Distilled Water Association

Water Education through Science and Engineering

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A Brief History of Distilled Water

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These days, drinking water is no longer a simple, everyday activity. Now, because of so many environmental changes that can prove harmful to our health, we are at present, being more careful when drinking tap water. These days, we choose to drink Filtered water, and even Distilled Water. While some may be perfectly content with drinking filtered water, many are gradually turning to distilled water to quench their thirst. Nowadays, distilled water is more than just a fad, it is now a way of life for these individuals.

But what is distilled water? When did it start becoming such a hit among health buffs? Here’s a brief history of how distilled water came about.

Distilled water is believed to be one of the purest forms of water. Due to the distillation process that “filters” out the impurities found in water, many believe that distilled water is a much safer and healthier alternative to drinking regular tap water.

Distillation is actually a process that has long been used by scientists in their laboratories. It is a very simple process that capitalizes on the traits of water that enables it to evaporate and condense at specific temperatures.

Initially, distillation was used more often for alcohol. This was practiced in Alexandria and China, dating far back as early as the 1st century. Books and studies have been written about distillation, as many scientists believe that this process is the secret to alchemy. As alchemy transformed into what we now know as chemistry, distilled liquids soon became part of industrial processes, which include the use in laboratories, in food processing, and even in machines. In fact, distilled water was first used more frequently in car engines.

More than two hundred years ago, Antoine Laurent Lavoisier started distilling water as one of his experiments. From his studies, he was able to find out that water is not actually an element, but is actually composed of two elements: hydrogen and oxygen.

Eventually, scientists began to extrapolate that water is impure, due to the solid, but miniscule impurities found in water. By boiling water at a certain temperature, only the liquid will evaporate and “rise up”. As soon as the liquid evaporates, it is then subjected to a cold temperature, allowing it to condense. The condensation will then be captured in a separate container. The liquid that is captured here will then be free of any solid impurities or particles.

The rest, as they say, is history. As pollution began to be a serious healthy concern, more individuals turned to using distilled water as a safer way to drink water. Many believe that drinking distilled water is one of the cleanest ways to quench your thirst. While others think that distilled water is stripped completely of minerals, and its health benefits, many still opt to take distilled water to be on the safe side. After all, it is really annoying to be down with a stomach infection, just because you failed to drink water that is purified.

Distilled Water and De-Ionized Water—Is There A Difference?

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We all know that water is not created equal. Our taste buds assure us of that fact; we can detect even the slightest of tanginess, thanks to those organs in our tongue. The same goes for purified water. There are a lot of types of purified water (distilled water, de-ionized water, reverse osmosis, chemical oxidations, and others). All are similar but they are not the same.

Two of the most popular modes of purification is distillation (which produce distilled water, of course) and de-ionization (de-ionized water as the product). Because of the difference of procedures, it follows too that the two products are not equivalent.

The process of distillation is a physical process that involves the evaporation of a liquid (in this case, water) by heating and then condensing its vapors thereby removing any impurities found in it.  In distilled water, the mixture of the water and the comtaminants are separated so pure water remain.

De-ionized water, or DI water, on the other hand, is water that has its ions removed. Ions are charged atoms or molecules. It is charged because the number of electrons do not equal the number of protons in the atom or molecule. If there are more electrons than protons, the ion is negatively charged. Conversely, a positive-charged ion has more protons than electrons. Now, DI water goes through a chemical process that uses these charges to remove these same ions to the solution.

However, both distilled water and DI water has its drawbacks. Here’s why:

As we have understood earlier, distilled water is obtained by heating the water, letting it evaporate, and then condensing into a separate container. In this process, the water can be separated from the contaminants. These impurities are left behind in the original dish. But we should remember that compunds have different boiling points. Those compounds that have boiling points between 68 and 212 degrees Fahrenheit are the only ones that removed; those over the boiling point of water do not. Moreover, the containers used can also contaminate the water that is being collected. For this reason, most water distillers also have a charcoal filter and/or a vent to allow for these extra chemicals to be removed from the water, resulting in close to 100% pure water.

what about DI water?

You can be assured that DI water gets rid of all ions but what it does not do, unlike distilled water, is remove viruses, bacteria, organics, and all other non-ionic compounds in the water.

Now, while it is illogical to believe that we can get rid of water pollutants altogether at 100 percent, there are other ways to make sure that we can exterminate as many as possible. For example, we can procure safer distilled water by combining distillation with carbon filtration. Studies show that a combination of the two boosts volatile organic compounds removal rates by almost 99.9 percent under typical conditions.

Like distilled water, the process of reverse osmosis can also be added aside from de-ionization. It is widely accepted that reverse osmosis can block salts and other minerals, as well as pathogens.

So far, the quest for the purest drinking water is found in distilled warer that also goes through carbon filtration.

Distilled or Spring Water: Which is Which?

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Drinking distilled water is such a fad these days. Americans spend billions of dollars alone on distilled water. The notion is that distilled water is much safer and healthier than any other kind of drinking water. But since some bottled water say “distilled” while others say “spring” water, which one is the safer choice?

First, let us find out what the definition of distilled water is and what  spring water is. Distilled water is water that has its contaminations removed by a process known as distillation. Distillation is not just heating or boiling water, but it involves evaporation and subsequent collection of the water by means of condensation thereby removing impurities.

Spring water  differs from distilled water in the fact that it is naturally filtered through layers of sand and rock formations as they move to underground storages called aquifers. A spring is formed when an aquifer is filled and overflows to the land surface. However,  when we say spring water, it is not automatically safe. Why? Because the quality of local groundwater usually determines the quality of the spring water. Therefore, if your local drinking water isn’t potable, it follows that the spring water in your area (if there is one) is not safe to drink.

So looking at these definitions, it is easy to see which type of water could contain contaminants. You see, just because it passes through sand and rocks does not make spring water automatically safe. Bacteria, viruses, and other microbes do not just die from being underground like some plants and algae. On the other hand, the distillation process in distilled water removes the the extensive range of contaminants over any other treatment system. Be it organic or biological, it is better than reverse osmosis, UV filtering, and virtually any other type of filtration. As you may have noticed, the distillation process is strikingly similar to our natural water cycle, which uses heat to evaporate water, and then condenses it produce a purer form. But that process does not only get rid of contaminants but also of the trace minerals found in water.

Thus, it is quite a dilemma when it comes to choosing the right water to drink. A few in-depth look of the facts may help if we want to learn more about distilled water, spring water, and basically any type of drinking water.

Let’s say the local government conducted studies and arrived at the conclusion that  the spring water source in your area is safe enough to drink. Meanwhile, because you value your health and your family’s, you  may have apprehensions whether you drink from that spring water or not. After all, distilled water is widely available. So which is which?

First, consider the question:  Are the minerals found in water REALLY needed by our body? Without a doubt, minerals are needed for our body to survive. However, we get those minerals NOT from distilled water or spring water, or any other type of drinkin water, but from the food we eat. A fraction of it only comes from water. So if we want minerals, the main source is not necessarily WATER but FOOD.

Optimum health relies not so much on which type of water to drink as long as it is, well, safe to drink. You can correctly nourish yourself by eating the right kind of foods, especially legumes, grains, vegetables, and fruits. Therein lies the secret of good health.

 

The Acidity of Distilled Water – What’s the big deal?

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When you think of distilled water, you will automatically assume that it is one of the healthiest alternatives to drinking tap water. In fact, a lot of individuals swear by drinking distilled water. Naturally, because of the process by which it was made, it is a safe assumption that distilled water is indeed, clean and pure water.

Distilled water is made with the combination of two very basic processes: evaporation and condensation. In its natural state (except rain water), water is filled up with various elements. Some of these include calcium, various minerals and iron. Though not automatically harmful to one’s health, these minerals may have long-term effects on those who ingest it regularly. Some negative effects include kidney problems, and even some that affect your teeth. By distilling water, you are able to clear out these minerals. Since these minerals are usually considered minute but solid particles, boiling water will “seed” them out. When you condense the water vapour from the boiling water, you will be left with liquid that is said to be in its purest form – distilled water.

However, many are asking, is distilled water as pure as it seems to be?

The answer, apparently, is this: almost 100%, but it is the purest from all other types of waters.

You might ask then how the findings of this study came to be. It’s simple; they were able to test the pH level of distilled water. The pH measurement is a common way to measure the acidity of a compound. In general, pHs levels below 7, is considered acidic, while those above 7, is alkaline. The pH range only covers the values 0 to 14.  Distilled water, because it is supposed to be pure, should have a pH measurement of 6; which is the acidic amount. This proves that the water is pure.

Fortunately, the level of acidity in distilled water is not a cause for alarm at all. In fact, you drink more fluids and liquids that have a higher acidity measurement. These include soda and lemon and orange juice. If you are keen on drinking distilled water, then you don’t have to worry because this will not affect your health at all and in fact there are many health benefits to drinking distilled water.

Generally, distilled water is still considered a healthy and clean alternative to drinking water straight from the tap. You may notice that it will taste a bit bland, but that’s the small price you have to pay for drinking something that is clean and safe – most people get used to the clean pure taste of distilled water within a day and the taste of other water types becomes disgusting. In fact, distilled water is so healthy that aside from drinking distilled water, you can use it for watering your plants. Distilled water is perfect for your plants because it has almost zero minerals that could damage them. You can use your distilled water for your car’s engine. The lack of minerals will ensure that your engine will run smoothly, without any fear of accumulated minerals messing up your engine’s performance.

Truly, distilled water is something to be thankful for. Though it may seem a miniscule effort at first, the long-term effects is something that will keep you healthier for a longer time.

Distilled Water vs. Purified Bottled Water

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Blue-Water-BottleWhen you go to the supermarket you can see a variety of different water bottles and brands of water to choose from. There are even distilled water bottles, which means the water contents have already gone through the distillation process. Therefore, it is completely pure water with no contaminants or impurities in it. They also don’t have any vitamins or minerals either, which are essential for the body’s health. However, that is not a big issue because you can get your vitamins and minerals from the food you eat. You can also add minerals to distilled water for less than a  penny a day and create your own super drink.

So, does that mean it is okay to buy distilled water in a bottle instead of another bottle of water that claims to be purified?  There are a lot of arguments for both sides. Some may say all bottled water is bad because the plastic from the bottles will pollute the water. Others say that all bottled water is the same and that purified means distilled. But in fact, there is a difference between bottled water that claims to be purified and bottled water that is distilled. For example, many people mistakenly think that Aquafina is distilled water because it is also purified. Even though Aquafina’s purification process removes some impurities and minerals from its water, it is still  not considered a distilled form of water. The reason being is that distilled water has to be brought to boiling temperature during the distillation process and Aquafina’s purification system doesn’t do that. They use ultraviolet rays to kill organic matter instead. Also, It is a well known fact that a lot of the purified bottled water comes directly from tap water which is known in many places to contain Fecal matter (i.e. poop). Would you drink poop? You can read about it some more in our featured article Bottled water vs Tap Water.

Tap-Water-PoopSo, what kind of water should you drink? Many people like to complicate this question by getting too picky with the filtration processes and what is in the water. But, in the end the simple answer is that while a lot of filtered water is good enough to drink, distilled water will always be the purest water to drink. Whether you want distilled water or purified water then they are both fine except when it comes to more harmful impurities, distilled water will always be better. Your body will still get the minerals it needs from food and both waters will clean your system out like it is supposed to. Besides Distilled water being healthier than purified water (Especially if you add minerals), one of the more common differences is the taste because you will probably notice a taste difference between the different types of water. Some people seem to notice a taste difference more than others. The taste difference simply has to do with the filtration of the water and how many minerals and impurities are left in it. But water should not be about taste. It should be about health, but distilled water does taste great because it is pure; once people get used to the taste of pure distilled water, they no longer like to drink any other kind of water.