The distillation process is a natural process similar to the water cycle. No chemicals are used, just science and natural processes. Tap water, or otherwise treated water, is placed into a distiller and heated until it boils and vaporizes. As the water boils off it leaves behind all the impurities and mineral compounds that have a higher boiling point than water molecules. This ensures that any disease-causing organisms, pollutants, or other contaminants remain behind. After vaporization the steam is directed into a condensation chamber where it is cooled and collected in the bottom as pure, distilled water. Any volatile gasses with a molecular boiling point lower than water are released through the volatile gas vent. It’s a simple process – water, steam, water. Just like Mother Nature!

A lot of people may just buy distilled water from the store. This has the potential to be a good alternative if it is stored correctly and if you are not planning on using it on a regular basis. Most distilled water you can find on the grocery store shelf comes in low-grade milk jugs, which exposes this purified water to chemicals in the plastic. Distilled water is much safer when stored in stainless steel or glass of an appropriate quality. Distilled water is extremely desalinated water, which means it is now aggressively trying to combine with anything in the environment. It can leach all kinds of chemicals out of the plastic bottles it comes in. Having your own distiller allows you to have pure, distilled water stored in a toxin free stainless steel tank. Also, think of the environmental benefits and cost savings of having your own distiller rather than buying small quantities from the store in plastic containers.

There are many ways to make distilled water at home without a distiller, though the result is much less pure than using a distillation machine. It is time consuming to distill your water manually and many volatile gasses will likely remain in the water, such as chlorine, certain pesticides, and bacterium. Homemade distilled water is still cleaner than tap water, however, so if you are still interested in making homemade distilled water keep an eye out for our upcoming blog post.