Can You Drink Distilled Water?
What Is Distilled Water?
Distillation is the process of removing impurities from liquid or gas. The term “distillate” refers to any liquid produced through distilling, including but not limited to: alcohol, water, ethanol (alcohol) and other substances. There are many different types of distilled waters available today. Some are sold as bottled waters while others may be purchased at liquor stores and grocery stores.
In general, distilled water is considered safe to drink. However, there have been cases where drinking it has caused health problems such as cancer and kidney failure. One of the main reasons why distilled water is considered safe is because the process used to remove impurities from the water removes most of the harmful chemicals found in tapwater. These include chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals like lead.
Other contaminants that are removed during distillation include bacteria, viruses and protozoa.
The chemical composition of distilled water varies depending on what type of water is being distilled. For example, some waters contain only one element while others have multiple elements. The following chart lists common ingredients found in distilled waters.
Sodium (Na)
Magnesium (Mg)
Calcium (Ca)
Potassium (K)
Chloride (Cl)
Bicarbonate (HCO3)
Carbonate (CO3)
Sulphate (SO4)
Nitrate (NO3)
The process of distillation separates liquid mixtures with the use of a vaporization and condensation system. The liquid being purified is boiled which turns it into a vapor. The gaseous mixture rises through a tube into a container where it condenses back to a liquid and is collected. The process is repeated multiple times until the desired purity level is reached.
Some types of distilled water are labeled as reverse osmosis water or distilled water produced by a water distiller. A water distiller heats the water and turns it into steam. The steam is then channeled into a separate container, whichcooling it down and turning it back into liquid form. A water distiller may also be known as a still, however, there is a slight difference between the two.
A water distiller heats the water to its boiling point while a water distiller uses heat to turn the water into steam at 100°C. Steaming hot water will not become steam until it is at 100°C. As such, the water is not converted into steam until it is at its boiling point.
What Are The Different Types Of Distilled Water?
Distilled water is available in many different types and brands. Some of these that are readily available on store shelves include:
Aqua Minerale
Aqua Minerale RO
Aqua Minerale Light
Bes Beverage Distribution Company Inc.
Bes Water
Blue Mountain Spring Water
Cascade Minerals International Inc.
Cascade Water
Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring Water
Evergreen Spring Water
leak / LE
Familian Water Company Inc.
Familia Water
Glen Alpine Spring Water
Hot Spring Water Inc.
HotSprngs
Lifestyle Water
Ogallala Wellness Water
Pristine Bottled Water
Pure Life Purified Water
Sparkletts Distilled Water
Spindrift Sparkling Water
Sprit Springs Water Inc.
Summit Spring Water Co., The
Summit Spring Water Company, The Sparkling Branch
Distilled water is used in a wide variety of ways. For example, distilled water is commonly used in battery manufacturing facilities. The reason for this is because the ions and impurities present in regular tap water can cause batteries to degrade at a quicker rate. As such, distilled water is extracted directly from the battery acid before it has a chance to interact with the lead.
This type of water is then used to humidify dry air used in the batteries.
Because of its purity, distilled water is used in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices and in the manufacture of metals. The lack of ions and impurities allows for a more effective way of moving the materials from point A to point B without any loss of material.
Pure distilled water is also used to clean electronics. This includes everything from computers to cell phones to DVD players.
Many people use distilled water in their fish tanks because it lacks the chemicals found in regular tap water. This helps fish and plants thrive in these tanks. Cleaning the tank is also made easier because all of the impurities are removed when the water is distilled.
Aging wine is made easier with the use of distilled water. This is because there are no ions or impurities to affect the taste, color or odor of the wine.
Other people distill their own drinking water at home because it lacks the chlorine taste found in regular tap water. Swimming pool water that has been distilled is also used to keep the smell of chlorine out of the air. Water filters do not remove all of the chlorine; however, distilled water does the job quite nicely.
Storage Issues with Distilled Water
One thing to keep in mind when storing distilled water is its lack of dissolved gases. When water evaporates, it takes with it various gases. When using tap water these gases are what cause it to become smelly and full of unpleasant tastes. The lack of dissolved gases is also why distilled water is preferred over tap water in most beverage manufacturing plants.
However, distilled water does have the potential to absorb gases if proper precautions are not taken. As such, it is recommended to keep distilled water in sealed containers. This will prevent the water from coming into contact with the atmosphere and allowing it to absorb any gases present. It also keeps dust and other airborne particulates from falling into the container.
The lack of dissolved gases also means that distilled water will not become acidic. This can be a good thing for use in home aquariums. Tap water has various amounts of dissolved carbon dioxide. As the tap water sits, the water becomes more acidic.
This causes the pH level to drop which can harm fish and coral in your tank. Distilled water does not bring any extra carbon dioxide with it so there is no risk of lowering the pH level.
Another thing you need to be aware of is the potential for certain substances to collect at the bottom of your storage container. This can cause an uneven distribution of these impurities throughout the distilled water. To prevent this from happening, you need to either shake up your container before using the water or use a separator bottle like you see in the image below.
These separator bottles have a weighted ball at the bottom. This ball rests on the bottom of the bottle and traps any sediment that may have fallen to the bottom. Each time you use some water, more sediment may have fallen. All you have to do is shake the bottle and the ball will distribute the sediment evenly throughout the distilled water.
Other things to remember
When using distilled water in your fish tank or garden, be sure to drain out a cupful and add back tap water. This will mimic the water conditions that your fish or plants are used to and prevent them from being shocked by the sudden change.
This concludes our discussion on distilled water. If you have any questions, please post them in the comments section below.
Sources & references used in this article:
Evaluation of photocatalytic disinfection of crude water for drinking-water production by J Wist, J Sanabria, C Dierolf, W Torres… – Journal of Photochemistry …, 2002 – Elsevier
Defluoridation of drinking water using chitin, chitosan and lanthanum-modified chitosan by SP Kamble, S Jagtap, NK Labhsetwar… – Chemical Engineering …, 2007 – Elsevier
Removal of turbidity from drinking water using natural coagulants by G Muthuraman, S Sasikala – Journal of Industrial and Engineering …, 2014 – Elsevier
Corrosion characteristics of copper microparticles and copper nanoparticles in distilled water by X Xia, C Xie, S Cai, Z Yang, X Yang – Corrosion science, 2006 – Elsevier
Factors influencing arsenic and nitrate removal from drinking water in a continuous flow electrocoagulation (EC) process by NS Kumar, S Goel – Journal of hazardous materials, 2010 – Elsevier
