The next time you go to fill up your neti pot, humidifier or CPAP you may want to use cleaner water.
A new study from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that while regular tap water is safe to drink and cook with, the elements of tap water are not healthy to breathe in because of numerous microorganisms.
Those microorganisms, according to the study, which include biofilm-associated pathogens accounted for “a large portion of the 120,000 hospitalizations, 7,000 deaths, and billions in direct healthcare costs annually related to waterborne diseases,” according to a 2012 study.
An August survey from 2021 mentioned in the survey shows 50% of participants thought it was okay to use tap water on contact lenses while 42% of the participants believed the same about respiratory devices. More than half of the participants said tap water could be used to rinse sinuses.
“Water quality affects the quality of aerosolized air emitted from humidifiers, CPAP machines, and vaporizers, underlying the need for sterilized or distilled water to be used in those devices,” the study reads. “Healthcare providers and pharmacists are uniquely positioned to share additional recommendations on appropriate waters (i.e., sterile, distilled, or boiled and cooled) for respiratory devices when they are sold or prescribed.”
According to SoClean CEO Bob Wilkins in Forbes, more than 8 million people in the United States use a CPAP machine. According to IMARC, a market research company, “the global humidifiers market size reached US$ 2.2 Billion in 2022.”
