Travel Blog

The writer of this post has been using a CPAP machine for the past seven months and has really gained a lot of benefits from using the machine. Not only have I slept much better, I breathe fresh filtered air all of the time. The air is humidified, so there is no dry throat problems any more. We are vacationing in southern California which is very dry. Previously I used to get a bloody nose quite often because the membranes of my nose got very dry.

Since I have a humidifier on my CPAP machine, my nose and throat, lungs etc are kept humidified and do not dry out at all. This is a great benefit which many people may not be aware of. It is this issue though that prompted me to write this post.

Supplies for CPAP machines are hard to find, particularly distilled water.  I have been to several pharmacies and grocery stores to no avail. They all claim to carry distilled water, however when you read the fine print on the bottle, many of them have messages indicating that minerals have been added to improve the taste or they have added electrolytes to the water to improve the taste for drinking. None of these are any good for CPAP machines for a couple of reasons.

Supplies CPAP Machines – Distilled Water

First of all you really do not want anything going into your lungs except pure water vapor. Since we have no idea what actually has been added to the water, I am very concerned about breathing this stuff into my lungs in a vaporized state. It is probably ok but then why take the chance when you can buy pure distilled water with nothing added back in.

The second reason that I want to stick with pure distilled water aside from the fact that the instruction book tells you to, is that the minerals and salts that are added to the water will build up in the evaporator over time and leave a scaly deposit. This then has to be cleaned with vinegar and adds more impurities to your system. It is far simpler to just add pure distilled water to the CPAP machine and not have deal with any of these other issues. That’s my take on it anyway.

Finding Distilled Water

The only place that we found pure distilled water with nothing added back in was actually at Walmart. They had by far the largest supply of various bottled water suppliers and in this case one supplier of pure distilled water supplies for my CPAP machine. Supplies for CPAP machines are hard enough to find without adding or using water with additives in it. Who knows what that would do to the machine, the hose or the other components, let alone your lungs?

There are not a lot of places that actually sell CPAP supplies, such as replacement hoses and masks. This is probably why there are so many web sites advertising CPAP supplies on line. If this is the first time you will be using a CPAP machine, we suggest that you go to a physical store. Make sure you are  properly fitted for one.

The masks come in different sizes. You really need to have one that fits your face properly. In addition the machine needs to be set up. The air pressure must deliver air to you so that it does the job that it is supposed to. Mine is set at 8 while a friend has his machine set at 15. It delivers a much higher pressure. If they are not set to deliver strong enough pressure, you will not receive the benefit you need. You probably will continue to snore and have sleep apnea.  Buying replacement CPAP supplies should be fine as long as you purchase the same hoses and masks.

For more information about CPAP machines and CPAP supplies, click here.

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