Distilled water for CPAP (sleep apnea)?

[TillyMarigold]

Has anyone found distilled water in the resorts or gotten the resort to get it for you? I can pack it in my check luggage, but would rather not have to. (Yes, technically I could carry it on as medical equipment, but usually for it to count, you have to have a prescription written, take it to the pharmacy, and get them to stick some in a bottle and put a label on it, which seems like far too much hassle.)

We will not have a car and aren't planning to order groceries. I know that I'm unlikely to use much water at all with how humid Florida is, but I like the air to be warmer which means I can't leave the humidifier tank empty or it will burn out.

Alternatively, does anyone know how bad Florida tap water is for the machine (e.g. a lot of calcium in it)? We'll be there 9 nights.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Florida water is very hard. Which is why most people have water softeners.

 

[mechurchlady]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32133193#post32133193
that is an old thread for you to read.

Options are contacting the disabled services to see if some can be delivered to your room. Calling special diets to see if they know where distilled water is sold.
There is shipping the water to your hotel room and you can take a cab to get some. It costs but you can maybe get some delivered to your room. Take a private car/limo to your hotel and stop at Wal-Mart.

Sue is very busy right now at work and other stuff or she would maybe reply. I doubt even she would know this answer, sigh. Also check the disabilities thread for any help.

sorry I could not help you more.

 

[SueM in MN]

Options are contacting the disabled services to see if some can be delivered to your room. Calling special diets to see if they know where distilled water is sold.
There is shipping the water to your hotel room and you can take a cab to get some. It costs but you can maybe get some delivered to your room. Take a private car/limo to your hotel and stop at Wal-Mart.

Those are all pretty good suggestions.
The phone number for Special Needs is in the disABILITIES FAQs thread, in the post about resorts.
If you are not able to get any arranged ahead of time, the Concierge should be able to help you.

I can't find the phone numbers for places that do grocery delivered, but you should be able to find that on the DVC Boards since DVC members probably use those services more often.

 

[TillyMarigold]

Thanks. My usual tactic when traveling for long periods is to just stick a water bottle full of distilled water inside two ziploc bags in my checked luggage, but I was really hoping they'd have some in the resorts. I'll contact the resort and see what they can do, but for 3c. or so of water (when I usually buy gallons for 50¢ each), I really don't want to go to a whole lot of time and expense.

It won't harm anything for the humidifier tank to have non-distilled water in it, and it's no more dangerous to breathe than it is to drink; it just makes it hard to clean the tank if you use tap water for more than a night or two, particularly if it's hard water. (Don't want people to think I'm being blasé about my health--I would never, for example, even dream of not using the CPAP on vacation!)

Actually, Disney uses Coke products, right? Dasani may be a better bet than Florida tap water (although in general tap is better than bottled). I hadn't realized it was particularly hard—I know it's not as hard as Albuquerque's (where I live now) or the UK (where my husband is from and where our last big trip was). Dasani is relatively mineral-free for being bottled.

Thank you all for your help!

 

[nanadeb]

According to my respiratory therapist, if you must use tap water in your CPAP humidifier chamber, dump out the water and let the chamber dry every morning. At the end of the week,, fill up the hummidifier chamber to the recommended level, add 2 tablespoons of WHITE vinegar, and let set for 10 minutes. Dump out the solution, rinse the chamber with water, and let it dry out. The vinegar solution will both disinfect the chamber and dissolve any minerals that may have accumulated. You should be able to include the white vinegar in a 3 oz. bottle in your carry on.
HTH

 

[CPT Tripss]

According to my respiratory therapist, if you must use tap water in your CPAP humidifier chamber, dump out the water and let the chamber dry every morning. At the end of the week,, fill up the hummidifier chamber to the recommended level, add 2 tablespoons of WHITE vinegar, and let set for 10 minutes. Dump out the solution, rinse the chamber with water, and let it dry out. The vinegar solution will both disinfect the chamber and dissolve any minerals that may have accumulated. You should be able to include the white vinegar in a 3 oz. bottle in your carry on.
HTH

Or, just wait till you get home to clean it . . .

My approach is to do without the humidifier for the vacation . . . one less thing to get through the airport checkpoint. Worst that I have experienced is a bit of congestion in the morning and that is fixed by a steamy shower.

 

[TillyMarigold]

Or, just wait till you get home to clean it . . .

My approach is to do without the humidifier for the vacation . . . one less thing to get through the airport checkpoint. Worst that I have experienced is a bit of congestion in the morning and that is fixed by a steamy shower.

Right, waiting until I got home to clean was my plan, as well as wiping the inside of the tank dry every morning (hope that will help stop the deposits a little).

The problem with not using a humidifier is that I don't sleep well the first few nights I change something about my therapy (and not sleeping well is not an option--my sleep doc says I'm more sensitive to lack of sleep than anyone he's seen). And that includes not using a humidifier. And since I live in a place that usually has less than 10% humidity at that time of year, it's not like I can start going without the humidifier before I leave to try to get used to it--I'll get nosebleeds.

 

[nanadeb]

Right, waiting until I got home to clean was my plan, as well as wiping the inside of the tank dry every morning (hope that will help stop the deposits a little). .

Don't bother wiping out the tank. It will only add more bacteria. The reason you dump out the tank and let it dry out is that the water contains a certain amount of bacteria that will multiply during the day if you leave the water in the tank. Introducing the larger amount of bacteria into your lungs at a higher pressure than normal is not a good idea at all!
Wiping the tank won't remove the accumulated minerals. That's what the vinegar is for.
I use my humidifier tank on my travels because it is a part of my new machine. I absolutely love the little thing! It is so easy to travel with. We just did an Alaska cruise and no distilled water was needed because the ship purified their own drinking water. Using a bottled drinking water that is purified, liked Dasani, would be the next best thing.
Just enjoy your vacation and use your humidifier chamber. You need your sleep if you want to enjoy Disney to the max. A little vinegar and water when you get home will make everything better!

 

[TillyMarigold]

Wiping the tank won't remove the accumulated minerals. That's what the vinegar is for.
...
I use my humidifier tank on my travels because it is a part of my new machine. I absolutely love the little thing! It is so easy to travel with...

I would have thought that drying out the tank would keep the drops of water that are left after emptying from leaving more minerals in the tank as they evaporate? My tank is really hard to shake the water out of.

Do you by any chance have a Sandman machine? That's what I have, my old machine broke last winter and it was replaced under warranty with a Sandman that has an integrated humidifier. The travel bag is so small, people always think it's a small laptop case.

 

[TillyMarigold]

I ended up just filling two 16-oz bottles of water that I had emptied at home with distilled water, then putting them in my checked luggage inside two zip-loc bags one inside the other. Worked fine and was plenty of water for 9 nights.

I really, really doubt it's worth the $50 or so you'd spend getting a cab to off-property and back.

 

[pwcarlson]

My DH has had sleep apnea for years. We have made several trips to Florida during since his diganoses. We have both driven and flown there. At first we got distilled water for his machine. But due to the high humidity levels in Florida we found he did not need the water at all. Many times we have stayed longer than 9 nites because we were staying with family. So since that he does not even bring the tank part with us. I have heard the same thing from other cpac users.

So leave the tank part at home and enjoy yourself. Don't worry about the distilled water. You will be fine without it.