Home > Community > Is bottled (spring) water as safe for a neti pot (i.e. sinuses rinsing) as distilled water or boiled tap water?
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Oscar Candelas

Is bottled (spring) water as safe for a neti pot (i.e. sinuses rinsing) as distilled water or boiled tap water?

Bengt Nyman  Follow

Given the nasty infections that people have contracted through the use of a neti pot, I would recommend boiling the water (a full minute at a "rolling boil" -- a boil that doesn't stop when you stir the water in the pot) before using it in a neti pot. Alternatively, you can buy sterile saline solution at a drug store. Do not save open containers if you only use part of the contents.

I would also recommend washing and sanitizing the pot before each use. Wash with soap and water, rinse, and then rinse with a sanitizing solution such as 1 part bleach to 100 parts water (1 fluid ounce to 1 gallon is close enough).

Bottled water is not guaranteed to be sterile. I'm sure some from the larger companies will be, but if it's not guaranteed don't expect it to be.

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Carl Dodd  Follow

This used to be considered acceptable, but then there were cases of amoebaisis with brain infection and death from the use of tapwater in Louisiana. Since then only sterile water is recommended. That being said the risk is probably not any greater than if you were swimming in a lake or a pond.

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Cross-dressing  Follow

First, I wouldn’t use boiled tap water for anything health related. Boiling tap water simply concentrates the mineral and solid contaminants that are present in the water. If your Neti Pot recommends this, I would think twice about even using it, because I would have serious doubts about their scientific process.

If I were going to use such a device, I would go to the grocery store and buy a gallon of distilled water, It is purer and cheaper than bottled drinking water.

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Alan Garland  Follow

You can take the chance if you like to gamble but there is no guarantee that the spring water is bacteria exempt, better use water that has been boiled.

Also if you use distilled water, you should add some salt to it before rinsing, most of the effect is having just the right saline concentration.

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Claudio Civanelli  Follow

If the bottled water really did come from a spring, then no.

If the bottled water is from distilled or reverse osmosis water that has some minerals add to give it taste. Then that would be safe to use. But, you cannot really know if it is actually spring water or not.

Follow Lavan’s advice.

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Daryl Storey  Follow

You can be reasonably assured that there is nothing in bottled water that can cause problems to your sinuses. It is recommended that you use distilled water because of the lack of bacteria but also due to other factors that can effect body chemistry, mineral content for instance. My non clinical recommendation is to not make a habit of it, but in a pinch or if you use a netti pot irregularly, it should be ok.

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Damien Leimbach  Follow

I used to use a nasal rinse bottle with tap water that had passed through a carbon filter. Straight tap water, as you know, would be extremely irritating due to the chlorine. I never had any problem, and I have used bottled water for the same purpose before, so I think it is perfectly fine.

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