Buying Distilled water in Europe

Goofproof wrote:... Now Days batteries are low maintenance and require very little water topping off, or none, so basically tap water makes little difference, like changing the air in your tires in the winter.

I agree with most of what you say, except -
I use a 480 Amp-hour bank of deep cycle batteries on the boat, doing charge/discharge cycles daily. They last 6-8 years; If I treat them real nice they might go 10. I have to add water several times a year, so its worth it to keep a jug of distilled in a locker. "Maintenance Free" batteries simply add a bit extra so the they will die in a programmed amount of typical automotive use. Proper deep cycles still need watering if cycled frequently.

I generally say its silly to use distilled in a cpap if you can drink the tap water, but in Paris I found the tap water so foul I got bottled water. Also, I usually use hot water, but in Iceland the hot water tap is often sulfur water from hot springs, while the cold is glacial melt.

CapnLoki wrote:

Goofproof wrote:... Now Days batteries are low maintenance and require very little water topping off, or none, so basically tap water makes little difference, like changing the air in your tires in the winter.

I agree with most of what you say, except -
I use a 480 Amp-hour bank of deep cycle batteries on the boat, doing charge/discharge cycles daily. They last 6-8 years; If I treat them real nice they might go 10. I have to add water several times a year, so its worth it to keep a jug of distilled in a locker. "Maintenance Free" batteries simply add a bit extra so the they will die in a programmed amount of typical automotive use. Proper deep cycles still need watering if cycled frequently.

I generally say its silly to use distilled in a cpap if you can drink the tap water, but in Paris I found the tap water so foul I got bottled water. Also, I usually use hot water, but in Iceland the hot water tap is often sulfur water from hot springs, while the cold is glacial melt.

True, and batteries like deep cycle probably last longer with distilled (can't hurt). I think they also changed the plates material. Many batteries are replaced way before they go bad, from being miss diagnosed. You must have a charging system that works correctly, a loose or bad belt, or bad voltage regulator, shows up as a bad battery, when it's not being correctly charged. Jim

I generally don't bother with distilled water in Europe. I suggest using any potable water, but dump it every morning and let the machine run while you're showering and while you're at breakfast. That way, at least it will be bone dry and things can't grow in it. THat's what I've been doing and haven't had a problem yet.

Of course, you'll need to clean the tank when you get home.

In France, Germany, Austria and Poland nearly every supermarket and all drugstores do have demineralized water available (at all times) or you can buy that for 10 times the price in every pharmacy (or nearly every good gas station).

But they do also have very good "mineral water" for that. Volvic beeing one or Aqua Purania which is slightly better. That you can get nearly everywhere.
(And no, there are no longer car batteries around which require maintenance - like in 2 or 3 decades!?)

If using tap water, drink some first.
I did not do that in Alliance, NE, and the chlorine was unbearable for at least a couple hours at night
The next morning, I was informed that NOBODY there drinks the tap water.
It REEKS of chlorine! Apparently, they put extra in to get the microbe level down to state regs.

Oh dear. It doesn't seem that Guest, posting above, has bothered to read the rest of this thread .... or perhaps Guest aka Fenelon aka Taheral11979 is being, shall we say, provocatif. Even troll-like.

Just in case you, the general reader, are new here, and are also about to head for Europe ...

1. 'De-mineralised' is not the same as 'distilled'. Many people posting on this forum over the years have advised against 'de-mineralised'. Listen to them.

2. The distilled water they sell in stores such as Migros (Switzerland) or Hertie (Germany) and in equivalent supermarkets in other European countries is not intended for human consumption.

You might get away with drinking it, but it is not guaranteed safe. So if you use it, you are taking a chance. It might mean ruining your trip or holiday.

3. In most European countries, you have to be careful when you say you want 'mineral water' - because this term can be taken to mean:

(a) water with a much lower concentration of the usual minerals (calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate). A better term for this is 'spring' water;

(b) water which has been made fizzy or bubbly by pumping carbon dioxide into it - 'carbonated' water; and

(c) water which has more-than-the-usual minerals in it - not just calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate but also potassium chloride and copper sulphate and traces of manganese zinc and so on. People drink it as a kind of supplement.

If you say 'mineral water', who knows what you'll get.

In a nutshell: here in Europe isn't America. You can't always get what you can get at home. And distilled water that is both cheap and widely-available and medically safe is one of them.

As I said last year, the best alternative is 3(a) above. Say 'spring' in whatever language works, and 'without gas' likewise.

When I was in England recently I was not able to find distilled water. Apparently it was only available in huge quantities. As I was only there about ten days, I used bottled water in the humidifier and it was fine! I definitely would not use tap water.

rick blaine wrote:Oh dear. [..] Even troll-like.

some fact-checking would have been nice indeed ... but who cares these days with trolls all over this place?

www volvic fr/les_gammes/volvic_nature_le_grand_classique html

fddb info/db/de/lebensmittel/tsi_aqua_purania_stilles_quellwasser/index html
(convert spaces to dots)


there simply is no such thing as real destilled water in the countries mentioned. You can buy everywhere bottles labled with something like "destilled" but it is all DEMINERALIZED water. (and please read the fineprint of your "destilled" water before you start another pointless ranting)
And since nowadays the humidifiers are not vaporizers it does not matter what is in the water - it gets "evaporated" (not sure if that translates correctly - it is just H2O and whatever is in the water that gets evaporated before water does - so no germs at all).

carbonated volvic - that actually is a good laugh! Where are you from?