Distilled Water Vs Purified, or Spring Water

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Alkaline water? Yes, of course. Our city water runs average pH 9.14, which really surprised me the first time I tested it.

[sweatervestspence]

We have a refrigerator filtration system for drinking water and reuse old bottles when leaving for home. The refrigerator water filters last six or eight months and one costs about the same as two cases of bottled water.

We are fanatics at saving water:

I love my rain barrels that capture our roof water and let us use it in the garden. Also have built an outside sink that runs off the house and drains into the yard. I take a lot of messier and larger pots and pans out there to scrub and let the run-off slide into my garden and yard. You gotta keep the detergent to a minimum, and I usually soak several hours before running. I tend to use less water in washing this way and am watering the lawn, so the grey water gets used twice.

[sweatervestspence]

We have a refrigerator filtration system for drinking water and reuse old bottles when leaving for home. The refrigerator water filters last six or eight months and one costs about the same as two cases of bottled water.

[GREENBACK]

Straight from the tap(through a softener). Shallow well water that tastes fine. I'm as averse to paying for water as I would be to buying air.

[Archiba]

Our whole body consist of 40-45 percent of water. We can't live without water. Drink 14-15 glass of water daily. It is beneficial to digest the food and also helps to reduce the weight.

[toys]

I grew up on top of a mountain, full of natural springs. Everywhere I travel now, I find myself disgusted with the local water. Now, I always drink filtered tap water... but no matter how well it is filtered, it still does not taste right. The more I travel, the more I want to go back home.

[GrimJack]

Our whole body consist of 40-45 percent of water. We can't live without water. Drink 14-15 glass of water daily. It is beneficial to digest the food and also helps to reduce the weight.

Sorry but this is bad advice and the %age is wrong - we are closer to 90% water and you should only drink water when you are thirsty. If you are going to run a marathon or work out then top up with water but drinking 14-15 glasses of water is bad advice on a number of levels:
1) are you talking 1 oz glasses or 16 oz glasses?
2) your body regulates its balances quite well and if you drink too much water, you will upset your bodies electrolyte balance.
3) there is no scientific or medical backing for such a regimen.

Please do some research before posting fallacies - or post a link to your research source so we can decide whether or not the advice is good.

The LD50 for water is greater than 90 mL/kg which translates to about 6 liters of water for a 150 pound person. Generally, the body will begin to reject more water long before you get to that amount; but LD50 (lethal dose for 50% of population) is just that. There is no dosage listed that will kill 1% of the population but if you get some of that water into your lungs, you could die.

[MsPearl]

Just in short, my family stopped buying bottled a few years back to save on household/annual costs. Now we keep a Pur filter on the faucet and a Brita Pitcher filter in the Frig. But from reading all of the above comments, I am a little weary that my 6yr.old may not be getting all he needs from the water...since he is a water baby at heart!

So in layman's terms...excluding spring water from the picture, is distilled water safer than tap at all? Is purified water safer? Or should I also then put the distilled water we boil in our home, through a more advanced filtering system as well. And then how long would you suggest to boil after taking note of volatile organic compounds? Any tips, suggestions and advice would be great!

[MsPearl]

I love sparkling water but hate paying for it so I make my own - I bought a CO2 tank, tubing, and connectors along with a 2-stage regulator. Seattle's water is pretty darn good and the CO2 is acidic so it stores well.

When you distill your own water, keep in mind that all organics are volatile at approximately the same temperatures as water (when I worked in a science lab using 'mega-pure' water that went through reverse osmosis, 3 different filters before being distilled - I was always told to keep volatile organics in mind). When we lived in Tucson, CAP came to town and we were told it safe to drink but do not use it in your fish tanks or give it to your pets so we bought distilled water for all our cooking and drinking needs.

The difference between distilled water and the water in your tap is so minimal that drinking enough distilled water to do damage is approximately the same amount of tap water that would cause the electrolytes to be diluted to the point your organs stop functioning - so don't worry about any electrolytic imbalances.

Drinking liquids to maintain your health is a good thing - coffee, orange juice, tea, tap water, it does not really matter compared to what your body needs. The liquid in our bodies is closer to seawater than pure water and coffee is closer to pure water than it is to seawater.

Just in short, my family stopped buying bottled a few years back to save on household/annual costs. Now we keep a Pur filter on the faucet and a Brita Pitcher filter in the Frig. But from reading all of the above comments, I am a little weary that my 6yr.old may not be getting all he needs from the water...since he is a water baby at heart!

So in layman's terms...excluding spring water from the picture, is distilled water safer than tap at all? Is purified water safer? Or should I also then put the distilled water we boil in our home, through a more advanced filtering system as well. And then how long would you suggest to boil after taking note of volatile organic compounds? Any tips, suggestions and advice would be great!

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Ms. Pearl, if you want to do both: filter first then distill.

[JoeP]

Tap water here. Grew up on it, and we didn't get cavities at all until we got into our 40s, likely due to the fluoride. Inexpensive, clean, always available.

Best municipal water I've ever had was in Greenville, SC. Orlando FL has the worst.

[bjl584]

Purified water and distilled water are basically the same. They are water in which all of the impurities have been removed. The only difference is how it is achieved. Purified water goes through a process called reverse osmosis. Distilled water is boiled and then collected leaving the impurities behind. You can make your own distilled water at home.

[preetim22]

I drink boiled water as i think is the best way to stay fit.

[bjl584]

I drink boiled water as i think is the best way to stay fit.

You don't drink it while it is still boiling do you?

[FinancialFreedom]

I drink Poland Spring water and purified tap water. They both taste great, but I definitely prefer Poland Spring over tap.