Is Boiled Water The Same As Distilled Water?

If you have ever had a warning from your local community about the quality of your water, perhaps due to flooding, they have likely recommended boiling the water that you use. Boiling water can be very effective at removing certain contaminants. However, you do have another choice. There is a process called distillation in which water is processed through a very simplistic, but very effective, strategy. When you distilled water, you can literally perform a very simple task and come up with the healthiest water that you could possibly drink. Based upon these assessments, you may wonder is boiled water the same as distilled water since they have very similar processes. Here is an overview of what boiling water will do for the water you are drinking, as well as my distilled water is not the same.

Why You Should Boil Water For Drinking It?

One of the best solutions for eliminating contaminated water is to boil the water before using it. You have likely heard of this before, but you may not understand what it actually does or what type of water you will end up with once the process is over. If you don’t have access to safe water that has been processed, such as that you can get from the store, you will certainly want to boil it warnings have arisen. Water that is contaminated can contain parasites, bacteria, viruses, and many other particulates which can lead to illness for those that drink it.

What Boiling Does To Your Water

If you have not boiled your water before drinking it, and it has not been placed through one of the many filtration systems that are available, it will likely have some more all of the contaminants that have been mentioned. Most experts recommend that you boil the water for at least one minute. This is a rolling boil, one that will be precipitated by the bubbling of the water and the liquid converting into esteem. It also depends on your elevation. For example, if you are at sea level, boiling water for one minute is recommended. If you are above 5000 feet, when the air pressure is much less, three minutes of boiling is that recommended. Once the boiling process is over, all of the living organisms within the water will no longer be alive, which is why it is now safe to drink.

How Is Boiling Water Different From Distilling Your Water?

The primary purpose of boiling water is to kill all of the host bacteria that could be residing in the water that you could drink. There are certain types of bacteria that can lead to illness, including E. coli bacteria, which can actually be life-threatening. Once the microorganisms have been destroyed, it will be safe to drink, yet you may want to consider using a distillation system instead. This is the same system that is used by many industrial facilities and medical facilities that want to provide absolutely pure water. One of the main differences is in the process itself. There is often a chamber where the distillation process will occur. There will be a burner, just like when you are boiling the water, but there will also be a condenser which is part of the distillation process. The vapor will rise up, and flow into a condenser, where the purified water will then be placed. The process of converting the steam back into water is why this is a much more safe strategy for purifying the water you are using.

Are All Of The Contaminants Removed?

The distillation process is going to remove all of the contaminants from your water. This includes particulates that may not be biological. For example, if you have hard water that is full of calcium, or if you have large amounts of iron or inorganic compounds like lead, these are going to be left behind. Additionally, minerals, chlorine, and even various types of salt will be removed if they are in the water as well. Therefore, you will not only be killing bacteria and protozoa that may be in your water but removing all of the hard contaminants at the same time.

Does Distilling Remove All Of The Chemicals?

Although the distillation process can be very effective at removing hard contaminants and bacteria, it may not remove all of the chemicals. This is why you may want to filter your water once again through an activated carbon system. This is often considered the final stage of the distillation process. Chlorine, for example, can travel with the steam particles which will be condensed into the secondary flask. As a result of this, you may also have pesticides, herbicides, and the chlorine that is used to make the water safe, in the distilled water that you are producing. By simply having a carbon-based filtration system set up to filter the distilled water, you will then have extremely pure water at your disposal.

Why Would You Want To Distill Your Water?

The distillation process can serve many different purposes. First and foremost, if you have contaminated water, it is the first line of defense in preventing bacteria and certain solid substances from being in the water that you are drinking. However, you may also want to use this process if you have a fish tank. It is just as important to purify the water that you drink as it is for the fish that will be swimming and living in the water. One thing that you will notice if you drink distilled water is that it will have a very flat taste. That taste that you are likely familiar with is because of the minerals that are often in the water. Keep that in mind if you are concerned about how the water will taste once it is distilled and processed.

Is It A Good Idea To Remove All Of The Minerals?

This is a question that is open to debate. Obviously, many of the minerals that we get through our water, such as calcium, can be very beneficial. On the other hand, if you are left with contaminated water, and no other source for clean water, it’s okay to not have mineral content in the water that you drink. Although magnesium, potassium, and calcium are very important for the human body, drinking distilled water for a few days will not be unhealthy. When compared to boil water, if you do want to have more mineral content, boiled water might the best option.

Is It Possible To Purchase Distilled Water?

One way to avoid both boiling and distilling your water is to simply purchase it at the local store. In fact, most supermarkets will have a large selection of distilled water that you can purchase or even have sent directly to your home. If you decide to distill your water anyway, there are companies that produce phenomenal distillers that can make the process very easy. Although this can be a lengthy process, it is still one of the best ways to have pure and uncontaminated water that will also be mineral free.

Reasons To Boil Or Distill Your Water

One of the primary reasons for boiling or distilling your water has already been mentioned. You may have experienced some natural catastrophe, such as flooding, and this has contaminated the water that is available for drinking. The very water that you have been using out of your tap will now be unusable. This will prompt the warnings for distilling or boiling. On the other hand, you may simply want to distill your water to have pure water available for certain projects. Perhaps a certain recipe will call for distilled water, or a scientific experiment, which will motivate you to invest in a distillation system. For the most part, boiling your water will suffice. Since all of the living contaminants will be killed, you will only have minerals to worry about. These are only worrisome if you have initially detected heavy trace amounts of minerals that can be bad for your health.

Why Distilling Water Is Best For Preventing Heavy Metal Poisoning

The distillation process will remove most of the heavy minerals and metals that will be in the water that you could be drinking. This can be beneficial for several reasons. First of all, you may have an excessive amount of iron in your water which can lead to metal toxicity in the blood. This can be avoided by drinking filtered water from a distillation system. Likewise, other minerals may also be present that you will not want to drink including lead which can also be poisonous. This is a great solution for anyone that has already done prior testing and has detected unwanted amounts of these metals in the water that they drink.

Deciding Between Boiling And Distilling Your Water

If this is an emergency situation, and you do not have a distillation system available, boiling your water before drinking will be adequate. You may have access to a carbon-based filtration system, something that you may already have in your refrigerator, and you can filter the water to remove additional contaminants. Contaminants such as fluoride and chlorine will still remain if you decide to distill your water. The same is true with boiling. By using this dual system of preparing your water through boiling, distilling, and subsequently using an activated carbon filtration system, you can feel confident about this drinking water that you have produced.

Would You Want To Use Any Other Water Filtration Systems?

If you do want to further purify the water that you have distilled door boiled, you have many different options available. Carbon activated filters are among the most prevalent at local stores, including the filtration systems that they will be used with. Catalytic carbon filters are a great way to remove contaminants like chloramine. This is also a type of water filter that is easily accessible. If you have filtered your water through the boiling process, kinetic degradation fluxion filters would be the best choice. They are capable of removing hydrogen sulfide, iron, and also chlorine which may still remain in the water you have processed. If you want to cover every basis, mixed-media filtration systems would be very useful. If your water tested shown that you have a multitude of different toxins and impurities in the water, this combination of gravel and sediment filtration components, can remove even the tannins
that may still remain. Finally, if you are still worried about the presence of contaminants like giardia and E. coli bacteria, UV filtration systems will certainly suffice. You will not have to worry about these dangerous contaminants remaining, even after boiling or distilling your water, as they will be destroyed with ultraviolet light.

The Real Difference Between Boiling Your Water And Using A Distiller

There are three primary differences between boiling your water in a pot and using a professional distillation system. First of all, boiling your water is not going to remove heavy mineral toxicity. This is something that can be only resolved by pushing your water through the distillation process. Second, you will not be able to remove toxins like chlorine and fluoride through either of these processes. However, the distillation process will be much more effective. Finally, the cost of boiling your water, when compared to investing in a distillation apparatus, is going to be very different. Essentially, the cost of using one of your existing pots at your home to boil the water is far less expensive than is a several hundred dollar distillation machine. However, if you are properly prepared, and thinking about the potential of having contaminated water, you may want to make that type of investment.

Now that you know the difference between boiling your water, and distilling it, you now have many choices to make. You can simply boil your water the next time that it needs to be decontaminated, or you can thoroughly purify the water that you drink through a distillation system. Although the cost of a water distiller can be quite high, you won’t have to worry about the vast majority of contaminants that may still remain by simply boiling water instead. Consider all of these factors, including the secondary filtration options that are available, if you want to have the best water to drink.