Skip to main content

Okay to Use Tap Water for Neti Pot?


Medically Reviewed by
  • Ronald L. Brown, M.D.

Question

I was alarmed by an article about deaths related to using tap water in a neti pot. I have been using only tap water. Should I change to filtered, bottled or distilled water?

Answer

I have always recommended using distilled, bottled, or filtered water for nasal rinses, using a neti pot.

An alternative could be boiling tap water for at least five minutes, and then letting it cool. Municipal tap water should also be safer than well water.

You're leaving our site

The website you have selected is an external one located on another server. This website may contain links to third party sites. These links are provided for convenience purposes and are not under the control of Sutter Health. Do you wish to continue?