Distilled water

[Tigers Fan]

Environment is all!

i still would not use it in a humidifier!

Methinks you are wise, Floatyboaty.

The chemically purest of chemically pure waters is fit only for batteries and industrial usage unless it is either produced in a sterile environment and/or is passed through an approved sterilisation filter - UV filters are usual, I think. Then it is deemed fit for human consumption.

TF

[Floatyboaty]

deionised water is produced for batteries, if you get the mix of the two chemicals wrong (caustic soda and hydrochloric acid) it is very nasty and causes evacuations of production and surrounding areas!

I used to have to wear a full rubber suit (highly sexy - not!) gas mask, wellies, visor and gauntlets.
Not produced in sterile conditions or passed through sterilisation filter. Why would it be? It is produced for batteries not human consumption!

Interestingly enough, where we moor our boat the water from the taps even after the brita effect is still yuk. It has to pass at least twice through to remove the 'scum' so we bought some bottled water which had even more 'scum' than the tap water!

There are threads that explain about vinegar and its descaling properties, much more preferable than using deionised believe me.

[goldtopia]

Distilled Water

I make and sell distilled water. See website www.water-pure.co.uk

[dravidio]

I bought some from a firm I found on e-bay. Just search for distilled water.

[Tigers Fan]

Not the whole picture

I make and sell distilled water. See website www.water-pure.co.uk

Hi goldtopia

With reference to your website and correct me if I am wrong, but I've always thought that our bodies need some hardness salts in our drinking water - witness the high rate of heart problems in the softest water areas of Scotland.

All the water a ship produces at sea is distilled water. We supplied quite expensive salts to our ships to add to the drinking water tanks.

Distilled water in a humidifer? Quite un-necessary except to avoid scale build-up - and it's a very expensive way of doing that!

TF

[goldtopia]

distilled water

Bodies do need certain elements in water, but for detoxing everything is taken out. It is not necessary to drink it permanently. A three months course should be sufficient. It is of neutral PH.
It is not necessary to put distilled water in humidifiers, you can use water out of a water butt, it is just to avoid scale. Distilled water cost less than 10p a litre to make. There is a huge profit in distilled water which is why I don't charge as much as others. www.water-pure.co.uk

[taswulf]

I brought a 2 litre bottle of "distilled water" here in Oz.
After nearly emptying the bottle I read the label.
This water is produced by the process of de-ionisation and not distillation.

I only brought distilled water after reading floatyboaty's comments, imagine my disgust when I actually brought and used what I was trying to avoid.
Talk about Truth in Labelling.
Buyer Beware.

Tas

[goldtopia]

costs of water

It happens all the time. In England people are misled into thinking that bottled spring water, mineral water, even filtered water is good for you, when its not a lot better than tap water. Its a huge industry of water that is free out of the ground and sold at as high price. Distilled water cost less that 10p per litre in electricity to make and with a good profit. Bottled water cost nothing to make and plastic bottles are a mere fraction of a penny to buy, almost nothing. Read the data page on water-pure.co.uk It will open your eyes.

[James @ Intus]

Goldtopia, as you seem to know a lot about this, how would one go about distilling his/her own tap water with either stuff that's already around the house or equipment that can be bought economically?

[Floatyboaty]

defrost the freezer and harvest the water!

[goldtopia]

distilled water

You cannot use water defrosted from a freezer or dehumidifier, although many chemical impurities may have been taken out, bacteria which can multiply is still present. Steam will kill bacteria. To make your own distilled water you would need a distiller, you cannot ordinarily use things lying around the house or kitchen.

You can buy a distiller for about £150 to £200 depending on the wattage. An 800 watt distiller will make 4 litres of water in 3 to 4 hours. A 320 water distiller will take much longer. If you are using a distiller regularly go for the higher wattage. You can bid for one on eBay.

[Floatyboaty]

Boil the harvested water then. Trouble is the amount you would get from a freezer would not last you long but it answeed James' question!
Someone somewhere (maybe this forum) worked out that a new chamber every few months worked out cheaper than using distilled water for the same period of time!
I personally cannot see anything wrong over here in using tap water and the occasional descaling with vinegar. Not sure about abroad though.

[GrumpyBiker]

When travelling overseas use either well-boiled water or bottled water. The chamber on my humidifier looks like new after a coupe of hours in distilled vineger, diluted with 3 parts water to one vineger. The vinegar has the added dvantyage of sterilising the unit. I do this on Sundays.

Andy

[dravidio]

I will try this Andy. I have been using distilled water which says it is 99.8% pure but noticed today that there is some limescale build up. Where has that come from. Or maybe it is just tap water that has had a label stuck on it and charged £15 for? Or am I being cynical. Will go now to use the vinegar.

[goldtopia]

Distilled water

It depends where you bought your distilled water. If there is a build up of lime scale in a humidifier from using distilled water, then it is not distilled water regardless of what it says on the label. I sometimes wonder about the reliability of some distilled water suppliers. The distilled water that I produce is 99.9% pure and cannot take short cuts in producing it due to the requirements of uses that it is bought for. See water-pure.co.uk for some of the uses also the differences of water that is available.

If you use your own distiller using tap water, there will be lime scale left behind in the distiller which should be cleaned out with a pot scourer after each use. If using water from a water butt, defrosted fridge or pond, etc. you will not get any scale at all and is much easier to clean. I have found the best is from a water butt which runs of a green house, though it does not rain often enough for a constant supply. Of all the various sources for water to use in a distiller I have found tap water to be the worst due to lime scale.