Distilled water is free of pesticides and bacteria, making it ideal for use in humidifiers and neti pots. This recent CDC report found that using tap water for nasal irrigation increases the risk of Acanthamoeba infection. It is also recommended for those who are thinking of making their own kitchen and bathroom cleaners.
Fortunately, distilled water is freely available and easy to make with common household items. All you need is two pots, water, the stove, and a few minutes.
Why make distilled water at home?
Distilled water is essential for people with sleep apnea who use CPAP machines or other types of humidifiers. It is also useful if you do not want to add additional minerals to your water. (For example, distilled water won't corrode your car's engine parts or build up limescale in your aquarium.) Using distilled water to make this natural detergent is also easy on your home. )
If you live in an area with “hard water” or water with lots of chemicals, you can also protect your hair by using distilled water when washing it. However, distilled water does not contain minerals such as calcium and magnesium, so it has a bland taste and is not suitable for drinking.
Distilled water can be found at your local grocery store or on Amazon, but you can save money by taking them home and keep some plastic water jugs out of the recycling system. Learn how to make this bacteria-infused water at home and save money even if the store doesn't stock it.
Below are five steps to making your own distilled water. We will also explain the differences between all the types of water sold in stores. For more tips: Save money by switching from bottled water to Brita filterswhether it is It's cheaper to buy groceries online compared to grocery stores and how Save money by making food last longer in the refrigerator.
What is the difference between tap water, filtered water, purified water, and distilled water?
Tap water is easy. Turn on the kitchen faucet. Water comes out of the faucet. Voila! Tap water. Tap water quality varies by location and may contain trace minerals specific to the local geology and trace amounts of chemicals used in municipal water treatment. It would be nice if tap water was safe to drink, but for 45 million Americans, it's not. Filtered water is a single solution.
filtered water The first one is regular tap water. Your home may already be using filtered water, using a whole-house filtration system, faucet filter, or water filtration pitcher (you can also get filtered water bottles). Masu). Most filtered water passes through a combination of carbon and micron filters. These filters help remove chemicals such as chlorine (commonly added to municipal tap water as a disinfectant) and pesticides, as well as metals such as copper and lead. The filter also removes bad odors and tastes.
purified water It usually starts as tap water as well. It goes through many purification processes, including water filtration. Purifying water is a process that goes one step further than filtration to remove chemical contaminants, bacteria, fungi, and algae. Bottled water is often sold at local grocery stores.
Distilled water is a more specialized type of purified water, but it is much easier and cheaper to produce at home. As with purified water, it meets classification requirements of less than 10 ppm (parts per million) of total dissolved solids, or contaminants. The process of distillation is simple. Heat tap water until it turns into steam. When the steam condenses back into water, it leaves behind a mineral residue. The resulting condensate is distilled water.
Is it safe to drink distilled water?
Distilled water is completely safe to use, but the downside of distillation is that it removes all the beneficial minerals such as calcium and magnesium that are naturally found in tap water. Therefore, using distilled water as daily drinking water is generally not recommended. You may also find that your tap water or filtered water lacks flavor.
Can I store distilled water?
If stored properly, distilled water can be stored for a long time as long as it is not exposed to direct sunlight or high temperatures.
Choose the storage container you use for distilled water carefully. Distilled water is lacking in nutrients and can leach chemicals from the containers in which it is stored. Most containers are fine if the water is to be used immediately, but for long-term storage it's best to use glass or high-quality stainless steel. .
How to make your own distilled water
This isn't very scientific, but it's very interesting to me. We use water in all three known states: solid, liquid, and gas.
The main points are: Water (liquid) is heated, turned into water vapor (gas), and ice (solid) is used to collect the condensation. It's like a middle school science class all over again. You will find everything you need in the kitchen. Oven mitts for handling large pots with lids, small pots, water, ice, and hot utensils.
All this science will take time to happen, so be prepared. In my example below, he started with 8 cups of water in a large pot. After 1 hour, approximately 1 1/4 cups of distilled water was produced. It takes about 13 hours of distillation time to recreate a gallon bottle from the supermarket.
If you follow these steps you should get close to 100% yield, but no matter how much distilled water you end up with, be sure to add some water at the end to avoid heating up an empty pot. Please add it. It may damage your cooking utensils.
1. First, place a large pot on the stove and add 8 cups of water. Next, place the smaller pot inside the larger pot. At this point, the smaller pot should be floating on top of the water. The key to circulating steam in a large pot is airflow. Make sure there is enough space both around the small pot, around the sides, and to the top of the large pot.
2. Next, turn the burner to a temperature between medium and medium-high. I set the fire level to no boil and kept it at a constant boil between 180 degrees Fahrenheit and 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Operating at higher temperatures does not improve yield, but the cold side of the lid warms up faster and makes general handling of the equipment more difficult.
3. Once the burner is on, place the lid upside down over the large pot. The lid is usually higher in the center than around the edges. When you flip the lid, the condensed distilled water will drip down to the center of the lid and flow into a small pot. Once this is all done, head over to your ice maker (or tray) and fill the top of the upside-down lid with ice. The temperature difference on both sides of the lid accelerates the process of condensation.
Four. At this point you can sit back and wait. I ended up refilling the ice twice within an hour, once after 30 minutes, and once after 45 minutes. You will need oven mitts for this. The lid will be hot. Be careful when discarding hot melted ice.
Five. All the water that dripped into the small pot was distilled. Again, I was able to make about 1 1/4 cups of distilled water from 8 cups of tap water in about an hour.
While it's easy (and fun!) to make your own distilled water, keep in mind that it's not suitable for everyday drinking as it lacks nutrients. But if you're stuck at home and relying on equipment that requires it, or you just want to keep your fish healthy, you might want to try making it yourself.
For more information, check out how Remove mold and bacteria from your washing machine And the best way to clear the blockage is clogged sink or clogged toilet.