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BlizzardUK wrote:I have been using spring water thus far but the limescale build up has been bad, and I need to scrape it each week. I thought I would turn to distilled water, but I can't find it in any shops here in the UK, so instead of making my own the long way I looked online and found some from Amazon. I wasn't sure whether to go for Deionized, Demineralized, or just Distilled. No big shock but the one I wanted was the most expensive, the distilled. Are all 3 types safe to use ?

I bought the distilled water but do I need to check it is fit for human use ? It seems to be in German on the label.

Here is what I bought : http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BVKB2CI

I have an under counter RO unit I use, it cost about 150.00 and makes about 10 gallons a day (says 50 per day but I don't think it could do that). I have used for several months now and have had no problem with build up. You could also consider a counter top distiller, the small units don't make much water but more than enough for a Cpap humidifier. I also have it running to my ice maker in the fridge and we use it to drink rather than buy bottled water (which is now more per gallon than gasoline)

What the hey? Distilled water is available in every grocery store in the 'States for about $1.50/gallon. I wonder why it's so expensive in the UK.

Deionized and distilled are different. Distilled won't taste very good but it is drinkable. Deionized is not supposed to be drunk. I believe it is theoretically bad for you because it is too pure. I doubt a cup of it would hurt you. I'm sure it would taste exceptionally bland. Stories of it out and out killing you are most likely highly exaggerated. I imagine it would be excellent for a humidifier, but is usually more expensive than distilled.

I used to buy it for a saltwater tank to control algae, but it was a LOT cheaper than this. Unless you are a very rich person.
I'd think getting a distiller would be cheaper.

BlizzardUK wrote:This is partly why I am confused about the human consumption thing, this advert for distilled water says it can't be consumed : http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CLASSIKOOL-PU ... 0771744685

palerider wrote:

jim22 wrote:

jim22 wrote:Is distilled water really not available locally? You might find it for us in steam irons?

I guess you're right, a quick Google did not find much.
Jim

https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q= ... r&tbm=shop

That is via mail order, I don't know any stores in the UK, big or small, that sell distilled water.

jonny515 wrote:Deionized and distilled are different. Distilled won't taste very good but it is drinkable. Deionized is not supposed to be drunk. I believe it is theoretically bad for you because it is too pure. I doubt a cup of it would hurt you. I'm sure it would taste exceptionally bland. Stories of it out and out killing you are most likely highly exaggerated. I imagine it would be excellent for a humidifier, but is usually more expensive than distilled.

distilled water actually has *less* non water in it than demineralized water.

3) What is Distilled water?

A: Distilled water is literally water that has been boiled, evaporated and condensed - leaving all chemicals, toxins and waste behind and creating pure, clean water. Distillation will remove bacteria, viruses, cysts, heavy metals, radionuclides, organics, inorganics, and particulates.


4) What is Demineralized water?

A: Demineralised (MD) water is another name for Deionized (DI) water. This water is completely free (or almost) of dissolved minerals as a result of any of process viz. distillation, deionization, membrane filtration (reverse osmosis or nano-filtration), electrodyalisis or other technologies. The amount of dissolved solids in water that has followed one of these processes could be as low as 1 mg/l and is in any case always less than 10 mg/l. The electrical conductivity is generally less than 2 mS/m and may be even lower (< 0,1 mS/cm).

http://www.protoin.com/faq.html

fun fact, neither distilled nor DI/DM water will work in a steam vaporizer. pure water is an effective insulator.

the reason, most likely, that di/dm water may not be supposed to be drunk is because of other contaminants that the DI/DM process doesn't remove, (bacteria, cysts, heavy metals, radionuclides, organics, inorganics and particulates, from the list above).

Slartybartfast wrote:What the hey? Distilled water is available in every grocery store in the 'States for about $1.50/gallon. I wonder why it's so expensive in the UK.

Very typical of here sadly, many cheap items in the US can't be found here cheap or easily. Maybe there is a lucrative market, because all online stores charge a bucket load of cash for small amounts, and most of that comes from mainland Europe.

BlizzardUK wrote:

palerider wrote:

jim22 wrote:

jim22 wrote:Is distilled water really not available locally? You might find it for us in steam irons?

I guess you're right, a quick Google did not find much.
Jim

https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q= ... r&tbm=shop

That is via mail order, I don't know any stores in the UK, big or small, that sell distilled water.

try your local chemists.

Just had a thought, my tumble drier has a water tank that fills up after every use, is that pure distilled water ? Or would it have bits in it and perfume ?

BlizzardUK wrote:I have been using spring water thus far but the limescale build up has been bad, and I need to scrape it each week.

If you are prepared to drink the spring water, it should be fine to use in your humidifier.

The scale won't hurt your tank. Buy a bottle of cleaning grade White Vinegar and put a little in your empty humidifier tank once a week, let it sit for a while and then rinse it out with water and your tank should be scale free.

You do not need demineralised or distilled water and you are just wasting money if you use it

BlizzardUK wrote:Just had a thought, my tumble drier has a water tank that fills up after every use, is that pure distilled water ? Or would it have bits in it and perfume ?

Definitely unsafe due to all the clothing lint debris. Plus whatever nasty stuff is on your clothes or in the cleaning products. Think of it this way, it's distilled water mixed with lots of contamination.

BlizzardUK wrote:I have been using spring water thus far but the limescale build up has been bad, and I need to scrape it each week. I thought I would turn to distilled water, but I can't find it in any shops here in the UK, so instead of making my own the long way I looked online and found some from Amazon. I wasn't sure whether to go for Deionized, Demineralized, or just Distilled. No big shock but the one I wanted was the most expensive, the distilled. Are all 3 types safe to use ?

I bought the distilled water but do I need to check it is fit for human use ? It seems to be in German on the label.

Here is what I bought : http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BVKB2CI

If you can't get distilled water, fill your tank full every night, and then dump the water and rinse every morning. As the water evaporates, it concentrates the minerals. Spring water may actually be worse than tap water in terms of minerals. Many brands of "spring" water

If the tap water is safe to drink, it's safe to use in the humidifier, as long as you dump it every morning.

You might find that bottled drinking water not labeled as "spring" water may be better for CPAP use. It may have less minerals. You'd have to try it to see how badly it builds up minerals vs. tap water. You can buy fairly cheap total dissolved mineral meters online to check mineral content.

Some bottled drinking water is made from distilled water, although controlled amounts of minerals are added back for taste. Glaceau Smartwater is made from distilled water, but it's a bit pricey.

Vinegar is OK to use occasionally to help remove scale. I think 10 to 1 dilution is recommended. Rinse thoroughly before using the water tank.

If you have a dishwasher, try the dishwasher with normal dishwashing powder. Don't add a rinse aid. No dishes in the same load.

Don't forget that new tanks are relatively cheap compared to overpriced distilled water. 30 USD or so online. Don't spend so much money on distilled water if it's cheaper to just replace the tank more often. Unfortunately, I don't know how hard it is to get around the UK ripoff price scam.

palerider wrote:the reason, most likely, that di/dm water may not be supposed to be drunk is because of other contaminants that the DI/DM process doesn't remove, (bacteria, cysts, heavy metals, radionuclides, organics, inorganics and particulates, from the list above).

Good point. Also, depending on the process used, the DI/DM water may pass though some chemical filters containing resins, or may even have chemicals mixed with it as part of the process. There might even be some places in the processing and packaging system where germs could grow or be introduced.

If the DI/DM water is not intended for human consumption, you might have some sort of unhealthy contamination in the water.

archangle wrote:Also, depending on the process used, the DI/DM water may pass though some chemical filters containing resins,

there's nothing inherently bad about resins, given that home water softeners use a resin bed for the ion transfer that is the softening process.

BlizzardUK wrote:

"That is via mail order, I don't know any stores in the UK, big or small, that sell distilled water."

Of the list on the webpage that palerider gave the link to, the Halfords offer is probably the most convenient. Halfords is the major chain in the UK for car parts, car improvement products, camping gear, and bicycles. They have 400+ stores dotted across the country. You can find the nearest with:

http://www.store-locations.co.uk/halfords/

rick blaine wrote:BlizzardUK wrote:

"That is via mail order, I don't know any stores in the UK, big or small, that sell distilled water."

Of the list on the webpage that palerider gave the link to, the Halfords offer is probably the most convenient. Halfords is the major chain in the UK for car parts, car improvement products, camping gear, and bicycles. They have 400+ stores dotted across the country. You can find the nearest with:

http://www.store-locations.co.uk/halfords/

Sadly that is deionized water and not distilled, not sure why but Google will show both for distilled search.