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I fill my water distiller with hot tap water. Guaranteed to be safe. Yes, I'm talking about a machine that boils the water, collects the steam, and condenses it
by nayuki 3y ago
I fill my water distiller with hot tap water. Guaranteed to be safe. Yes, I'm talking about a machine that boils the water, collects the steam, and condenses it back to water. It removes absolutely everything.
- jhoechtl 3y agoYou shouldn't drink distilled water for a prolonged time as it will desalinate your body and depreve it from rare minerals.
- asdff 3y agoA banana probably has more than enough electrolytes to counter this
- explaininjs 3y agoAbsolutely everything… that has a boiling point higher than water’s. It won’t do anything to remove alcohol, for instance. Or any other contamination that boils off before water does. Ofc you could discard the head and tail of your distillation operation…
- nayuki 3y agoYes, you're right in a pedantic way =). I trust that my city's tap water doesn't have alcohol in it. After all, I previously and many people still drink it without extra filtering, and it's safe enough to do so. Relatedly, the standard technique in alcohol distillation is to discard the head because it contains toxic methanol. https://youtu.be/a1IruS1bKN8?t=672 https://youtu.be/a1IruS1bKN8?t=672
- wkat4242 3y agoBut alcohol isn't the only thing that has a boiling point lower than water.
- dredmorbius 3y agoThe hot tap water likely has more dissolved solids in it. Over time that will precipitate into your distiller. You can remove that by running a few cycles with vinegar. But if you fill with cold water, you'll get fewer deposits and have to clean less often.