Distilled waterBottle for distilled water in the Real Farmacia in Madrid.Distilled water is water that has many of its impuritiesremoved through distillation. Distillation involves boilingthe water and then condensing the steam into a clean con-tainer.1 HistoryDrinking water has been distilled from sea water sinceat least ca. 200 AD when the process was clearly de-scribed by Alexander of Aphrodisias.[1] Its history pre-dates this, as a passage in Aristotle's Meteorologica (II.3,358b16) refers to the distillation of water.[2] Captain Is-rael Williams of the Friendship (1797) improvised a wayto distill water, which he described in his journal.[3]2 ApplicationsIn chemical and biological laboratories, as well as indus-try, cheaper alternatives such as deionized water are pre-ferred over distilled water. However, if these alternativesare not suciently pure, distilled water is used. Whereexceptionally high purity water is required, double dis-tilled water is used.Distilled water is also commonly used to top o lead acidbatteries used in cars and trucks.The presence of otherions commonly found in tap water will cause a drasticreduction in an automobiles battery lifespan.Distilled water is preferable to tap water for use in au-tomotive cooling systems. The minerals and ions typi-cally found in tap water can be corrosive to internal en-gine components, and can cause a more rapid depletionof the anti-corrosion additives found in most antifreezeformulations.[4]Distilled water is also preferable to tap water for use inmodel steam engine boilers and model engines of othertypes. Mineral build-up resulting from the use of tap wa-ter in model boilers can severely reduce the eciency ofthe boilers if run for long periods. This build-up is knownas boiler scale.A boiling water distiller. Boiling tank on top and holding tank onthe bottom.Some people use distilled water for household aquariumsbecause it lacks the chemicals found in tap water supplies.It is important to supplement distilled water when using itfor shkeeping; it is too pure to sustain proper chemistryto support an aquarium ecosystem.[5]Distilled water is also an essential component for use incigar humidors. Mineral build-up resulting from the useof tap water (including bottled water) will reduce the ef-fectiveness of the humidor.In addition, some home brewers, who are interested inbrewing a Traditional European Pilsner, will dilute their12 5 HEALTH EFFECTShard water with distilled water so as to mimic the softwaters of Pilsen.[6]Another application is to increase the density of the air toassist early airplane jet engines during takeo in hot andhigh atmospheric conditions, as was used on the earlyBoeing 707.[7]Distilled water is also used in Constant Positive AirwayPressure (CPAP) machines. These machines help peoplewith sleep apnea breathe throughout their sleep cycles.The water is used to humidify the air entering the usersnasal cavity, mouth, and throat. Distilled water will notleave any contaminants behind when the humidier in theCPAP machine evaporates the water.[8][9]2.1 Use in steam ironsAlthough possibly once the recommended procedure, us-ing distilled water in steam irons for pressing clothes(once thought to help reduce mineral build-up and in-crease iron life),[10] now most manufacturers say that dis-tilled water is not only no longer necessary in their irons,but can actually result in malfunction, including spittingand leaking during use. This may occur due to the lackof impurities in distilled water, which can heat beyondthe normal boiling point, rather than nucleating arounddissolved impurities at the normal boiling point and pro-ducing the necessary steam when it hits the soleplate. Ithas been suggested that this superheated (distilled) waterin an iron will ash boil when disturbed (as with mov-ing an iron), and cause the iron to spit, leak, and possiblyscald the user.3 Equipment to distill waterTypical laboratory distillation unitUp until World War II, distilling sea water to fresh wa-ter was time consuming and expensive in fuel.The say-ing was: It takes one gallon of fuel to make one gallonof fresh water. Shortly before the war, Dr. R.V. Klein-schmidt developed thecompressionstill, that becameknown as the Kleinschmidt Still, for extracting fresh wa-ter from sea water or contaminated water. By compress-ing the steam produced by boiling water, 175 gallons offresh water could be extracted from sea water for everygallon of fuel used. During World War II this unit be-came standard on Allied ships and on trailer mounts forarmies. This method was in widespread use for ships andportable water distilling units[11] during the latter half ofthe century. Modern vessels now use ash-type evapora-tors to boil sea water, heating the water to between 70-80C and evaporating the water in a vacuum - this is thencollected as condensation before being stored.Solar stills can be relatively simple to design and build,with very cheap materials.[12]4 Drinking distilled waterBottled distilled water can usually be found insupermarkets or pharmacies, and home water dis-tillers are available as well. Water purication, suchas distillation, is especially important in regions wherewater resources or tap water is not suitable for ingestingwithout boiling or chemical treatment.Municipal watersuppliesalmost alwayscontaintracecomponents at levels whichareregulatedtobesafefor consumption.[13][14] Some other components such astracelevelsofaluminiummayresult fromthetreat-ment process (see water purication). Fluoride and otherionsarenot removedthroughconventional water l-tertreatments. However, distillationeliminatesmostimpurities.[15]Distilled water is also used for drinking water in arid sea-side areas lacking sucient freshwater, via desalinationof seawater.[16]5 Health eectsDistillationremovesall mineralsfromwater, andthemembrane methods of reverse osmosis and nanoltra-tion remove most, or virtually all, minerals.This resultsin demineralized water which has not been proven to behealthier than drinking water. The World Health Orga-nization investigated the health eects of demineralizedwater in 1980, and its experiments in humans found thatdemineralized water increased diuresis and the elimina-tion of electrolytes, with decreased serumpotassiumcon-centration. Magnesium, calcium and other nutrients inwater can help to protect against nutritional deciency.Recommendations for magnesium have been put at aminimum of 10 mg/L with 2030 mg/L optimum; forcalcium a 20 mg/L minimum and a 4080 mg/L op-timum, and a total water hardness (adding magnesiumand calcium) of 24 mmol/L. At water hardness above5 mmol/L, higher incidence of gallstones, kidney stones,3urinary stones, arthrosis, and arthropathies have been ob-served. For uoride the concentration recommended fordental health is 0.51.0 mg/L, with a maximum guidelinevalue of 1.5 mg/L to avoid dental uorosis.[17]Water ltration devices are becoming increasingly com-mon in households. Most of these devices do not dis-till water,though there continues to be an increase inconsumer-oriented water distillers and reverse osmosismachines being sold and used. Municipal water sup-plies often add or have trace impurities at levels whichareregulatedtobesafeforconsumption. Muchofthese additional impurities, such as volatile organic com-pounds, uoride, and an estimated 75,000+ other chem-ical compounds[18][19][20] are not removed through con-ventional ltration; however, distillation and reverse os-mosis eliminate nearly all of these impurities.The drinking of puried water as a replacement of drink-ing water has been both advocated and discouraged forhealth reasons. Puried water lacks minerals and ionssuch as calcium that play key roles in biological func-tions such as in nervous system homeostasis, and are nor-mally found in potable water. The lack of naturally-occurring minerals in distilled water has raised some con-cerns. The Journal of General Internal Medicine[21] pub-lished a study on the mineral contents of dierent watersavailable in the US. The study found that drinking watersources available to North Americans may contain highlevels of calcium, magnesium, and sodium and may pro-vide clinically important portions of the recommendeddietary intake of these minerals. It encouraged peo-ple to check the mineral content of their drinking wa-ter, whether tap or bottled, and choose water most ap-propriate for their needs. Since distilled water is devoidof minerals, supplemental mineral intake through diet isneeded to maintain proper health.The consumption of hard water (water with minerals)is associated with benecial cardiovascular eects. Asnoted in the American Journal of Epidemiology,con-sumption of hard drinking water is negatively correlatedwith atherosclerotic heart disease.[22]6 See alsoAtmospheric water generators are used to make dis-tilled water from air.Deionized waterDesalinationHeavy waterPuried water7 References[1] Taylor, F. Sherwood (1945). The Evolutionof the Still. Annals of Science 5 (3): 186.doi:10.1080/00033794500201451. ISSN 0003-3790.[2] Aristotle. Meteorology Book II (PDF). The Univer-sity of Adelaide. Retrieved 2010-06-14.[3] Trow, Charles Edward. Chapter XVI. The old ship-masters of Salem. New York and London: G.P. PutnamsSons. pp. 178. OCLC 4669778. Short of Fresh WaterCauses Alarm Captain Williamss Invention to MakeSalt Water Fresh His 'Still' Described by him[4][5][6] How to Brew - By John Palmer - Reading a Water Re-port. howtobrew.com.[7] Down the Susquehanna to the Chesapeake By John H.Brubaker, Jack Brubaker page 163[8] Distilled Water And CPAP Usage. cpap.com.[9] http://www.cpap.com/cpap-faq/Humidifiers.html#why-do-i-need-to-use-distilled-water-with-in-my-humidifier-chamber[10] Steam Iron Buying Guide. homeinstitute.com.[11] Popular Science.[12] http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/surv/sstill.htm[13] Drinking Water Contaminants. water.epa.gov. 2011.Retrieved October 25, 2011.[14] EWGs Drinking Water Quality Analysis and Tap Wa-ter Database | Environmental Working Group. ewg.org.2011. Retrieved October 25, 2011.[15] Anjaneyulu, L.; Kumar, E.Arun; Sankannavar, Ravi;Rao, K. Kesava(13June2012). DeuoridationofDrinking Water and Rainwater Harvesting Using a So-lar Still. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 51(23): 80408048. doi:10.1021/ie201692q.[16] Kozisek, F (2005). Health risks from drinking deminer-alisedwater(application/pdfObject)"(PDF). who.int.Retrieved October 25, 2011. (Chapter 12 of the WorldHealth Organization report Nutrients in drinking-water)[17] Kozisek F (2005). Health risks from drinking deminer-alised water (PDF). Nutrients in Drinking Water (PDF).World Health Organization. pp. 14863. ISBN 92-4-159398-9.[18] Walton International - Home. Watersys-tems.walton.com. 2010-11-05. Retrieved 2011-12-11.[19] Our Technology - Purication Technology. Drinkmore-water.com. Retrieved 2011-12-11.[20] Technical Information - HEC-3000 10-Step Water Puri-cation System4 7 REFERENCES[21] Azoulay A, Garzon P, Eisenberg MJ (2001).Comparison of the mineral content of tap waterand bottled waters. J Gen Intern Med16 (3): 16875.doi:10.1111/j.1525-1497.2001.04189.x. PMC 1495189.PMID 11318912.[22] Voors, A. W. (April 1, 1971). Mineral in the municipalwater and atherosclerotic heart death. American Journalof Epidemiology 93 (4). pp. 259266. PMID 5550342.58 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses8.1 Text Distilled water Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distilled_water?oldid=674462305 Contributors: Dwmyers, Kayvee, DJ Clayworth,Robbot, Yelyos, Arm, David Gerard, Giftlite, DocWatson42, Patrick-br, Intelligentsia, Deglr6328, MAlvis, Mr. Strong Bad, Bobo192,Smalljim, Sam Korn, Pearle, Velella, Bsadowski1, Pauli133, Mahanga, Lkinkade, Vanished User 3388458, Hdante, SDC, Junjk, Pfal-stad, Snaekid, Rjwilmsi, ADVIZR, XP1, Ffaarr, Gurch, Chobot, DVdm, Bgwhite, YurikBot, X42bn6, Arjuna909, CambridgeBay-Weather, GeeJo, Jonathan Webley, Dialectric, Adamrush, InvaderJim42, Bucketsofg, Jeh, D-Day, Pawyilee, 2over0, Rikimaru~enwiki,RichG, KnightRider~enwiki, SmackBot, KnowledgeOfSelf, Melchoir, Kilo-Lima, Cylik, Gilliam, Skizzik, IanBailey, MalafayaBot, DHN-bot~enwiki, Chlewbot, Alexmcre, Rrburke, Vironex, Tinctorius, Israel Fairchild, RandomP, Smokefoot, DMacks, Nishkid64, Ashvidia,Gobonobo, Mbeychok, Beetstra, Mr Stephen, Nekote, Alan.ca, McCracken, JoeBot, UncleDouggie, MightyWarrior, ArmyOfFluoride,Banedon, TerryClark, NE Ent, Vanished user 2340rujowierfj08234irjwfw4, Rieman 82, Alucard (Dr.), Clovis Sangrail, Simontist, Krowe,Thijs!bot, JPMecowrit, Wikidenizen, Alshain01, QuiteUnusual, Leghorn, Tyco.skinner, Dinferno, Gdo01, Joehall45, Mikenorton, JAnD-bot, ChrisRBennett, Dream Focus, Magioladitis, VoABot II, Animum, Woodcore, Mike Payne, Pyromancer102, MartinBot, R'n'B, Rgoo-dermote, Uncle Dick, All Is One, NewEnglandYankee, Reefpicker, Macadamiannut, Subscorpion, Sean D Martin, Qxz, Albval, JSB73,Eubulides, Sarc37, Calculus~enwiki, Purgatory Fubar, Mrz1818, Wozzinator, SieBot, Accounting4Taste, E8, Gnowitall, Xe7al, GameMas-ter251, Laurence35, Paiev, ClueBot, Orion 37, Solareb, Excirial, Clichristianson, Spino, Wnt, Silica-gel, Mifter, Stuv xyz, Badger-net, Addbot, JBsupreme, Ronhjones, Tide rolls, Fryed-peach, Att152, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Amirobot, AnomieBOT, DemocraticLuntz,Materialscientist, A2, ArthurBot, SchnitzelMannGreek, FrescoBot, Pepper, HJ Mitchell, Citation bot 1, Pinethicket, HRoestBot, Lin-Drug, Serols, Meaghan, Lotje, Eddiequest, Leavitdg, RjwilmsiBot, Bhgtrog, Jackehammond, Syncategoremata, Knoweledgepower, Savh,A930913, Jay-Sebastos, Brandmeister, Carmichael, James387, SunnyInHouston, Peter Karlsen, Mjbmrbot, Socialservice, Petrb, ClueBotNG, Uchubald, Widr, Antiqueight, Ashster, Anton87i, BG19bot, Hashem sfarim, Solar Police, Mattmoore17, Guruleninn, MeanMotherJr,BattyBot, Khazar2, Spider3906, BrightStarSky, Dave rooney jr, KChristianCamp, DavidLeighEllis, Adigo720, LanceRGoebel, Monkbot,HMSLavender, Banjup, Qwesar, Vivid is cool and Anonymous: 3258.2 Images File:Aqua-distillata.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Aqua-distillata.jpg License: CC BY 2.5 Con-tributors: Own work Original artist: DP-1 File:DDW.JPG Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/DDW.JPG License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Ownwork Original artist: Guruleninn File:Steam_water_distiller.JPGSource: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Steam_water_distiller.JPGLicense:CC BY-SA 4.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: CambridgeBayWeather8.3 Content license Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0