Introduction:
Distilled water is a kind of water that has many of its impurities and harmless chemical contents removed through distillation process. The process of Distillation normally involves boiling the water and then condensing the steam into a clean container, hence leaving contaminants behind. This process has already been used since ancient times when people used to distill the sea water. Distilled water contains very low amount of dissolved solids (practically Zero). To do this, water is being cleansed by passing through one or more ECC (Evaporation Condensation Cycle). Distillation process also removes the electrolytes from the water.
Commercial Uses and Applications:
Distilled water is a pure form of water and can be used in biological and chemical laboratories. It can also be used in different industries for different purpose. Double distilled water is also used for the same purpose but when high purity in water is absolutely necessary.
Distilled water is also used in CPAP (Constant Positive Airway Pressure). These machines are used to help breathing throughout the sleep cycles for sleep apnea people.
To top off lead acid batteries, distilled water is used and these batteries are used in the trucks and cars. Tap water will reduce the lifetime of any batter, if used for this purpose because of the many impurities that tap water has.
It can be also used in automotive cooling system, model steam engine boilers and modern engines of others type as normal water can reduce the efficiency of boilers; note that if you have an old boiler made out of Cast Iron or other corrosive metal, distilled water will do damage to your boiler and pipes just like the steam of regular water will do. Authorities used to use the distilled water for aquariums as it has less chemical component than tap water but it was discovered that it is too pure to support ecosystem of aquarium.
Distilled water is also used to increase the density of air for the purpose of Airplane jet takeoff.
Drinking Distilled Water:
Distilled water can be available at home and also in bottled form in pharmacies and supermarkets. Water purification or distillation is needed where normal water resources are not suitable for chemical treatment or ingesting without boiling of water. Municipal water supplies are usually safe for consumption and contains trace component at limited or required level. Fluoride and similar ions cannot be easily removed through conventional water filter treatment, but distillation removes out most of impurities. Distilled water is also used for drinking purpose in arid seaside areas lacking of freshwater resources. Since majority of the minerals ingested by humans comes from food sources (96% or more) then distilled water is an excellent drinking source for hydration, with many people in the USA and Europe drinking it.
Importance for Health:
There are both advantages and disadvantages are available for drinking of distilled water. The water which is not distilled contains some dissolves solids and known as hard water can cause cardiovascular effect after consumption. Study results that consumption of hard water or non distilled water is the reason for atherosclerotic heart disease. The Disadvantage is the potential for not getting all the minerals in distilled water; however, minerals can easily be added to distilled water for a cost of less than a penny per glass.
