Does an Ella Hydrogen Bath Need Distilled Water, and Is It Safe?

No, the bath itself does not need distilled water. You fill the tub with ordinary warm water from your faucet, and distilled water goes only into the small blue tank that feeds the hydrogen generator under the molded seat. What the generator adds to your bath is molecular hydrogen gas in micro and nano bubbles, and every Ella hydrogen tub is individually tested before it ships. Our article What is a hydrogen bath and is it good for skin? covers the skin side of the story. This page stays with the water itself: which water goes where, what is added to it, and how you can check the result for yourself.

Two Waters with Two Different Jobs

Most of the confusion about hydrogen bathing comes from the fact that two different waters are involved. They never swap roles, so it helps to keep them apart.

• The bath water. This is the water you soak in. It comes from your faucet exactly as it would for any other bath, and you fill the tub with warm water as you normally would. Nothing about hydrogen therapy asks you to fill the tub with distilled, bottled or specially treated water.
• The generator water. This is the distilled water in the blue tank. The generator draws from that tank, produces hydrogen, and injects it into the bath through a single jet below seat level. Distilled water is available at any grocery or drug store, and the tank is small, so you are topping up a container and not filling a tub.

You also do not make hydrogen water separately and pour it in. The tub makes it while you fill. The generator and its pump sit under the molded seat, and one press of the H2 button starts the system once the water level is high enough. The hardware is described part by part in What Is H2 Hydrogen Therapy on a Walk-In Tub?.

Why the Blue Tank Takes Distilled Water Only

The rule for the blue tank is simple: fill it with distilled water only. Tap water carries minerals that the system is not designed for. Topping up with anything other than distilled water can lead to weak output or a dirty tank over time. This is about keeping the generator working well. It says nothing about the bath water, which is ordinary faucet water by design.

If your microbubbles or hydrogen output ever seem weak, the best first step is to check that the blue tank is filled with fresh distilled water. Before the very first use there is a short setup:

1. Cut the shipping ties holding the container under the tub.
2. Remove the container from under the tub.
3. Connect the hose to the front of the tub.
4. Fill the blue tank with distilled water.

The full first-time routine for the catalog model is in H2 microbubble therapy on the Standard60. On that tub the hydrogen generator is paired with infusion microbubble therapy, and the water turns milky white as the microbubbles fill the bath.

What the Generator Actually Adds to Your Bath

Ella's published materials describe one thing being infused into the bath water, which is molecular hydrogen gas. It is delivered as micro and nano bubbles. Because the hydrogen rides in nano bubbles, it stays in the water longer than it otherwise would. People sometimes ask about other compounds that have hydrogen in their name. The system described in Ella's materials is a hydrogen generator fed by distilled water. The test Ella publishes measures dissolved hydrogen gas and nothing else.

The published concentrations are specific:

• By the time the tub fills to the drain overflow, the water reaches 1500 PPB of dissolved hydrogen, which is 1.5 ppm, since 1000 PPB equals 1 ppm.
• During an extended 15 to 20 minute bath the level can rise to about 2000 PPB, which is 2.0 ppm.
• Levels of up to 2.2 ppm are guaranteed per the test results that ship with each tub. That figure is an up-to guarantee verified per unit, not a promise for every bath.

Everything else in the tub is the same water you would have bathed in anyway. The hydrogen system does not filter, distill or otherwise change your household supply, so the quality of the bath water is the quality of the water your home delivers.

How the Hydrogen Level Is Verified, and How You Can Check It

You do not have to take the concentration on faith. Every hydrogen tub is individually tested for hydrogen production before it ships, and it comes with verifiable test results. The sheet that ships with your tub is the authoritative number for your unit, so keep it with your other paperwork.

The first video on this page shows the test being done. A 6 mL sample of water is dosed with drops of a blue reagent. The reagent turns clear in the presence of dissolved hydrogen gas. With regular tap water the first drop stays blue, which indicates 0.1 parts per million of hydrogen or less. With water from an Ella walk-in tub outfitted with a hydrogen generator, the sample stays clear as drops are added until the endpoint is reached at 2.2 parts per million. The video explains that this is a titration. The dissolved hydrogen keeps consuming the blue reagent until the hydrogen is depleted. After that point, additional drops stay blue. The second video explains how the system infuses the bath with hydrogen nano bubbles. It also repeats that each tub is tested before it ships. Our common questions about Ella hydrogen therapy article lays the PPB and PPM figures side by side.

Safe Operation, and Where the Health Question Belongs

The operating rules for the hydrogen system are short, and they protect the equipment:

• Never press the H2 button until the water is above the hydrogen inlet jet, and on the Standard60 above the microbubble port as well. The pump must never run dry.
• One press starts the system and another press stops it.
• Switch the system off before you open the drain, so the pump is not left running as the water level falls.
• Fill the blue tank with distilled water only.

On the health side, please read Ella's hydrogen pages as product information, not medical advice. Ella describes hydrogen bathing in terms of potential benefits that have been studied. These include improved skin health, faster muscle injury recovery, reduced stress and overall mood improvement. The materials present these as studied benefits and not as promises. Your physician is the right person to ask whether hydrogen bathing suits your own skin or health condition. If you have a question about your specific tub, your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 can help, and you can open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support. Have your model, your serial number and your test results sheet to hand.

Watch: Hydrogen Therapy Walk-In Tubs by Ella - Why they are Worth Buying? | Ella's Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Common Questions