Distilled Water Association

Water Education through Science and Engineering

Distilled Water

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.

Distilled Water or Deionized Water?

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It is so hard to tell these days which water is good to drink and which is not good to drink. You will get people that will tell you natural spring water is what you should drink while others will tell you purified water is better. So, what is the definition of purified water? It is water that has been filtered and wiped clean of all its contaminants. When you go to the supermarket to buy purified water you will have to choose between distilled water and deionized water. Most people don’t even think about the differences between the two. They will look for some word on the label that spells out “purified” and will think nothing more about it. But, it is important that you realize the difference between distilled water and deionized water. You are probably more familiar with distilled water because it is the purest form of water that you can drink. The distillation process totally removes the impurities and the minerals from the water. On the other hand, the deionization process only removes the essential minerals from the water while leaving the contaminants in there.

You may be thinking, “Why would I only want to drink the contaminants and not the minerals?” Well the deionized water that you buy in the store can be used for more than just drinking. Even though drinking it may not hurt you, there really is no point in doing so because you are only putting the impurities into your body. Therefore, you’d be better off drinking distilled water or natural spring water. The deionized water comes in handy for machines and devices that need water to operate. For example, a steam iron and a humidifier work great with deionized water because there won’t be any mineral deposits left inside of it after use. That means the machines will work faster and you won’t have to clean up as much. Also, when you go to a car wash that sprays water onto your windshield, you may notice there won’t be any white spots left afterwards. That is because it uses deionized water and the lack of minerals in it won’t leave any residue on your windshield. So, as you can see each type of water can be used in its own special way. If you decide to drink deionized water, don’t worry because it won’t kill you. Like distilled water, you will still get your essential minerals from the foods you eat and the deionized water will still help process the food in your digestive system.

Distilled Water Aquariums

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Distilled water has a lot of great benefits to humans that consume it. Distillation creates purified water that has no contaminants or impurities in it. That means people won’t get sick from drinking it or letting it get into their system. Can the same be said for fish life? A lot of people like to set up aquariums and fish tanks in their homes for the purpose of putting exotic fish into them. This may seem like a great idea, but you have to really do your research in determining the type of water you should use. A layman may think that distilled water would be great for fish because it is pure and unpolluted. However, you must remember that fish live and breathe in the water. They need to be consuming water that correlates with their natural ecosystem. This means natural spring water or saltwater is what you should be filling up your fish tank with, depending on the type of fish you have. But, there is no fish that is supposed to inhabit distilled water because distillation is not natural to their environment. They need to inhabit water that is full of the essential minerals they need in order to survive.

So, what is the solution? If you use ordinary tap water in your aquarium then it can still be harmful to the fish because you don’t know which chemicals or pollutants reside in the water. However, there is a way to have the best of both worlds. If you want to use distilled water in your fish tank and don’t mind spending the money getting it, then go for it. But, before you add fish to the tank you will need to buy some mineral and vitamin supplements specifically designed for fish in an aquarium. You can get these supplements at any pet store that sells fish tank supplies. Then what you will have to do is regularly mineralize the water with these supplements to keep the fish healthy. That way your water won’t have any impurities, but instead only healthy minerals for your fish to thrive on. The same method can be applied towards an aquarium that has saltwater. The only difference is that you will have to buy a lot more supplements to make up for the elements that natural seawater has in it. These elements include calcium, carbonate, strontium, iron, molybdenum, iodine and more. Taking care of fish in this manner requires a lot of work, but if you use distilled water as the base then your fish will stay healthy for a longer time.

Distilled Water Myths

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It is amazing how many myths and varied opinions have formed about the health benefits of distilled water. Not only do ordinary people disagree with each other on the internet about distilled water, but even nutritional experts have varied opinions on the matter as well. There is one side that says distilled water is bad for you and another that says it is good for you. However, the reasoning behind each side is where the controversy starts. For example, the people that are against water distillation will argue that the water actually drains the minerals from a person’s body when they drink it. The idea is that because the distilled water has no minerals, it will try to compensate naturally by using the minerals of your body to make up for it. They also say if you try to bathe in distilled water, it is like making a “death pool” because as soon as you lay in it your body will get drained off all its minerals. This is absolutely ridiculous and there is no scientific evidence to back that up.

Another myth about water distillation is that because there are no minerals in the water, then the water has no nutritional value whatsoever. Most experienced nutritionists will disagree with this myth because they see water itself as a nutrient for the body. You have to think about what water actually does in your body. The purpose of drinking water doesn’t have to do with minerals and nutrients. The main purpose that water has in the body is to regulate its temperature as well as help process food in the digestive system. Minerals are not needed in the water to do this. The body will get enough of its minerals from the food you eat anyways and then it will mix with the distilled water after you drink it. So in a way, the distilled water will become mineralized when it is in your digestive system. Finally, there is very silly myth about distilled water that says it can actually go bad if it is exposed to air for long periods of time because of carbon dioxide contamination. They also say it may even become acidic very easily because of the lack of minerals in the distilled water. This is also a false myth with no scientific evidence to back it up. So, relax and don’t be afraid to consume distilled water.