Distilled Water is a form of filtered water that doesn’t contains any bacteria, minerals, or salts that is purified in a very simple way that can be done right in your kitchen at home without expensive filtering equipment. How do you make Distilled Water at home?
- Fill a large pot partially with water
- Add a baking rack to the pot
- Place a smaller collection bowl on the rack
- Place the lid on the pot upside down.
- Place the pot on a burner and switch your stove on.
- Place something cold (such as ice cubes) on the lid.
- Store the distilled water in a suitable container
The distillation process is very effective at removing potentially harmful trace amounts of contaminants found in drinking H2O but it also removes the natural minerals and electrolytes naturally found in water in the process.
How to Make Distilled Water at Home
Distillation is the process of separating components of a mixture based on different boiling points. Examples of uses of distillation include water purification production of alcohol, desalination, crude oil refining, and making liquefied gases from the air. Humans have been using distillation since at least 3000 BC in the Indus Valley.
Distilled water is created through the process of distillation. What happens in the process of distillation is that pure H2O is boiled out of its contaminants. So, many of the contaminants found in water are inorganic minerals and metals.
Those types of contaminants have very high melting points and even higher boiling points (way higher than the boiling point of water at 212 degrees F). So, as the water (with its contaminants) is boiled, the pure water turns into steam and is captured and cooled and thus becomes distilled water. The junk left behind is all of the contaminants.
How to Easily Make Distilled Water at Home from Tap Water
Distillation is the process of separating components of a mixture based on different boiling points. Examples of uses of distillation include water purification production of alcohol, desalination, crude oil refining, and making liquefied gases from the air. Humans have been using distillation since at least 3000 BC in the Indus Valley.
Distillation is a treatment method that normally removes more than 99.9 percent of the dissolved minerals in the water. Tap water in a tank (often made of stainless steel) is heated to boiling. Bacteria are killed during boiling. The steam produced enters condensing coils or is trapped in a compartment where it is cooled and condensed back to the water.
Distilled water is the only water purification method that removes viruses, bacteria (like ecoli), parasites, toxic heavy metals (lead), poisons (like arsenic & mercury), radioactive particles (radon), nitrates, and many more.
Home Distillation: A Simple Process to Distill Water and Create Distilled Water
In a Distillation Unit, distilled water goes into a storage container or is piped to a special faucet. Storage containers can be glass, metal, or plastic. Minerals that are dissolved in solution and other suspended contaminates are left behind when the steam enters the condensing unit during and after the process. After this, distilled water is considered relatively pure of impurities. To make yourself:
All you need is a few things from the kitchen:
- You need a large container
- A smaller collection container that either floats in the first container or can be propped up above the water level
- A rounded or pointed lid that fits the big container (turned upside down so that when the steam condenses, the water drips into your smaller container)
- some ice
- Fill a large pot (5-gallon pot) partially with water- Figure 1
- Place a baking rack in the pot in the center of the pot
- Us a smaller pot to sit on the rack inside the 5-gallon pot
- Place the lid on the pot upside down.
- Place the pot on a burner and turn your stove on.
- Place something cold (such as ice cubes) on the lid.
- Store finished distilled water in a separate container
As the water inside the pot gets heated, droplets (condensation) will form on the lid. The ice cubes (or other cold material) on the other side of the lid will help with this process. The distilled water will fall back down into your bowl.
A typical household unit will produce between 4 and 12 gallons of treated water per day, depending on the size of the heating element. The known disadvantage of a distillation unit is the ongoing cost of energy required for its operation.
You can make some distilled water over a stove, grill, or campfire and don’t need electricity. You can use a simple DYI distiller using a Solar Distiller that is powered by the sun in an emergency situation. I wrote about this in an earlier post in MyWaterEarth& Sky called How to Make a Solar Still.
You can use tap water and also use stream, snow, rainwater, raw river, or lake water if in a survival situation. Home distillation kits range in price from about $100 to several hundred dollars that produce enough for any household.
Water Distillation Made Easy: How to Distill Water from Tap Water at Home
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Water your houseplants with distilled water. Distilled water is good for houseplants because it eliminates damaging soil contamination “buildup”. Distilled Water is pure water for your plants. In fact, distilled water is used for hydroponic gardens, professional greenhouses, and gardening, not just for indoor houseplants.
Distilled water does freeze but doesn’t look like any other ice you’ve seen cubes are clear and look great in cocktails. Distilled water can make coffee taste great you’ll notice the difference at the first sip. It will keep coffee-making equipment cleaner and easier to clean.
CPAP manufacturers recommend distilled water for optimal humidifier performance. This is because most or all of its minerals have been removed, preventing mineral buildup in the humidifier tub.
However, tap or bottled water may also be used. It will not harm the device or pose a risk to you. It will, however, require more rigorous humidifier cleaning to prevent excess mineral buildup in the tub.
Distilled water is ideal when purity is important. Common uses include:
- Medical tools and procedures. Hospitals clean equipment with it to help avoid contamination and infections. Kidney Dialysis machines use ultra-pure water to filter waste from the blood.
- Lab tests. Nothing in distilled water reacts with or affects the accuracy of lab experiments.
- Cosmetic industries If water is an ingredient in your moisturizer, deodorant, or shampoo, it’s almost always distilled.
- Automobiles. Since it lacks minerals, distilled water won’t corrode metal engine parts or interfere with batteries.
Distillation For CPAP
At home, you may want to reach for distilled water for cooking and several other reasons, including:
- CPAP machine. Fill the water chamber with a CPAP humidifier if you use it for sleep apnea. Many manufacturers recommend distilled water to make the humidifier last longer.
- Infant formula. Mix it with infant formula if your baby has weak immunity. Otherwise, tap water is fine.
- Neti pot. Use it with a neti pot to clear your sinuses.
- Iron. Use it in your clothes iron to prevent scale buildup.
- Shampoo your hair. Fluoride, chlorine, and other additives in the water from your shower may dull your hair.
Uses of Distilled Water: Understanding the Benefits of Water Distilled at Home
Distilled water not only improves the taste of liquids like fresh squeezed orange juice or your favorite coffee but dramatically improves the taste of your food. The distilled water magnifies the natural and mouth-watering flavors of your favorite foods and recipes.
- steam irons
- aquariums (mineral supplements should be added to the fish food)
- watering plants
- car cooling systems
- laboratory experiments
- certain medical devices, such as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices for sleep apnea
Aside from its flat taste, distilled water doesn’t provide you with minerals like calcium and magnesium that you get from regular tap water and which are needed for a healthy mind, body function, and cellular growth.
Since distilled water doesn’t contain its own minerals, it will have a tendency to pull them from whatever it touches to maintain a balance. So when you drink distilled water, it may take small amounts of minerals from your body and even from your teeth.
Can I use Bottled Water Instead of Distilled Water
Drinking water is an essential part of our lives, and we use it for a wide range of activities, from drinking and cooking to cleaning and bathing. Tap water is a convenient and inexpensive option for many people, without the need for filtered water but there are times when you may want to use a higher-quality type of water, such as distilled water or bottled water.
Whether or not bottled water is the same quality and can be used as a substitute for distilled water is an issue. The minerals found in common bottled or tap water are known as electrolytes that are used by your body. These are essential to a person’s health, but they are not found in distilled water.
While many people receive these minerals in their food, there may be days when you don’t eat enough minerals, such as calcium or potassium. On these days, calcium and potassium, as well as other electrolytes, can be supplemented through drinking tap or bottled water.
Also, there are volatile organic compounds found in water, and many of them have boiling points below that of pure water (like pesticides or herbicides and a whole lot of other volatile chemical compounds that have names far too difficult to pronounce, much less spell).
The point is that when the water gets heated, the volatiles boil off first, then the pure water next. So, it’s very important to have additional purification methods besides only distillation to make sure all the bad contaminants are removed.
Distilled Water Machine
Distilled water is water that has been heated to the boiling point so that impurities are separated from the water, which itself becomes vapor or steam. Steam is then condensed back into pure liquid form. The impurities remain as residue and are removed.
Pure Water Distillation Systems remove waterborne biological contaminants such as bacteria, viruses, organic and inorganic chemicals, heavy metals, volatile gases, cysts, and other contaminants. Distilled water contains virtually no solids, minerals, or trace elements.
It is clean, natural, and healthy. Steam distilled water is the standard by which all other waters are measured. Now Distilled Water Machines are available for consumers at a price that is affordable.
Pure distilled water should be used for all of your consumable needs, or anything that goes into your body. It is highly recommended for cooking. Boiling water can sometimes be helpful, it may not always be the best solution.
Distilled H2O can be included in making ice cubes, soup, coffee, tea, pasta, rice, baby formula, juices, or simply healthy drinking water. Contaminants that can be found in tap water are still finding their way into your body unless you are always using pure distilled water.
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JimGalloway Author/Editor
Thought Company-What is Distillation in Chemistry?
