Any water that has gone through purification by distillation is referred to as distilled water. Distillation is done by different methods, but one thing they have in common is that they separate water’s components depending on the respective boiling points. So basically, the water is brought to a boil. Once the water’s chemicals are boiled off they are rounded up and discarded; and after evaporation any substances left over are likewise cast aside. The water that is thereafter kept is more pure than the original water.
People want to know if they can drink distilled water and the answer is that in most cases, yes you can. Seeing that it has been purified, it is obviously cleaner than it was in its initial state. So yes, distilled water is safe to drink. However, the downside is that this water has been stripped of its natural minerals. So if you want the minerals present in water then you may wish to drink something other than water that has gone through distillation. But if the water initially had toxic compounds in it, such as heavy metals, then you may want to opt for the distilled form instead. It is therefore better to still drink distilled water and if you want the minerals, then you can easily add them to distilled water for very cheap (less than a penny per glass).
If distilled water is purchased from a grocery store, seeing that it was derived from drinking water, it should be considered safe for drinking. But be careful of any distilled water that comes from other sources as this may not be safe for human consumption. As an example; if water has been distilled that came from an industrial source it may still hold enough impurities from the cheap plastic containers to be deemed unsafe for drinking.
One dangerous situation could also be where water was distilled using equipment that was contaminated. These contaminants can seep out of the tubing or glass during distillation, causing unwanted and potentially dangerous chemicals to enter the water. When distillation is done commercially it is safe, but the same cannot be said for “home based” methods, often referred to as moonshine distillation unless of course, you buy water distiller machine. Bottom line is this: commercially distilled water such as that in grocery stores or water that has been distilled through a water distiller can be considered safe.
There are also many other uses for distilled water, however that is another article for another day. But as stated above, if you are consider using distilled water for drinking purposes, you are well advised to only do so when it has been distilled by commercial methods , is sold in places like grocery or health food stores, or if it’s made at your home through a water distiller.
