What is distilled water for and how to do it

Distilled water is a type of Purified water which is obtained through a distillation process consisting of the boiling and water evaporation with impurities in a distiller and the subsequent collection of condensed water vapor that has been generated. Water of origin to prepare distilled water can come from various sources, such as tap, sea, snow, rivers and streams, plants or wells.

When the water evaporates, impurities are eliminated present in it, whether salts, minerals, metals or potentially harmful microorganisms. This is what differentiates distilled water from filtered water, where microbes are eliminated but not all minerals.

Although, with Water distillationmost of minerals and metals are discarded, the purity of the water of origin is still important because certain impurities (for example, heavy metals such as mercury or volatile organic compounds), are evaporated together with the water and are not eliminated from the distilled water obtained, so they cannot be properly eliminated with this process.

To learn more about the process to obtain distilled water, we recommend reading these two ecology articles about what is evaporation of water and examples and what is the condensation of water and examples.

The properties of distilled water are equal to those of normal water Without purifying, with the exception that, as mentioned above, they lack a large number of minerals present in the water prior to distillation, as well as many contaminants originally present in it. Because of the absence of minerals, distilled water is characterized by It has no flavor. In addition, when the distillation process has been recent, the pH of distilled water is close to neutrality, that is, close to pH 7, although after a while, distilled water is absorbing carbon dioxide of the atmosphere and its pH decreases to 5.8.

Human beings have produced distilled water since ancient times through the water distillation process. We have produced it for so long because it is very useful. But,What is distilled water for exactly? These are the distilled water uses:

• Distilled water for human consumption: A priori, distilled water is suitable for human consumption, since the distillation process gives rise to a cleaner and more pure water than in its origin and it is safe to drink it. However, being purified, it lacks the minerals present naturally in the water, since these are not volatile and are excluded with the evaporation of water. This is why, although professionals argue that most of the minerals necessary to maintain good health are obtained from food, distilled water is not the healthiest form of water to drink. Only in case of being faced with water contaminated by heavy metals or chemical substances such as fluorides or organic compounds, it could be more beneficial to drink it in contrast to water without distilling. In vessels, distilled water is often produced from seawater for consumption. However, it should also be noted that distilled water and, especially, that obtained by homemade distillation processes, can sometimes contain chemical contaminants from the distiller.
• Distilled water is used in experiments and laboratory work: Generally, tap water is not usually suitable for testing and analysis in the laboratory, but if it is subject to a distillation process, it can be used in numerous activities such as in the preparation of solutions, the calibration and sterilization of equipment, such as analytical target, in the cleaning of glass material or for the preparation of high purity water.
• Because distilled water is devoid of minerals, it is often used in cars and appliancessuch as steam plates and hot water urns, as in humidifiers and vaporizersbecause it contributes to avoiding the accumulation of minerals, unlike what can occur when using tap water.
• Distilled water too can be used in aquariums To avoid the introduction of pollutants or microorganisms present in tap water but, in that case, it is necessary to add mineral supplements next to the food of organisms that live there to maintain their good health.
• Distilled water can also be used in the plant irrigation.
• It can also be used in certain Medical devicesas is the case with continuous positive pressure devices on the respiratory tract (whose acronym in English are CPAP), used to treat sleep apnea.
• Is Used by beer manufacturers homemade to imitate the type of water used in Pilsner type beers.

Now that you know What is distilled water and its uses for diverse, we explain How to make distilled water step by step. There are several Methods to make distilled waterwhich depend on the means with which they are counted for this purpose and the source from which the water proceeds. All these methods are based on the principle of separation of components from the original mixture according to its various boiling points. To do this, the water is heated to its boiling pointso that the chemical compounds that evaporate at minor temperatures are collected and discarded and the substances whose boiling points are at a higher temperature remain in the container after the evaporation of water. Thus, the distilled water collected has a greater purity than the original water.

One of the ways in which water can be distilling is to use an oven, a stove or a grill, for which a large water container (stainless steel or aluminum) is needed, as well as other smaller containers (glass or metal) that float in the water contained in the major container, ice and a pointed cover that serves to cover the large recipient. If you like make distilled water at home And you get these materials, follow these steps:

1. Fill the larger container with water, within which you have to place the small containers, which will be floating.
2. Turn on the fire and cover the large container with the inverted lid.
3. Heat the water at high temperature, reaching its boiling point so that the water begins to evaporate. As a consequence of this, the water vapor will be condensing on the surface of the inverted lid; To facilitate the condensation process, ice can be placed on the outside of the lid.
4. Condensed water drops on the inverted lid will fall on floating containers, which serve to collect distilled water obtained.
5. When the complete evaporation of water and distilled water occurs, it has been collected in small containers, turn off the heat and remove the containers.
6. Save the distilled water you have obtained. To do this, keep in mind that this water has to be preserved in containers destined for long -term and previously clean storage (and, when possible, sterilized), in order to ensure that it is not contaminated. In addition, when preparing distilled water you also have to be careful not to contaminate it during its obtaining process, as could occur when using a equipment with the presence of pollutants that could move from glass or other material to the water, so it is necessary to use very clean materials or instruments or, preferably, sterilized.

Now that you know well what distilled water is, you may also be interested in knowing what drinking water and its characteristics are.

If you want to read more articles similar to What is distilled water for and how to do itwe recommend that you enter our category of other environment.