Hard water damage

[Poppy56]

In 7 months I have got through 3 water chambers. I don't know if it's hard water but the metal bottom of the chamber gets white deposits and brown marks (look like scorch marks) after only a few weeks. I clean with vinegard and water and use boiled water.

[Poppy56]

Could I use the stuff you put in kettles to de-scale them to clean the chamber?

[dravidio]

Well I have done so - used the descaling stuff. Boiled tap water is worse than using water straight from the tap - the mineral deposits are more concentrated. You need to use distilled water - you can buy it via the web (expensive) or you can buy a water distilling machine which I have done for about £150 - an expensive layout but will save money in the long run.

[James @ Intus]

Which humidifier do you have? And does it run dry completely by the time you wake up?

[Tigers Fan]

Daily and weekly care

Hi Poppy56

There are any number of threads on the topic of humidifier chamber care but the essentials are:-

1. a daily flush of the chamber and re-charge with new/fresh water
2. a weekly clean of the chamber using white vinegar - fill to the top of the scale and leave all day
OR
a less frequent clean with a proprietary brand de-scaler but I recommend liquid ones for ease of use (I use Hagesan HG Professional Limescale Remover ay £3.50 per 0.5 litre bottle. It's phosphoric acid mainly. I'm still on my first bottle after 15 months of CPAP)

Grumpbiker reports a 'like new' chamber after a year of weekly cleaning with vinegar and mine is like new after fifteen months of cleaning with de-scaler. I live in a hard water area.

Using distilled water would certainly prevent scaling in your chamber, but in my view is ridiculously and un-necessarily expensive (though at least one member gets it on prescription, when it is expensive to the NHS).

'Highland Spring' bottled water has low dissolved solids but is still way more expensive than cleaning your chamber as above.

TF

[tonybrentwood]

Hello Poppy56,
Did you know you can get purified water on prescription from your GP? I get 15 litres at a time on repeat, so even if you have to pay for prescriptions it will only cost you about £7 for 15 litres. All you have to do is get a letter from the Hospital who supplied your machine asking the GP to write a repeat prescription.
Hope this helps,
Regards,
Tony

[Poppy56]

Thanks, all. I do the weekly vinegar clean and I never let the chamber run dry - I empty it every morning and refill up to the line every evening. It's a Fisher-Paykel.

[dravidio]

A water distiller costs £149 with p&p. I realise this may be a lot for many people but it should pay for itself in the long run...