Do not buy distilled water.Save money and make your own in 5 easy steps

this story is part home tipsCNET’s collection of practical advice for getting the most out of your home, inside and out.

Distilled water is the purest water. 99.9% of other minerals, chemicals and contaminants are removed with just hydrogen and oxygen. It is used for various purposes in the medical field and at home. You can also buy distilled water at the store, on Amazon, if you use it often, it’s helpful to know how to create your own. All you need is two pots, water, a stovetop, and a few minutes of your time. Trust me, it’s a game changer.

For those who suffer from sleep apnea CPAP machine Or for other types of humidifiers, distilled water is essential. It also helps if you don’t want to add additional minerals to your water. (Distilled water, for example, will not corrode car engine parts or cause limescale buildup in aquariums.) If you live in an area with “hard” or chemical-laden water, use distilled water. can also be used to protect the hair. when washing it. However, distilled water has a bland taste and is not suitable for drinking because it does not contain minerals such as calcium and magnesium.

Below are five steps for making your own distilled water.We’ll also explain the different types of water you may not know about and the differences between all the types you’ll come across in stores. Whether it’s cheaper to buy groceries online compared to the grocery storeWhen How to make food in your fridge last longer and save money.

what type of water?

Don’t worry if you don’t know the difference between tap water, filtered water, purified water, and distilled water. It can be confusing.

Tap water is easy. Twist the kitchen faucet. Water comes out of the faucet. Voila! Tap water. Tap water quality varies from location to location and may contain trace amounts of minerals specific to local geology and trace amounts of chemicals used in urban water treatment. We hope our tap water is safe to drink, but for 45 million Americans, it’s not. Filtered water is one solution.

filtered water Start with plain tap water. You may already be filtering the water in your home with a whole house filtration system, faucet filter, or water filtration pitcher ( filtered water bottle). Most filtered water passes through a combination of carbon and micron filters. This filter helps remove chemicals such as chlorine (commonly added to tap water as a disinfectant) and pesticides, as well as metals such as copper and lead. Filters can also remove odors and tastes.

purified water It usually starts with tap water as well. It goes through many purification processes, including those used to filter water. Purified water goes a step further than filtration using a process that removes chemical contaminants, bacteria, fungi and algae. You can often find bottled purified water at your local grocery store.

Distilled water is a more specialized type of purified water, but it is much easier and cheaper to make at home. Similar to purified water, it meets the classification requirement of 10 ppm (total dissolved solids, aka parts per million of contaminants) or less. The distillation process is simple. Heat tap water until it becomes steam. As the steam condenses back into water, it leaves behind a mineral residue. The resulting condensate is distilled water.

Is distilled water safe to drink?

Distilled water is completely safe to use, but the downside of distillation is that it removes all of the beneficial minerals naturally found in tap water, such as calcium and magnesium. As such, using distilled water as your daily drinking water is generally not recommended and may lack taste.

You should also carefully choose the storage container you use for distilled water. Distilled water lacks nutrients and can leach chemicals from the container in which it is stored. For immediate use, most containers are fine, but for long-term storage, glass or high quality stainless steel is recommended. .

how to make distilled water

Let’s not get too scientific here, but this is exciting to me. Known he uses water in all three states (solid, liquid and gaseous).

Here’s the gist: It heats water (liquid), turns it into water vapor (gas) and collects condensate with the help of ice (solid). It’s like redoing a middle school science class. You will find everything you need in your kitchen. Large pots with lids, small pots, water, ice and mittens for handling hot utensils.

All this science takes time to happen, so be prepared. In my example below, I started with 8 cups of water in a large pot. After an hour, you have about 1 1/4 cups of distilled water. It takes about 13 hours of distillation time to recreate a gallon jug from a 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 additional water at the end to avoid heating the empty pot. please give me. It can damage your cookware.

1First, place the large pot over the stove burner and add 8 cups of water. At this point, the smaller pan should float above the water. The point that circulates the steam in the large pot is the flow of the wind. Make sure there is enough space around the small pot and between the sides and top of the large pot.

2Then aim the burner somewhere between medium and medium heat. I tried to keep the heat level at a steady simmer (somewhere between 180 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit) rather than boiling. The cold side warms up faster, making general handling of the equipment more difficult.

3When the burner is on, turn the lid of the large pot upside down. Eyelids are usually higher in the middle than around the edges. When the lid is turned over, the condensed distilled water drips down the middle of the lid and flows into a small pot. Once this is all done, head to your ice maker (or tray) and fill the top of the inverted lid with ice.

FourAt this point you can sit back and wait. I ended up refilling my ice supply twice within an hour, once after 30 minutes, and once after 45 minutes. Here’s what you need oven mitts – that lid gets hot! Be careful when throwing away the hot, melted ice.

FiveWater that drips into a small pot is 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.

Making your own distilled water is easy (and fun!), but remember that it’s not suitable for everyday drinking if it’s lacking in nutrients. , if you rely on a device that requires it, or if you simply want to keep your fish healthy, you might want to try making your own.

For more information check how Removes mold and bacteria from your washing machine And the best way to unblock clogged sink or clogged toilet.

A simpler how-to for what to do next: