Distilled water in Italy

Hello kathryndesign,
Your best bet for acqua distillata is probably in a Farmacia or larger supermarket store.
If you are going to a smaller town like Varenna but going through the Milan train station that's probably your best shopping opportunity. There is both a Conad market store and a farmacia in the train station, but whether either of them will have distilled water versus just purified water or other bottled water I don't know.

If you are really worried about it you might take the time to visit a larger supermarket or farmacia in the area around the train station. Trains to places like Varenna are hourly so it might be worth the added time to put your mind at ease. If you are staying in a larger city - Como, Bellagio - I would look in the train station and if you don't find it plan on getting it at your destination.

If you are staying in a hotel you could ask them to get it for you. A lot of places ask if they get you anything and it may not be what they were thinking but it's easier for them than you.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

The 12th answer in this thread from a year ago has the answer - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/using-a-cpap-in-italy

Suki said, "In Italy, distilled water was readily available even in small village markets. Look in the laundry products area of the markets as it is used in steam irons.".

We have always found it in Italy, even at very small markets. To us, it has been the easiest country to find distilled water in our travels.

I don’t know about availability in Italy but it was a little tricky to find in the UK last summer, not so much in Germany where he could find it in grocery stores. What my husband did was take a well sealed 750ml sturdy bottle that he filled with distilled water from home in his checked bag to get him started and give him time to look for some in our first locations. If are not a bag checker this won’t be comfortable for you but this is what he did.

Thank you so much for your replies! I truly appreciate them.

It is sold in every store that sells laundry detergent, therefore virtually everywhere. It is also sold in pharmacies where you will pay 10 times as much per liter.

Ask your doctor if you don't believe me, but you do NOT need distilled water for your CPAP. You can use bottled water instead. The only reason distilled water is recommended is that regular water will leave some mineral deposits in the reservoir. However, it's easy to clean that out every few days - just take a clean dry washcloth and wipe inside.

I've been traveling with a CPAP for 5 years and have yet to buy or bring distilled water during the trip. And my reservoir is fine.

What Mardee said.

". . . The only reason distilled water is recommended is that regular water will leave some mineral deposits in the reservoir. . . ."

I've been trying to convince family members of this for years. I asked the technicians who fit the CPAP for my family member directly: He confirmed that the water in the CPAP humidifier is for comfort only (to not dry out your throat) - it does not have a therapeutic purposes, and is not sterile. Same as a room humidifier. Easily cleaned if you have mineral buildup. You can use tap water for that short time if you need the humidifier.

If your doctor doesn't have time to chat (mine never does) or actually know (they dont know everything) ask the technician who provided your machine.

I will 3rd what has been said by Mardee and Stan.

I only use the humidifier function during the coldest part of winter at home, and never travel with it. My CPAP humidifier is as large as the main part of the machine and I'm happy to leave it at home.

I’ll check into the humidifier.

Just heard I should get an extension cord (really?) because beds may not be close to an outlet. It’s advised to get one compatible with Italian electric instead of a US cord running electric through it. Thoughts? ( I need an outlet adapter anyway. Would a US cord really be risky?)

If I can’t bring my own. Where can I get one in Lake Como?

An extension cord is a good idea, I have needed one a few times.
I bought one in a tiny corner bodega in Madrid, so I suspect it isn't difficult to find elsewhere.

I've never used distilled water in my CPAP

As others have mentioned water is not necessary. I don't use it in mine (ever) and when I travel I have an AirMini which doesn't even contemplate the use of any water. I'm sure your machine can also have the receptacle portion removed and be much smaller for travel.

Regarding an extension cord, I've never needed one at any Italian hotel, because there is always an outlet near the bed where the night stand light is placed (you might need to unplug the light though). But you can always invest in a travel extension cord like this or like this. There are plenty of choices on Amazon.

I also recommend you buy a European plug splitter

REI sells small/light weight backpacking water purifiers that are used to make ground water clean enough to drink (I used in the narrows in Zion). I don't know anything about cpap machines but I would think these devices would work to clean the water enough for use in your cpap machine. J

joanne1108, those purifiers are for removing sediment and microbial particles. They don't remove dissolved minerals, like calcium and magnesium carbonates, which are what cause the white mineral buildup on humidifiers.

Thank you Roberto.

I think I have all the info I need. Thank you all.