it is imperative to use distilled water in a neti pot.
two people died in louisiana when they used tap water in it. apparently there were organisms in the water that travelled to their brains causing some kind of mega infection and they died.
so never, ever use tap water in those things. it's dangerous.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
True... not smart to use tap water.
Posted by WPinVA (Member # 33581) on :
Ugh, that's horrible. I do use distilled water, but when I first started I used tap (didn't know better back then).
Posted by beths (Member # 18864) on :
I boil tap water first for 5 minutes, then let it cool
Posted by Catgirl (Member # 31149) on :
Wow, my husband has been using it from the tap for years.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Distilled is the best way to go. Doctor recommended.
Posted by Messa (Member # 38065) on :
I've been boiling my tap water too. Yikes!
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Before EACH USE -
Be sure the NETI POT is washed well before adding water that has been boiled & cooled or distilled
but not sure distilled is really sterile? - I'd want to boil that just to be sure - or find out the bottling practices for the water you get.
Best to NOT fill water yourself at a grocery, etc. as the hoses and dispensing unit can harbor germs and those are not always properly maintained.
Another consideration with distilled water is if it's in a plastic carton or jug that can leech out petroleum and endocrine disruptive chemicals.
Plastic is always best avoided. -
Posted by chaps (Member # 25286) on :
First of all, that was probably well water in La., not municipal. Municipal water is chlorinated to kill bacteria and amoebas, which is what these things were.
Second of all, the people were probably mixing hot water with cold water from the tap to get the right temperature.
Water that's been sitting in a water heater for any length of time is going to be germ free due to the temperature.
So the trick is, just run your hot water until it is really hot coming out of the tap. Then shut it off and wait a few minutes. It'll cool down in the pipes to a comfortable temperature.
Then it can be run into the neti pot.
Of course, if you wanted to be super picky about it, most municipal water has flouride in it, which isn't good, and the aforementioned chlorine. Once the salt and baking soda are added to the water, it makes it easy to handle municipal water in the sinuses, but it's still in there.
As Keebler mentioned, even with distilled water, you have the other problems related to plastic containers.
No matter what you do, there's going to be something potentially harmful. You just have to assess the risks and go with what you feel is best. I've been using municipal tap water for years the way I described it without a problem and I live not too far from La.
Posted by randibear (Member # 11290) on :
all articles stated "tap water". don't know if that would be well water or not.
Posted by chaps (Member # 25286) on :
The case that I heard of was well water.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
I prefer safe distilled over tap any day when it comes to nasal irrigation.
I don't think you'll die from using distilled water in a plastic container. Not good to drink it everyday, but tons safer for the nasal passages which are right up there next to the brain!