Water Distillation - Water Distillers and Distilled Water - Myths and Facts
Myths, false statements, consumer misleading and misinformation. Call them what you will, there is a lot of poor non-factual information out there when it is in reference to water distillation or water distillers. Most of them come from water filter sellers who do not sell, or do not understand water distillation. This is'nt anything new since many of the myths about water distillers have been around for 10 to 15 years. The difference today is that people (consumers) are more aware of their health and their drinking water and they are more of an informed consumer. They see in the news about the water problems. How many of you have seen or been given "Boiling Notices" for your drinking water because of Bacteria or Cryptosporidium? We hear today more about Cryptosporidium problems then ever. We also hear about Water Distillation being one of the most consistent and purest forms of water purification.
Whether it is plain ignorance or intentional misleading, we still find many filter dealers un-educated today and still putting down water distillation and distillers. The only answer to this that we can come up with is either (A) they don't understand distillation, or (B) they simply are trying to mislead a consumer to sell their filter product.
A FACT that can not be disputed is that water distillation removes the broadest range of contaminants over any other form of point of use (POU) water treatment system. Another FACT is that distilled water comes THE CLOSEST to the definition of PURE DRINKING WATER and unlike filtration, it is consistent, un-disputed!
Another FACT is that water distillation is the most effective method for the removal of organic, inorganic and biological (bacteria, viruses, etc.) contaminants. Distillation removes a greater percentage of these harmful impurities than reverse osmosis (RO), Ultraviolet (UV), filtering and other methods of purification. Also, these other methods lose their effectivness and must be serviced and are not as consistent as water distillation.
Distillation and water distilling is not a new process but in fact, a very old method of cleaning up and purifying water.
The definition of DISTILLATION is: "the process of heating a mixture and condensing the resulting vapor to produce a more nearly pure substance".
Distillation is as old as the earth. Nature uses a form of distillation called "Hydrologic Cycle". This natural distillation method is where the sun heats the water on the earth's surface. The water is turned into a vapor (evaporation) and rises, leaving contaminants behind, to form clouds. As the upper atmosphere drops in temperature the vapors cool and convert back to water to form water droplets. When the water droplets drop to the earth's surface, as snow or rain (precipitation), the cycle repeats again. This cycle is also known as Nature's Air Purification system because the water that falls in the form of rain or snow collect from the air dirt and air pollutant particles bringing them to the ground - cleaning the air.
When did humans start understanding and using distillation? A form of distillation was used by ancient Greek sailors. They use to hang sponges over pots of boiling sea (salt) water. They would then squeeze out the collected water from the sponges. They did this because they found that the water squeezed out from the sponges was not salty and was drinkable. Today, the US Navy uses distilled water derived from sea water for drinking on-board.
Water Distillers today are simply a man-made form of replicating Nature's "Hydrologic Cycle" method of producing pure water. Distillation is generally recognized as an effective broad spectrum water treatment method and removes many different kinds of contaminants including biological contaminants such as bacteria and viruses.
Distilled water, besides being the best for Drinking and Cooking water, is used for a variety of applications. Distilled water is best for use in Home Aquariums and Fish Tanks, Home Appliances such as Irons and Humidifiers and is used in Wet-Celled Batteries.
Distilled water is also used when pure water is needed for for such things as Photo Processing, Pharmaceuticals, Perfumes, Facial Products, Cosmetic Products, Laboratories, Plant Water, Rinse Water, etc...
The Best Water Distiller Machines for Home Use
What Distiller Units Treat!
Water distillation is an effective process for producing highly treated drinking water. Water distillation can significantly reduce levels of sediment, metals, and biological contaminants, which are unable to travel out of the boiling chamber with the steam. When combined with effective activated carbon filtration, contaminants like VOCs and radon can also be controlled. It is recommended that only units designed and tested for health-contaminant reduction be used for such purposes. Water distillation, when combined with activated carbon filtration, can be used to effectively treat such contaminants as:
- Arsenic
- Asbestos
- Atracine (Herbicide/pesticides)
- Benzene
- Fluoride
- Lead
- Mercury
- Nitrate
- Trichloroethylene (TCE)
- Trihalomethanes
- Radium
- Radon
- Biological contaminants (bacteria, viruses, and water-borne cysts like cryptosporidium)
Also, a water distillation system with activated carbon filtration can also be quite effective for treating aesthetic (taste and odor) drinking water contaminants like chlorine or iron bacteria, which lead to unpleasant tastes, odors, or colors.
The following are questions consumers have about Distilled Water and Water Distiller units. (Some of these questions are based and arise because of misinformation or misleading and false statements given to them, usually by filter sellers trying to sell them a water filter.)
"I was told that water distillation is all the same in all units and it would be a waist of money for me to pay for a Name Brand water distiller when I can get a non-brand name for less. What do you think?"
It is true that the water distillation process is basically the same but all water distillers are not alike. Quality components inside a water distiller is the difference and unit testing is another. A water distiller is a big investment and we feel it's important you get a Name Brand simply for repair capability down the road. You would hate to find out that 4 or 5 years later you need a replacement part or repair and find the manufacturer had gone out of business. A Name Brand for a water distiller is important for quality and for repair and parts. With many different products, look-a-likes enter the market and are priced the same or a little bit lower than a leading Brand Name. Chances are, lower cost also means lower quality and a few years later the company is gone. When it comes to water quality and water distillers, we feel it is important to provide a quality, reliable product from a manufacturer that has been around for at least 20 or 30 years. No company would be around that long if they had poor quality products and you have a better assurance that they will be there when you need them!
"Will drinking Distilled Water leach minerals from my body?"
NO - Sales people using this myth to sell their product want you to believe that because distilled water is so pure, drinking it will leach minerals from your body, thereby robbing you of good health and nutrition. There is no basis of fact or documented evidence to prove this claim true.
"Will drinking distilled water for long periods of time cause deterioration of my teeth?"
NO - This is a truly inventive falsification. The negative message a filter seller wants to convey is that drinking distilled water (which has removed all traces of fluoride) for long periods, will supposedly destroy your teeth by deteriorating them. In fact, today MANY people want the fluoride removed from their drinking water and distillation is an excellent way of doing it!
OLD BETHPAGE, NY - A spokesperson for the Canadian Dental Association has announced he no longer supports fluoridation.
Dr. Hardy Limebeck, DDS, Ph.D., head of Preventative Dentistry at University of Toronto, said there is little, if any, benefit to swallowing fluoride, and it can cause adverse effects to bones and teeth. He reached his conclusions after reviewing scientific literature, and says that too much access to fluoride through water, foods, supplements, toothpastes and more has resulted in increased incidents of dental fluorosis, which discolors children's teeth.
Limebeck told the New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation that fluoride should be banned from water supplies.
"I was told that Distillation takes out all the beneficial minerals that I need to live?"
FALSE - It is true that Distillation removes minerals but mostly ALL of the beneficial minerals you receive are not from water. They come from food consumption. Fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, grains, nuts, and dairy products are where the body gets it's beneficial minerals from. The minerals in water are so scant that you probably would have to drink over 600 8-ounce glasses of tap water to obtain the Recommended Daily Allowance ( RDA) of calcium. Most people can't even drink the recommended 8 glasses of water a day that is widely touted by health experts. This is simply another sales tactic!
The American Medical Association reported that, "The body's need for minerals is largely met through foods, not drinking water."
"Your Unit is UL Classified while others I see are only UL Listed, are they the same or is there a differance?"
NO - UL Listed and UL Classified ARE NOT THE SAME!
UL Listed simply means the product was checked for Electrical Safety.
UL Classified is a NEW Drinking Water Treatment Unit (DWTU) Certification program. Besides checking electrical safety, UL conducts extraction and analytical testing, specific contaminant reduction verification testing, and pressure testing and checks claims made by the manufacturer.
By NO MEANS is UL Listed the Same as UL CLassified!
Continue reading here: What is a HEPA Filter?
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