How to Make Distilled Water at Home – Distilled water is the water you get from condensing steam from impure water such as rain, snow, well water, seawater, etc.
This type of water is free of minerals and microorganisms.
If you can’t find it in local stores, all hope is not lost. We’ll take you through how to make distilled water in different ways in your home.
It’s so easy that you’ll only need kitchen utensils and you probably have all the ingredients you’ll need at home.
Contents
What is Distilled Water Used For?
Distilled water is quite useful to have at home.
The benefits of distilled water range from:
- Steamers and steam irons
- Humidifiers
- Car cooling systems
- Laboratory experiments
- Medical devices such as CPAP machines
- Water plants, etc.
How to Make Distilled Water from Tap Water
Can you distill tap water? This process is pretty straightforward. Just follow our guide and you’ll get it right.
It involves collecting the distilled water in a glass bowl.
How to do it:
- Fill a 5-gallon stainless pot with tap water up to halfway.
- Place a glass bowl in the water making sure it floats. If it doesn’t, find a platform such as a baking rack to place in the pot for suspending the glass bowl.
- Place the pot on the stove and put it to boil. This will remove chemical and other impurities.
- After the water starts to boil, invert the lid of the pot and pour ice cubes in the hollow of the cover.
- This will create a hot/cold barrier to cause condensation.
- As the water continues to boil, the steam hits the cool lid and condenses into the glass bowl.
- Allow the process to continue until you have enough collected in the bowl.
- Take the pot off the heat and let it cool down. Take out the glass bowl and let the distilled water cool down further. Afterward, pour it in a container for storage.
There you have distilled water from tap water free of minerals that you can use for humidifiers, CPAP, car batteries, etc.
How to Make Distilled Water by Collecting it in an Outside Container
This method uses heat too but the distilled water will be collected in a container outside the heat.
Unless you have glass containers designed for a purpose like this, you’ll have to get creative.
- Fill a stainless pot halfway with tap water. Also, fill a glass bottle halfway with tap water.
- You’ll need a second bottle which will be left empty.
- Now connect the neck of both bottles with an aquarium tubing and secure both ends tightly with duct tape.
- Place the half-filled bottle in the stainless pot and bring it to boil.
- The aim is for the water in the bottle to heat up too and evaporate through the tubing and condense into the bottle outside the pot.
- When you notice the steam is flowing into the empty bottle, wrap it with an ice pack to condense the steam.
- Allow this distillation process to continue until you have collected enough distilled water.
How to Make Distilled Water from Rain or Snow
Rain forms by evaporating water from lakes, rivers, and other water bodies.
Unless you live in a highly-populated area, rainwater is clean enough to drink.
You can make distilled water from rain or snow by placing a large container outside in the rain to collect water.
Do This:
- Do not use rainwater that drains off an asphalt roof.
- Let the water in the bowl stay still for 2 days so the minerals can settle at the bottom.
- Afterward, carefully collect the water without letting the sediments rise.
- Store the distilled water in containers and use them for whatever you need it for.
Make Distilled Water with Distillation Kits
Bottled distilled water is cheaper than the methods we have stated above, except you’re collecting rainwater or snow.
The electricity and fuel you’ll use are a significant factor.
But if you use home distillation kits, order here you can make distilled water even cheaper.
Though the prices of these kits vary, if you’re making distilled water for drinking, the less expensive ones will suffice.
The expensive kits are more suited for laboratories.
How to Make Distilled Water from Plants
This method is great for emergencies or while camping. One downside of the method is the time consumption.
It takes a while to get a sufficient amount of water.
This method will work best in a sunny location.
You’ll need:
- Green plants
- Stones
- A clean container
- Plastic wrap
How to do it:
- Dig a hole in the ground.
- Place the container in the middle of the hole and the green plants around it in the hole.
- Cover the hole with the plastic wrap and hold it in place with the stones.
- Make sure to create a seal so moisture won’t escape. That way, the heat in the plastic wrap will cause evaporation.
- Use a pebble to create a depression on the plastic wrap into the container.
- As evaporation occurs, it will condense on the depression and drip into the container.
Be careful not to use poisonous plants as the toxins might contaminate the water.
Conclusions
Distilled water is free from minerals and contaminants. It is safe to drink and beneficial for many other purposes.
Whenever you don’t get a chance to buy, now you know how to make it.
If you have the time and motivation, you can make as much as you want and store.
My sister would like to have clean water at home, which is why she’s thinking of having the right water system at home. Well, it’s interesting to learn that a distilled water could be a humidifier too. Anyhow, I strongly believe that she must have clean water at her house because this will provide safety for her whole family.
Absolutely Rachel, clean water is essential for family safety!