Distilled Water Association

Water Education through Science and Engineering

Distilled Water

Is Distilled Water Best?

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“Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” This famous quote from The Ryme of the Ancient Mariner depicts the terrible irony of being stranded at sea, surrounded by water, while starving of thirst. Although the Earth is made up of 70% water, only a small percentage of that water is fit for human consumption. This problem is often solved using water distillation. However, there is some debate on whether or not distilled water is safe.

 

So, what exactly is distilled water? The distillation process involves boiling impure water, which converts the water into vapor. As the water turns to vapor, all impurities are left behind. The pure vapor is condensed and collected and is known as distilled water. Distilled water is considered to be the purest form of water because it contains little to no contaminants. It is used for a variety of purposes. Some machinery requires the use of distilled water for the equipment to function properly. It is also used in batteries, and skin care products. Distilled water is also commonly used as a drinking water source.

 

Distilled water is used by most food and beverage manufacturing companies due to its purity and is also bottled and sold in supermarkets as drinking water. Distilled water is particularly useful in areas where clean drinking water sources are limited, or not safe for human consumption. Additionally, it is recommended that those who make baby food at home use distilled water to keep the baby food free of contaminants.  It is said by many that distilled water is the safest form of drinking water, and that it contains added health benefits that other forms of drinking water does not. However, this idea has been debated.

 

There are some benefits to drinking distilled water which cannot be denied. For starters, the process if distilling water leaves behind harmful impurities and solids that may be found in the un-clean water. Research also shows that drinking distilled water can help remove toxins from the body. The pH of distilled water allows the water to absorb any metals it comes in contact with, so frequent use of distilled water in cooking and for drinking can pose some health risks.

There are undeniable uses and benefits of distilled water. It keeps machines running smoothly and allows for the production pure products.  When living in conditions where clean, drinkable water is limited, distilled water can be a life saver.

Use Distilled Water for Wet Cell Batteries

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Distilled water is considered one of the purest forms of water, because of the process implemented to make it reach the state that it is in. As you know, distilled water is achieved by boiling water enough so that the liquid evaporates, thereby leaving behind its solid impurities. Once the water evaporates, a process of condensation will be “forced” onto the water vapour, to bring back the water to its liquid state. It’s a pretty complicated process, but in the end, you will be assured of water that is free of its miniscule and solid impurities.

Distilled water has gained popularity as a health drink, once individuals figured out that distilled water is almost 100% pure of impurities. Nowadays, it is normal to see people choosing to drink distilled water instead of tap or filtered water. These individuals choose to the safe and healthy route by drinking water that is sure to be free of impurities. While some claim that distilled water can taste a little bland or flat, many get used to it. After all, wouldn’t it be such a relief, knowing that you are doing your best to be healthy?

However, did you know that distilled water was actually originally used in laboratory experiments because of its pure qualities? Many scientists opt to use distilled water when doing experiments so they won’t have to worry about their experiments reacting differently because of other impurities found in other types of water. Due to the pure qualities of distilled water, many also recommend using distilled water in watering plants.

Distilled water is also very popular among auto mechanics. In fact, if you can, it is best to keep a bottle of distilled water in your car’s tool kit. The reason for this is that distilled water is most commonly used for “topping off” different machines’ batteries, or what we normally refer to as “wet cell batteries.” Distilled water is used by mechanics to maintain batteries. If you use only tap water, you will damage your battery in the long run, if the minerals from the tap water accumulate and damage the battery plates. Using “soft” water will also result in your battery’s plates accumulating salt – a definite no-no. If you use distilled water, you will be sure that you are using water that will not leave behind mineral residue in your battery. In the long run, you are actually prolonging the life and quality of your battery. This is really advantageous, as batteries can be expensive. So if your batteries get a little “thirsty,” you can quench its thirst by giving it distilled water.

Distilled water, because of its popularity, is now quite easy to acquire. It is now readily available in supermarkets. But if you do not have something ready, and you are too lazy to go to the supermarket, you can always make your own distilled water, the homemade way. There are many resources online that show you how to create distilled water from tap water. If you are just using distilled water for your car’s engine, then creating your homemade distilled water should not be a problem at all.

The Art of Making Ice Cubes: Distilled Water and Its Many Uses

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We can only say so much about distilled water. We can go on and talk about how they can benefit the body, how the distillation process gets rid of foreign matter in drinking water, etc. Although all of those are true, distilled water has many other uses that most people may or may not know of.

For instance, distilled water helps make the best ice cubes that you can ever think of. The process of distillation is primarily responsible for this. Why? As we are already familiar of, distillation involves evaporation and subsequent collection of the water by means of condensation thereby removing impurities. The product– that is distilled water—therefore does not contain any inorganic waste. It also removes the minerals in the water.

So what does it have to do with ice cubes? You might ask.

Sometimes, if you use tap water to make ice cubes, it may carry a number of different substances such as salts, nitrates, chloramines, fluorides, and sometimes some very tiny microorganisms. This will make the ice look cloudy and unclear. Distilled water have none of those and thus, it can help make clearer ice cubes.

But using just distilled water may not be enough to produce perfect, crystal-clear  ice cubes. It only AIDS in making good-looking cubes. The secret lies in how you cool them. If you cool it too quickly, air bubbles in the water gets trapped rather quickly, too, resulting in cloudier ice. When ice freezes slowly, the bubbles cannot get inside so when it freezes, it’s beautifully luscent. That is why it helps boiling the water first because the water’s high temperature will make it freeze slowly.

Interestingly enough, distilled water  is not just for the benefits of the cocktail drinkers and booze-seekers out there. Here’s why:

  • Distilled water is mostly favored in steam irons because it does not make the iron rusty.
  • Widely preferred over tap water for engine cooling systems and auto cooling systems. Even nuclear powered ships use it as a coolant. Distilled water does not contain corrosive minerals most likely present in tap water, which in turn, can damage the engine.
  • Makes excellent glass cleaners. Half part vinegar and half part distilled water will make you want to put them commercial glass cleaners to rest.
  • Beers, colas, and other drinks use distilled water to ensure highest quality of the products
  • In the medical field, surgeons prefer using distilled water to treat wounds or cuts to prevent infection.
  • If used in aquariums, certain fish are observed to thrive better.
  • For everday cooking and drinking, you can do much worse than using distilled water.
  • Lead acid batteries used in cars or trucks require a top-up water. Because tap water contains ions that can cause damage to the battery or significantly reduce its life span. That is why distilled water, which does not contain such ions, is widely preferred.
  • Distilled water is used in chemical and biological laboratories where highly purified water is a must. Sometimes, in cases where an exceedingly high degree of purified water is required, double distilled water is used.

For what it’s worth, if you are rich, you can also try bathing in distilled water. It is believed that distilled water does wonders for the skin too. You never know.

 

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.