This simple DIY distilled water recipe is a huge time saver

Tap water is readily available, but sometimes you need distilled water if you plan to make more complex DIY products, such as homemade kitchen and bathroom cleaner. You should also use distilled water in humidifiers and other devices because it has sterile properties. If you partake in nasal irrigation, distilled water is also preferred. In fact, earlier this year a report highlighted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated an increased risk of Acanthamoeba infection in people who used tap water to rinse their nasal passages.

Distilled water is free and easy to make with all-natural, common household items you probably already have. We show you how to do this with just two pots, ice, tap water and a stove.

Why make distilled water at home?

For people who suffer from sleep apnea and use CPAP machines or another type of humidifier, distilled water is essential. It is also useful if you do not want extra minerals in your water. (For example, distilled water won’t corrode car engine parts or cause limescale in aquariums, and it’s easier on your home if you use it to make this all-natural cleaner.)

If you live in a place with “hard” water, or water with a lot of chemicals, you can even use distilled water to protect your hair while washing. However, because distilled water does not contain minerals such as calcium and magnesium, it tastes bland and is not the best to drink.

You can purchase distilled water at your local grocery store or convenience store on Amazonbut if you make it at home, you’ll save money and keep a few plastic jugs out of the recycling system. Learning to make this bacteria-free water at home will save you even if the store is out of stock.

Below I will guide you through the five steps to making your own distilled water. I also explain the differences between all the types of water you encounter in the store. For more tips, here’s how much you can do save by switching from bottled water to a Brita filterwhether it is It is cheaper to do your shopping online than in the supermarket and how Save money by extending the shelf life of the food in your refrigerator.

What is the difference between tap water, filtered, purified and distilled water?

Tap water is the easy one. Turn on your kitchen faucet. Water comes out of the tap. Voila! Tap water. The quality of tap water varies by location and may contain trace amounts of minerals specific to the geology of your region, as well as trace amounts of chemicals used in municipal water treatment. Hopefully your tap water is safe to drink, but that’s not the case for many people 45 million Americans. Filtered water is a solution.

Filtered water starts out as regular tap water. You may already have filtered water in your home through a whole-house filtration system, a faucet filter, or a water filtration pitcher (you can even purchase a filtered water bottle). Most filtered water passes through a combination of carbon and micron filters, which help remove chemicals such as chlorine (usually added to municipal tap water as a disinfectant) and pesticides, and metals such as copper or lead. Filters can also eliminate bad odors and tastes.
Purified water usually also starts as tap water. It will go through many purification processes, including those for water filtration. Purified water goes a step further than filtering, with a process that removes chemical contaminants, bacteria, mold and algae. You can often find purified water in bottles at the local supermarket.

Distilled water is a more specialized type of purified water, but much easier and cheaper to produce at home. Like purified water, it meets the classification requirement of 10 ppm (parts per million) total dissolved solids, or contaminants, or less. The distillation process is simple: heat tap water to the point that it turns into vapor. When the vapor condenses back into water, it leaves behind mineral residue. The resulting condensed liquid is distilled water.

Is it safe to drink distilled water?

Distilled water is completely safe to use, but the downside to distilling is that it removes all the beneficial minerals such as calcium and magnesium that naturally occur in tap water. For that reason, it is generally not recommended to use distilled water as daily drinking water. It may also lack the taste of tap or filtered water.

Can I store distilled water?

When stored properly, distilled water can have a long shelf life as long as it is not exposed to direct sunlight or high temperatures.

Carefully choose the storage container you use for distilled water. The lack of nutrients from distilled water can cause chemicals to leak from the container in which it is stored. If you plan to use the water immediately, most containers will work fine, but for long-term storage it is best to use glass or high-quality stainless steel. .

How to Make Your Own Distilled Water

I don’t want to get too scientific here, but this is exciting for me. We use water in all three known states: solid, liquid and gas.

The essence is this: you heat water (liquid), turn it into water vapor (gas), and then collect the condensation with the help of ice (solid). It’s like high school science class starting over again. You will probably find everything you need in your kitchen. A large saucepan with a lid, a small saucepan, water, ice and oven mitts for handling the hot cookware.

It takes some time for all this science to happen, so be prepared. In my example below, I started with 8 cups of water in the large pot. After 1 hour I had produced about 1 1/4 cups of distilled water. To make a gallon jug that you find in the grocery store, you will need about 13 hours of distillation time.

If you follow these steps you should get almost 100% yield, but whatever amount of distilled water you want, make sure you add extra water so you don’t heat up an empty pot(s) at the end. of the process, which can damage the cookware.

1. First, place the large pot on a stovetop burner and add 8 cups of water. Then place the smaller pot inside the large pot. At this point the smaller pot should be floating on the water. The key to circulating water vapor in the large pot is airflow. Make sure there is plenty of room around the smaller pot, both on the sides and between the pot and the top of the larger pot.

2. Then turn the burner somewhere between medium and medium heat. I tried to keep the heat at a steady level – somewhere between 180 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit – and not at a boil. Using a higher temperature will not give you a higher yield, but it will heat the cold side of the lid more quickly and make general use of the equipment more difficult.

3. After turning on the burner, place the lid upside down on the large pot. The lids are usually higher in the center than around the edges. Turning the lid over allows the condensed, distilled water to drip to the center of the lid and into the smaller jar. Once all this is done, go to your ice cream maker (or container) and load the top of the inverted lid with ice. The temperature difference on both sides of the lid accelerates the condensation process.

4. At this point you can sit back and wait. I ended up replenishing the ice supply 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 dumping that now hot melted ice cream.

5. Any water that has dripped into the smaller pot has now been 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.

Remember, making your own distilled water is easy (and fun!), but a lack of nutrients makes it a poor choice for everyday drinking. But if you’re stuck at home and have to rely on a device that requires it, or you just want to keep your fish healthy, you might want to try making it yourself.

For more information, see how remove mold and bacteria from your washing machine and the best way to get one clogged sink or a clogged toilet.