UPDATE - What's Up With DISTILLED WATER ??

[Ulma Doctor]

A somewhat wasteful but effective way of getting nearly pure water is reverse osmosis system
I had a system in my last home that was good for 2 gallons per hour
It was simple to install and had its own spigot

 

[pontiac428]

I get my "pure" water from my nerdified RO drinking water system that I split off of the output side and run through a deionizing resin column. It's close enough for government work. Thing you gotta remember is that "pure" water doesn't stay pure for long (seriously) so it's better fresh.

 

[RJSakowski]

A laboratory deionizer will also yield high quality water. A lab deionizer differs from the household version in that the cation exchange resin substitutes hydrogen ions for the metal ions and the anion resin substitutes hydroxyl ions, whereas the household softener substitutes sodium and chlorine ions. An RO polisher can remove any inorganics that are present.

Most laboratories use deionized and RO polished water rather than distilled water as the purity is orders of magnitude better than distilling.

 

[pontiac428]

I can't believe I just now realized that I can get certified nuclear reactor water at work. I should have been using that for my liquid cooling systems and kitchen chemistry projects all this time. Jeez.

 

[Boswell]

I clean it out after every use with a green scrubby, and once a year with dilute muratic acid

Before we switched to RainWater, we distilled our water using a similar 1 gallon distiller for many years. We also used a scubby after every use and about every couple of months or so, we would soak in Vinegar to break down the sediment, the scrubby and clean as new.

 

[Just for fun]

For non-potable distilled water, I collect water from my dehumidifier. I clean the collection tank thoroughly prior to collection. I store the water in clean gallon jugs from milk for such time as I need the water. If collecting, I take the precaution of niot using any volital substances as they will condense along with the water. This means not using WD40, painting, or cleaning with acetone, alcohol, or mineral spirits. Ih the course of a week in mid summer, I can collect fifteen gallons.

Out here in North Central Washington it would take 15 years to get one gallon. LOL Okay, maybe it's not quite that dry, but I only get about 1/8 to a 1/4 cup of water out of my portable AC during the summer.

 

[addertooth]

I don't trust grocery store distilled water anyway. There was a scandal when it was discovered one of the national chains was buying empty jugs, and filling them with filtered water from the tap.

 

[RJSakowski]

I just checked our local supermarket where we do most of our shopping. Distilled water is available starting at less than $1/gal.

Woodman's Markets Online Grocery Shopping Portal

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shopwoodmans.com

 

[Boswell]

In addition to rainwater, I also collect the condensate from one of our two air-conditioners. This averages 7 gallons a day for the late spring and summer. Not a a huge amount but worth collecting.

 

[homebrewed]

For non-potable distilled water, I collect water from my dehumidifier. I clean the collection tank thoroughly prior to collection. I store the water in clean gallon jugs from milk for such time as I need the water. If collecting, I take the precaution of niot using any volital substances as they will condense along with the water. This means not using WD40, painting, or cleaning with acetone, alcohol, or mineral spirits. Ih the course of a week in mid summer, I can collect fifteen gallons.

Yep, me, too. If you are using the dehumidifier for its as-sold function the water is free. I always have a couple of jugs of it around. In addition to volatiles that can be captured, dehumidifiers also collect dust so it's not quite as pure as distilled or de-ionized water. BTW, most of the so-called "distilled" water really is de-ionized. Not to say that it's total deception. DI water is used in making integrated circuits so it can be made very, VERY clean that way.

I once asted some of my dehumidifier-generated water.. RJ is right, don't use it for food purposes -- it tasted pretty bad, probably from all the non-food-grade plastic in the dehumidifier.