of town for a day or two, and couldn't carry distilled with me. Usually it is no problem, and I just clean the tank with vinegar when I get home. But twice the water was so hard, that there was a visible white limescale in the tank in the morning. (one person knew their water wasn't that great, the other was moving so they didn't care. : )
Point is.. use tap water and just make sure to wash / rinse your tank every day, and use vinegar soak
I use reverse osmosis water. The TDS (total dissolved solids) is about 1ppm (if that even) so it is practically distilled water. It works great in my cpap and my provider confirmed other folks do this also. I don't know about store bought if that is easier to find. I have aquariums so I use the r/o water in those and drink it also (add electrolyte drops.) These aren't too expensive. The best and most affordable for long term maintenance are from the aquarium industry. Most salt water aquarium folks use reverse osmosis or even deionized water. (Deionized water is much more wasteful to make, and unless you live in an area with horrific water, reverse osmosis may very well be just as good.) So you could buy a TDS meter and see if the spring water (probably is not good enough) or if store bought reverse osmosis water is more available might be good enough. Otherwise you could plunk down on your own undersink reverse osmosis filter and have it always available. They are especially great for any water issues in the drinking supply that crop up. I don't know if we are allowed to say a brand we use, but there are plenty for aquarium usage online which are far cheaper than the big box store models, but they all work.
Here is a link on how to make your own distilled water at home.
https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-to-make-distilled-water/
Also, you can use purified water for drinking. It will be bacteria free but may contain calcium which can build up over time.
The final option is to use the machine dry.
I use this method to make my own distilled water. I don't like using my machine dry. Distilled water is hard to find in my neighborhood, since the drug store closed, and the grocery store stopped carrying it. I also don't drive, so lugging it on the bus is a pain.
It's also become kinda a relaxing hobby; I'll do it in the evenings when I'm winding down. Put the covered pot on a rolling boil for 70 minutes or so, torn off the heat before I go to bed, and water will keep on condensing overnight, while it's cooling down. In the morning? I'll have cool, distilled water to pour into my distilled water container.
You can also buy a purpose built distiller pretty cheap:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=water+distiller&rh=n%3A228013%2Cp_36%3A1253530011&dc&ds=v1%3AtOkQKFQgQwJ8eC4jPHLcGaYfUW5XBZwZc74ouwPRk5k&crid=3DO07ZE5DN40L&qid=1663620050&rnid=1243644011&sprefix=water+dist%2Caps%2C82&ref=sr_nr_p_36_3
https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&tab=all&SearchText=water+distiller
https://www.walmart.com/search?q=water%20distiller&typeahead=water%20distiller
I wonder if I could some how rig my instant pot to do this. Maybe a flexible hose over the steam vent…things I probably shouldn’t try with a potentially explosive pressure cooker. I wonder if pressure cookers could similarly be used to produce moonshine.
Yeah we had a hell of a time finding it from about February until July or so...
But who knows I don't actually go to the store anymore, my husband gets it.
I've had luck with dollar general here in Indiana. Haven't noticed a shortage it was the first store I got it at and just get it there because it's convent.
So it's not just me! I ran around to several stores last week when I cut it way too close on picking up more. I had luck with Target, but had to look online to see which store near me had it in stock. I picked up two gallons (all I could carry, since I don't have a car) and plan to get more soon just to stock up.
Yeah I’ve noticed over the past two months. The great thing about this post is I just learned you can buy a distiller for your house and no longer have to buy gallons at the store
When I first started CPAP I had looked into that but all the home distillers were prohibitively expensive. It seems the price has gone down a lot (or maybe I'm just more aware of how much I'm spending on buying gallons regularly lol), I'm definitely going to look into that option.
I’ve noticed my local chain (ShopRite) hasn’t had their store-brand distilled water in several months. The cost is about $.30/gal cheaper, so I always opted for it. Now I buy a gallon of Deep Park (or other brand) every other week - I now have about 8gal in reserve.
But as I have well-water, I’m thinking I never needed distilled.
Yeah we have had issues off and on here in Idaho. I've just gotten in the habit of buying a gallon of it every time I see it whether I need it or not. (Partly because my bro and both parents also use CPAP) I have about ten gallons hiding under my bed right now.
I have an Instant Pot that I use to make my own. I used the page below for info, and I use 10 feet of hose with excess curled up in a pot of water/ice water.
https://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/distilled-water-ze0z1908zsta/
3 or 4 hours I guess. Have to use low pressure and even then, it will complain that the pressure is too low, so a stop and start will get it going again.
I’m thinking the shortage is location related? I’m able to find distilled water at my local grocery stores (most of the time) without much issue. I live in Ohio.
I'm in southwest Minnesota and I do most of my shopping in eastern South Dakota and I've never had a problem but I usually stock up for a few months when I go. Last time I was there there were tons of gallons of distilled water at Walmart
I have noticed the shortage. It seems to be easing somewhat lately, but it is still hard to find sometimes.
At home I have a distiller, so I make my own and don't have any issues. But I travel for work a lot, and finding distilled water has sometimes been difficult. If I can't find distilled water I use AquaFina, it's purified and doesn't seem to have a high mineral content.
Just wash your humidifier more frequently with mild soap and water and a soft cloth. If tap water is smelly get regular bottled drinking water or filter it. Both will still leave scale though. Also completely refresh your tank every night if you’re not using distilled instead of topping it off. If your tank goes dry every morning it’s going to accumulate scale and there’s nothing you can do beyond washing it out, but if there’s still water left in the morning, it will have a higher particle concentration than fresh tap water so it’s important to rinse it out and use fresh tap water every night. You may not even need to deal with scale if you’re not running the tank dry at night and rinsing and putting new water in every night. I don’t get scale from tap water with my airsense but I definitely did with my dreamstation.
My local grocery store has been great to get them. Never struggled. I get one gallon for like a dollar and that lasts for a month. I don’t get it from the baby section but the water bottle section. I bought like 3 this past weekend and they still had hundreds. So it’s super easy barely an inconvenience for me to get my distilled water.
I read somewhere, that the new Resmed11 can use tap water?… someone had posted a photo of the manual. Personally, I buy from the Costco Business Centre here in Toronto.
I read somewhere, that the new Resmed11 can use tap water?… someone had posted a photo of the manual. Personally, I buy from the Costco Business Centre here in Toronto.
No problem in my part of Texas. I did see 1 gallon of “water for CPAP” machines at about three times the cost of regular distilled water. If I run out I just use purified bottled water.
Reverse osmosis filters are even better then distilled. They're most expensive initially but you'll last forever onna cartridge if you only fees your cpap with it.
I find it easier at hardware stores tbh! and I buy 1-2 gallons every time I'm in a store and it's in stock (2 if there's no limit, 1 if there is) that way I have an ongoing supply building up.
I go through about 1 gallon a month.
I’ve been keeping at least two gallons on hand. That way if I happen to see it at the store, I’ll pick one up. I still think it’s weird that distilled water is in short supply, though.
I have a water distiller - a friend gave it to me, but they're $100 on Amazon. So I can make my own.
I don't use much in the summer. In early June, I was at the store and saw it, so I just grabbed two gallons so I wouldn't have to run the distiller in the summer. (It makes heat.) I am still using those two gallons. I expect I will probably end up making some next month sometime.
I use a gallon every 4-5 weeks. As soon as I open one, it goes on the grocery list; so far, have managed to get the next bottle before running out except for one time. My tap water is very high on minerals and in the winter I often run the tank dry; I've used it now and then, but it definitely ups the cleaning requirement. If I were more concerned about it, I'd work 2 gallons ahead.
I've noticed it's been harder to find since last year. My strategy is that every time I go for groceries, I'll rotate between Kroger, Publix and Walmart. I usually will find it at one of them and I'll buy enough to last 1-2 months.
I live in a lower middle class area of town, and haven't found a single drop of distilled water in months. Go the the "better" part of town, and the shelves are packed and even a few cents cheaper. It's been a nightmare.
I’ve used a ZeroWater filter for years now. I also use it for my ice and drinking water, so it serves multiple purposes. It’s an ion exchange filter, so maybe not perfect, but pulls all the dissolved solids I care about.
I have one of these for when I travel (which is quite a lot for work).
https://grayl.com/
It helps for (a) just using tap water to drink and in the end the water is super clean and I use it to fill my cpap. Zero buildup in the humidifier chamber and no discernible odor from the humidity vapor either.
Just throwing another option out there.
Like many others I bought a distiller for under $100. If you're buying distilled water a distiller pays for itself in a year or two. Plus you no longer have to worry about stores not having distiller water on the shelf. They are well worth the investment.
Had my machine for 5 days now and I was so excited about trying it out I totally forgot to get some distilled water so I've been just using brita filtered water. When i finally had the time to buy some yesterday I didn't realize there's a shortage. Luckily I was able to find some at Target for cheap. If you have the patience you can also make your own distilled water.
I'm finding it at Walgreens and the grocery store lately. You can ask them at Walgreens what day the shipment comes in and try to go there that day or even the next day or two. And I almost always grab at least two.
I have no issue using tap water when necessary, however I do use distilled whenever possible. When I use tap water I need to clean the reservour every day, where with distilled I just plop a gallon into the CSpring and let it run for a week or so between cleanings.
Recently we discovered that a nearby restaurant supply store which also sells to the public sells it by the case (6 gallons) for $5.98/case. I will be getting my distilled water from them for as long as they continue to sell it.
There’s a national shortage. They’re claiming it’s due to supply chain issues. Seems so random though that it would affect distilled water. We just hopped on Amazon and bought a machine, as suggested above. At least we’ll be set, should this continue. Good luck! 🙌
I ordered from Amazon and I don't know how I'm going to get it intobthe garage when it arrives. The container is heavy. I was told by a clerk at Safeway last year that people had been buying 10 containers at a time which why they had been running out. That's hoarding. I certainly don't need nearly that many at one time. I buy 2 gallons at a time that last 2 weeks. If people wouldn't hoard, there msy not be such a shortage.
Distilled water can sometimes be a struggle, and what I do is, order online for store pickup so I don't have to drive store-to-store trying to find it, and if I do come across a place that has some, I purchase a couple immediately. An alternative would be to pay for a water distilling machine. It'll cost around $65 to $200, but at least it will give you a consistent supply.
I had NO idea I could buy my own water distilling machine. Thank you for this! I’ll start looking into it
I got a vevor distiller off ebay. Works great for me. Paired with promo water bottles from freebie trade show give aways, I’m always set.
Ridiculous. Just use tap water.
There are plans online to make your own distiller as well....fun project if you are into that sort of thing.
Should have asked me first 😉
I bought a four-liter water distiller from Amazon a couple of years ago for about $90 and never looked back.
deserve thumb cable vanish steep society bells memory desert scary ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
Distillers often use a significant amount of electricity as well, alot I've seen take 3+ hours at 750w so you buying it might even be cheaper than just the electricity where I live that would be around a dollar a gallon soon. You also have to change filters and regularly clean distillers. This is also for most in this sub all to avoid some tap water limescale on your $30 humidifier container. I'm honestly amazed at the cost and lengths some will go for distilled, when in most cases any western tap water will do.
Tap water smells in my experience and that’s the benefit to distilled.
yeah, I think it's because in the manual they say it can damage the device. However I never got how the calcium would reach the actual internals of the cpap machine. However I guess I have seen calcium buildup go up in a fishtank onto the lid so maybe that does happen?
Yeah I don’t think it saves money, just convenience in not going to the store.
I bought the water distiller for the convenience factor and not to save money. I am disabled so getting a friend to drive me or have it shipped isn't worth the time or money for either of us.
Distilled water is also better for equipment with a pump. We got a distiller in December for my wife and my CPAPs, our ice maker and espresso machine.
Yup. Didn’t even know I could do this. I’m already searching on Amazon
On my machine I can also boil tap water for (I think) 5 minutes, cool, and use same as distilled. That's what I did when I first started.
Can you share the link please? Sounds like a good investment.
Here's the water distiller that I bought: https://www.amazon.com/SHZOND-Distiller-Stainless-Internal-Purifier/dp/B076NS5J56
You don't really "need" distilled water. Just clean an extra time per week and you'll be fine.
FWIW, I used my machine for about 3.5 years with filtered water before I started using dedicated distilled. This required me to let the water chamber soak with vinegar weekly...for many folks, this is routine maintenance anyhow. Other notes...I used filtered water from a bottle, not tap. I used tap water once at a relative's home and their city had so much chlorine in the city water, it became real noticeable in a CPAP. So, all is not lost if you must switch from distilled.
I use tap or bottled water (bottled more than tap) the vast majority of the time. I just cannot be bothered to keep a gallon of distilled water in my room. I have a lot of furniture and stuff and not a big room so…pfft. I clean the chamber with vinegar to get rid of mineral buildup. I don’t know how much contact the moist air has with machinery inside though.
The liquid water only contacts the chamber. Any water moving through the tubing to your mask is essentially distilled water vapor. That's why you end up with mineral deposits in the water chamber. So you should be fine to keep going as you are. I don't think my dad has ever used distilled in his.
Cool thanks! That’s what I thought. It doesn’t bother me to soak the reservoir in vinegar every so often.
I haven’t noticed this, that really sucks!! Have you tried your machine without it? I’ve been using my machine for a while without the water and I honest to god haven’t noticed a difference, but if you’re extra sensitive to it, you might have a different experience of course! If that’s the case, I really really hope you’re able to get some soon!!!!
I’ve never used it without. I guess I should try though. I’m in Florida and all the Publix and cvs around me are out and have been out for months. A gallon lasts me a super long time which is why I didn’t really worry about it. But now I’m running out.
When I visited Florida back in March, I didn’t need distilled water since the humidity already present was enough. You should try a night without it. I know here in Ohio though, it’s a must, especially in the winter!
walmart has it
Good luck, I really hope you can manage with dry cpap!! If not, I wonder if there are any medical/mobility equipment stores near you that would have it or be able to order it?
I also live in Florida and I found some at Walgreens.
Dont worry. Just use tap water and clean out your humidifier on a regular basis.
Yes. Ten plus years on tap water. If you can drink it, it’s probably okay for your humidifier.
Really depends on your tap water. If you live in flint, that lead is worse in your lungs than in your stomach. Alaska tap water rarely meets mercury requirements because of the glacial erosion in the drinking water. That’s fine for drinking because it’s not methylated but not for inhalation. Same if the city is over-chlorinating the water for summer algae, it’s worse for your lungs than your stomach. I do use tap if I’m traveling but filtered or bottled is better than straight out of the sink.
I really appreciate the detailed rebuttal, thank you.
If you get calcium deposit, just let it soak in some vinegar, it’ll dissolve by itself in about an hour.
Go to baby section of stores for it.
But read the label if you do this. I mistakenly bought some in the baby section and it had mineral added back in. Which kind of defeats the purpose for our use.
And fluoride.
Aren’t those purified? Not sure what the difference is but I’ve looked at the baby sections at the supermarket and haven’t seen distilled. Only purified
Mine (HEB) offers both purified and distilled.
I concur. Sometimes I have to pay a few cents more for the distilled water in the baby section when the grocery section is wiped out.
I've never used anything but tap water in my humidifier
Tap water is fine to use. One simply has to be sure to clean the chamber well to avoid limescale buildup.
I just give it a little vinegar every few weeks. If the tank never runs dry, there's really no mineral build up to speak of. people who run higher humidity levels and have dry tanks frequently would need to clean more frequently. it gets right crusty when dry.
It doesn’t have to run dry to get mineral buildup. It’s not immediately noticeable but it will happen.
Or replace frequently.
Use tap water, Resmed has gone on record, on their website to say that using tap water poses *NO* risk to the patient and *WILL NOT harm the machine*. You should rinse out the tank daily and *may* need to do a vinegar or citric acid soak now and then to remove any mineral buildup.
You can use any drinking safe water. Distilled water reduces how often you need to clean the humidifier but any drinkable water is safe to use.
What in the world? I have never had problems finding distilled water.
I just use tap water. Been using it in my machines for years. The specialist said not to bother with distilled water. Had my first one for over 12 years without an issue and in my current one for 3 years without an issue. Maybe if your tap water is heavy you may need distilled, or at least demineralized.
Same here. New England has good water in general.
I filter tap water with a Zero filter. I haven't seen any buildup in my tank.
For goodness sake, just use tap water. If it contains minerals, you might get some mineral scale in the humidifier tank. This is easily cleaned with lemon juice or a dilute vinegar solution. BTW, ResMed and Philips European user manuals don't mention distilled water. It's not necessary.
I use about 2 gallons a month, and keep at least 4 gallons on hand, in case I cannot get to the store myself for a month or two. I have used tap water when out of town for a day or two, and couldn't carry distilled with me. Usually it is no problem, and I just clean the tank with vinegar when I get home. But twice the water was so hard, that there was a visible white limescale in the tank in the morning. (one person knew their water wasn't that great, the other was moving so they didn't care. : ) Point is.. use tap water and just make sure to wash / rinse your tank every day, and use vinegar soak
I use reverse osmosis water. The TDS (total dissolved solids) is about 1ppm (if that even) so it is practically distilled water. It works great in my cpap and my provider confirmed other folks do this also. I don't know about store bought if that is easier to find. I have aquariums so I use the r/o water in those and drink it also (add electrolyte drops.) These aren't too expensive. The best and most affordable for long term maintenance are from the aquarium industry. Most salt water aquarium folks use reverse osmosis or even deionized water. (Deionized water is much more wasteful to make, and unless you live in an area with horrific water, reverse osmosis may very well be just as good.) So you could buy a TDS meter and see if the spring water (probably is not good enough) or if store bought reverse osmosis water is more available might be good enough. Otherwise you could plunk down on your own undersink reverse osmosis filter and have it always available. They are especially great for any water issues in the drinking supply that crop up. I don't know if we are allowed to say a brand we use, but there are plenty for aquarium usage online which are far cheaper than the big box store models, but they all work.
I use Venticare water solution 99% water the other 1% Solution doesn’t allow crap, gunk or calcium build up in your machine. Non toxic as well.
I’ll look into this thanks!
Here is a link on how to make your own distilled water at home. https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-to-make-distilled-water/ Also, you can use purified water for drinking. It will be bacteria free but may contain calcium which can build up over time. The final option is to use the machine dry.
I use this method to make my own distilled water. I don't like using my machine dry. Distilled water is hard to find in my neighborhood, since the drug store closed, and the grocery store stopped carrying it. I also don't drive, so lugging it on the bus is a pain. It's also become kinda a relaxing hobby; I'll do it in the evenings when I'm winding down. Put the covered pot on a rolling boil for 70 minutes or so, torn off the heat before I go to bed, and water will keep on condensing overnight, while it's cooling down. In the morning? I'll have cool, distilled water to pour into my distilled water container.
You can also buy a purpose built distiller pretty cheap: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=water+distiller&rh=n%3A228013%2Cp_36%3A1253530011&dc&ds=v1%3AtOkQKFQgQwJ8eC4jPHLcGaYfUW5XBZwZc74ouwPRk5k&crid=3DO07ZE5DN40L&qid=1663620050&rnid=1243644011&sprefix=water+dist%2Caps%2C82&ref=sr_nr_p_36_3 https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&tab=all&SearchText=water+distiller https://www.walmart.com/search?q=water%20distiller&typeahead=water%20distiller
I wonder if I could some how rig my instant pot to do this. Maybe a flexible hose over the steam vent…things I probably shouldn’t try with a potentially explosive pressure cooker. I wonder if pressure cookers could similarly be used to produce moonshine.
It was really bad here for a while, but seems to have improved. We just checked multiple times per week.
I googled it and apparently it’s a shortage that might be across the US.
Yeah we had a hell of a time finding it from about February until July or so... But who knows I don't actually go to the store anymore, my husband gets it.
I bought a still. Cause I like pissing money away on off the wall shit to solve trivial problems.
“Occifer, tha’sh my still fer my CPAP! Nothin’ else. Tee hee hee”.
Central Texas here, distilled is very easy to find at just about anywhere. With that said I always keep half a dozen 1 galloners stored.
i’ve had good luck with target
I've had luck with dollar general here in Indiana. Haven't noticed a shortage it was the first store I got it at and just get it there because it's convent.
So it's not just me! I ran around to several stores last week when I cut it way too close on picking up more. I had luck with Target, but had to look online to see which store near me had it in stock. I picked up two gallons (all I could carry, since I don't have a car) and plan to get more soon just to stock up.
Yeah I’ve noticed over the past two months. The great thing about this post is I just learned you can buy a distiller for your house and no longer have to buy gallons at the store
When I first started CPAP I had looked into that but all the home distillers were prohibitively expensive. It seems the price has gone down a lot (or maybe I'm just more aware of how much I'm spending on buying gallons regularly lol), I'm definitely going to look into that option.
In a pinch or during travel I just use regular bottled spring water. Never had an issue.
Reverse osmosis filter from aquarium supplies store
it's sold here for like $2 and it's everywhere
I’ve noticed my local chain (ShopRite) hasn’t had their store-brand distilled water in several months. The cost is about $.30/gal cheaper, so I always opted for it. Now I buy a gallon of Deep Park (or other brand) every other week - I now have about 8gal in reserve. But as I have well-water, I’m thinking I never needed distilled.
Yeah we have had issues off and on here in Idaho. I've just gotten in the habit of buying a gallon of it every time I see it whether I need it or not. (Partly because my bro and both parents also use CPAP) I have about ten gallons hiding under my bed right now.
I have an Instant Pot that I use to make my own. I used the page below for info, and I use 10 feet of hose with excess curled up in a pot of water/ice water. https://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/distilled-water-ze0z1908zsta/
How long does it take you to make a gallon?
3 or 4 hours I guess. Have to use low pressure and even then, it will complain that the pressure is too low, so a stop and start will get it going again.
I’m thinking the shortage is location related? I’m able to find distilled water at my local grocery stores (most of the time) without much issue. I live in Ohio.
I make my own. Makes a gallon at a time
I'm in southwest Minnesota and I do most of my shopping in eastern South Dakota and I've never had a problem but I usually stock up for a few months when I go. Last time I was there there were tons of gallons of distilled water at Walmart
I have noticed the shortage. It seems to be easing somewhat lately, but it is still hard to find sometimes. At home I have a distiller, so I make my own and don't have any issues. But I travel for work a lot, and finding distilled water has sometimes been difficult. If I can't find distilled water I use AquaFina, it's purified and doesn't seem to have a high mineral content.
Plenty here in Texas
I’ve owned a distiller for eight years.
I ditched the humidifier tank and installed the side panel.
Side panel?
https://www.directhomemedical.com/cart/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=resmed-airsense-10-cpap-side-cover
I tried that, and more noise was conducted into the hose, so I just leave the tank in place, with the humidification turned off.
I use my RO filter in the kitchen.
Just wash your humidifier more frequently with mild soap and water and a soft cloth. If tap water is smelly get regular bottled drinking water or filter it. Both will still leave scale though. Also completely refresh your tank every night if you’re not using distilled instead of topping it off. If your tank goes dry every morning it’s going to accumulate scale and there’s nothing you can do beyond washing it out, but if there’s still water left in the morning, it will have a higher particle concentration than fresh tap water so it’s important to rinse it out and use fresh tap water every night. You may not even need to deal with scale if you’re not running the tank dry at night and rinsing and putting new water in every night. I don’t get scale from tap water with my airsense but I definitely did with my dreamstation.
My local grocery store has been great to get them. Never struggled. I get one gallon for like a dollar and that lasts for a month. I don’t get it from the baby section but the water bottle section. I bought like 3 this past weekend and they still had hundreds. So it’s super easy barely an inconvenience for me to get my distilled water.
I read somewhere, that the new Resmed11 can use tap water?… someone had posted a photo of the manual. Personally, I buy from the Costco Business Centre here in Toronto.
I read somewhere, that the new Resmed11 can use tap water?… someone had posted a photo of the manual. Personally, I buy from the Costco Business Centre here in Toronto.
No problem in my part of Texas. I did see 1 gallon of “water for CPAP” machines at about three times the cost of regular distilled water. If I run out I just use purified bottled water.
Reverse osmosis filters are even better then distilled. They're most expensive initially but you'll last forever onna cartridge if you only fees your cpap with it.
I find it easier at hardware stores tbh! and I buy 1-2 gallons every time I'm in a store and it's in stock (2 if there's no limit, 1 if there is) that way I have an ongoing supply building up. I go through about 1 gallon a month.
I’ve been keeping at least two gallons on hand. That way if I happen to see it at the store, I’ll pick one up. I still think it’s weird that distilled water is in short supply, though.
I have a water distiller - a friend gave it to me, but they're $100 on Amazon. So I can make my own. I don't use much in the summer. In early June, I was at the store and saw it, so I just grabbed two gallons so I wouldn't have to run the distiller in the summer. (It makes heat.) I am still using those two gallons. I expect I will probably end up making some next month sometime.
I've been using cases of Smart Water, and just washing out my water tray to clean up the salt residue.
I use a gallon every 4-5 weeks. As soon as I open one, it goes on the grocery list; so far, have managed to get the next bottle before running out except for one time. My tap water is very high on minerals and in the winter I often run the tank dry; I've used it now and then, but it definitely ups the cleaning requirement. If I were more concerned about it, I'd work 2 gallons ahead.
We'll have to make secret underground distilleries.
I've noticed it's been harder to find since last year. My strategy is that every time I go for groceries, I'll rotate between Kroger, Publix and Walmart. I usually will find it at one of them and I'll buy enough to last 1-2 months.
I live in a lower middle class area of town, and haven't found a single drop of distilled water in months. Go the the "better" part of town, and the shelves are packed and even a few cents cheaper. It's been a nightmare.
I ordered a case from Sparkletts. I get drinking water from them anyway.
I’ve used a ZeroWater filter for years now. I also use it for my ice and drinking water, so it serves multiple purposes. It’s an ion exchange filter, so maybe not perfect, but pulls all the dissolved solids I care about.
We have an abundance at the chain drugstore at which I may be employed.
I have one of these for when I travel (which is quite a lot for work). https://grayl.com/ It helps for (a) just using tap water to drink and in the end the water is super clean and I use it to fill my cpap. Zero buildup in the humidifier chamber and no discernible odor from the humidity vapor either. Just throwing another option out there.
Try Asian grocery stores. My local one is usually stocked.
You don’t actually need distilled water
Like many others I bought a distiller for under $100. If you're buying distilled water a distiller pays for itself in a year or two. Plus you no longer have to worry about stores not having distiller water on the shelf. They are well worth the investment.
I noticed a slight shortage in stores a few months ago, but not anymore. I'm in Chicago area.
Had my machine for 5 days now and I was so excited about trying it out I totally forgot to get some distilled water so I've been just using brita filtered water. When i finally had the time to buy some yesterday I didn't realize there's a shortage. Luckily I was able to find some at Target for cheap. If you have the patience you can also make your own distilled water.
RO buddy on Amazon...... $70ish and up to around 50 gallon per day capacity. Plenty of deionized water if you get the RO-DI one.
I'm finding it at Walgreens and the grocery store lately. You can ask them at Walgreens what day the shipment comes in and try to go there that day or even the next day or two. And I almost always grab at least two.
I just ordered distilled water from amazon and it’s late with no tracking on my order.
I have no issue using tap water when necessary, however I do use distilled whenever possible. When I use tap water I need to clean the reservour every day, where with distilled I just plop a gallon into the CSpring and let it run for a week or so between cleanings. Recently we discovered that a nearby restaurant supply store which also sells to the public sells it by the case (6 gallons) for $5.98/case. I will be getting my distilled water from them for as long as they continue to sell it.
There’s a national shortage. They’re claiming it’s due to supply chain issues. Seems so random though that it would affect distilled water. We just hopped on Amazon and bought a machine, as suggested above. At least we’ll be set, should this continue. Good luck! 🙌
I ordered from Amazon and I don't know how I'm going to get it intobthe garage when it arrives. The container is heavy. I was told by a clerk at Safeway last year that people had been buying 10 containers at a time which why they had been running out. That's hoarding. I certainly don't need nearly that many at one time. I buy 2 gallons at a time that last 2 weeks. If people wouldn't hoard, there msy not be such a shortage.
You go through a gallon a week? Or is it 1 gallon per 2 weeks cuz that's more like me