Water for Humidifiers

[Ash&John]

Hello!
I want to get a humidifier for my chameleon's room. We live in the pacific northwest and it doesn't get that humid here. Not only that but its winter time and very very dry I've been doing some research but still have a question!
I was reading about what kind of water to put into the humidifier and Distilled seems the best. But what about Filtered water? For drinking water we use a Pur filter. Does anyone know if that will be a good substitute for distilled water?
On the Pur website it says that it filters out
-99% of lead
-Pharmaceuticals
-Industrial Pollutants
-Microbial cysts
-Chlorine and Chlorination by-products
Also this is the humidifier I was thinking about getting. If anyone has any reviews or a better alternative that would be great! I just want to get the best for our little guy

http://www.amazon.com/Holmes-Ultras...asonic+humidifier&refinements=p_85:2470955011

 

[jpowell86]

Hello,

I think the one you have in mind is a good choice. It's an Ultrasonic Humidifier, so it will produce a cool mist vs warm. I would still use distilled water. Filtered water does remove some of the heavier mineral content but that is not the only thing to consider. Filtered water alone will not prevent microorganisms from growing inside the unit. That has always been my reasoning for using distilled water with my humidifiers. It helps alleviate this concern, extends the life of the unit and makes buildup bearable.

 

[TheCoop]

You can buy a cool air humidifier at Wal-Mart for $38 "its what i use". R.O watersystems are the way to go imo.

 

[Ash&John]

Awesome, Thank you for the help jpowell86 and TheCoop!

 

[Carlton]

Awesome, Thank you for the help jpowell86 and TheCoop!

The one thing the PUR filter doesn't remove is mineral content of any water softener salts. Being in the Pac NW you may not have hard water problems, but if you notice any mineral build up on your sinks, bathtub, etc. it may also build up in the humidifier's nebulizer disk over time. The disk needs to be kept clean. You can clean it with vinegar periodically. The humidifier's owner's manual may suggest that...not sure.

 

[Carlton]

You can buy a cool air humidifier at Wal-Mart for $38 "its what i use". R.O watersystems are the way to go imo.

Even though RO water isn't technically as pure as distilled water (in terms of microorganisms or organic contents) it will still take a lot longer for algae and other stuff to build up in the system than using unfiltered tap or even PUR-type filtered water. I have unfiltered well water here that is super hard, full of iron, sulphur. I have to use a water softener to save the plumbing, so I installed an RO filter years ago. All my pets get that water and I drink it also. It really does solve a lot of problems.

 

[MSMorgan]

Lots of great info in this thread. Nonetheless, I use distilled water in my humidifiers and misting systems to alleviate future problems with buildup of anything that might damage, or hinder my systems. It's just worth it to me. At .50 per gallon, I don't use enough in a week, let alone a year to break the bank. As chronicled above, RO is good, but distilled is better. Go distilled for your chams. They and your spray/fog systems will benefit from it.

 

[Carlton]

Lots of great info in this thread. Nonetheless, I use distilled water in my humidifiers and misting systems to alleviate future problems with buildup of anything that might damage, or hinder my systems. It's just worth it to me. At .50 per gallon, I don't use enough in a week, let alone a year to break the bank. As chronicled above, RO is good, but distilled is better. Go distilled for your chams. They and your spray/fog systems will benefit from it.

If you have distilled water easily available for not much $$ it certainly won't hurt as long as you are providing the proper supplementation as well. Where I live it is much more cost effective to "produce" my own filtered water at home rather than buy it.

 

[Ash&John]

Thank you for all of the advice!
It seems that in the long run the RO water would be a little more cost effective. But Maybe switching back and forth between RO and distilled would be good not only for our cham but the humidifier as well. I read a lot of reviews on humidifiers and they seem to break for one reason or another quite often

 

[Carlton]

Thank you for all of the advice!
It seems that in the long run the RO water would be a little more cost effective. But Maybe switching back and forth between RO and distilled would be good not only for our cham but the humidifier as well. I read a lot of reviews on humidifiers and they seem to break for one reason or another quite often

I don't think switching back and forth will noticeably affect anything. If you clean your humidifier regularly and keep the innards of the unit dry (don't put it inside the cage or run it for hours and hours on end) it can last a long time. I have a couple that I've used seasonally for 8-9 years. Probably depends on the brand, quality, etc. I prefer using larger more robust room humidifiers as they do seem to last longer than the small "desktop" types. If you supplement your cham correctly the difference between RO and distilled water shouldn't matter.

 

[Carlton]

Lots of great info in this thread. Nonetheless, I use distilled water in my humidifiers and misting systems to alleviate future problems with buildup of anything that might damage, or hinder my systems. It's just worth it to me. At .50 per gallon, I don't use enough in a week, let alone a year to break the bank. As chronicled above, RO is good, but distilled is better. Go distilled for your chams. They and your spray/fog systems will benefit from it.

Oh just in case it didn't come up...its good maintenance to clean misting systems and foggers regardless which water you use. I coil all the tubing/nozzle assemblies into the system reservoir, and using the system's own pump, flush everything with vinegar, rinse, and flush with a dilute bleach solution periodically. This will help remove any mineral deposits and grunge from the whole system.