What is Distilled Water?
Distilled water is water that has been evaporated and then cooled back to a liquid. During the process of transforming into a gas, chemicals and microorganisms are left behind and the final product is clean and pure. Distilled water typically has a neutral pH (7.0) because most solids in water are heavier than a water molecule and won't piggyback onto the vapor.In herbal recipes, distilled water is called for because the final product will be less likely to harbor harmful bacteria. Sometimes you'll see me suggest that if a preparation will be used within a few days, you can use tap water, otherwise, use distilled water.
Can You Drink Distilled Water?
Distilled water is safe to drink, but it doesn't have the trace minerals that, say, a fish might need in order to live in it.
Where Can You Find Distilled Water?
You can find distilled water in the water isle of your local grocery store. It undergoes more processing, so it's more expensive than plain old bottled drinking water, but for many herbal preparations, a little goes a long way.
Hope this definition helps.
You can also purchase a distiller for the home. It gives you a ready supply of Distilled water for use in gardening, drinking, and cooking. If you do purchase one make sure to look for three things. Stainless steel contstruction. Avoid any distiller that uses plastic as a storage tank. Stainless steel wont leach any unwanted contaminants into your water. Glass will work as a holding tank as well but again avoid plastic especially those with BPA in them. Check for VOC removal. Volatile Organic Compounds are contaminants that have a lower boiling point then water and will rise with the steam. A quality distiller will have vents on the cooling coil that will remove the bulk of these and a Carbon post filter to remove the rest. Finally I say buy American. Most distillers are made cheaply in China and buying American will give you a better customer support base and a better warranty so you can have a machine that lasts for years and years. I have been drinking distilled water since I was a kid. My Grandma has used it to water all of her gardens and it is wonderful.
ReplyDelete