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A guide to making DIY distilled water, right at home
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Distilled water is a purified form of water without minerals, and you can use it for so many things—from drinking, to watering plants, to filling humidifiers, to topping off fish tanks, and more. It’s also very easy to make at home with a few basic supplies. You actually have a few different methods to choose from depending on how much distilled water you’re trying to make. This wikiHow will walk you through all of them, step-by-step, so you can start making your very own distilled water right at home!
Things You Should Know
- You’ll make distilled water by boiling water until it becomes vapor.
- Then, you’ll let the vapor condense back into liquid form, leaving you with pure water, free of minerals or contaminants.
- Distilled water is perfectly safe to drink, but because of the lack of minerals, it might taste flat in comparison to regular tap water.
Steps
Section 1 of 3:
Distilling Tap Water on the Stove
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Fill a 5-gallon (18.927 L) stainless steel pot about halfway full with tap water. -
Place a glass bowl in the water, and bring the water to a boil. Be sure the glass bowl floats. The bowl should not touch the bottom of the pot.- If the bowl doesn't float, remove it from the water and set a round baking rack on the bottom of the pot. Then place the bowl back in the water.
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Turn the pot’s lid upside down and fill it with ice . When hot steam from the boiling water hits the cold lid, it’ll create the condensation you need for the distillation process. -
Keep boiling the water in your pot. As the water continues to boil, it will cause steam to rise and condense on the pot's lid. The condensation will drip into the bowl. Allow the distillation process to continue until you have enough distilled water in the bowl for your needs. -
Make sure the water collecting in the bowl doesn’t boil. If the bowl water begins to boil, turn down the heat on the stove so that only the pot water is boiling. -
Remove your pot from the heat and take off the lid. -
Take the bowl of distilled water out of the pot of boiling water. Use caution when doing this so you do not burn yourself. You can allow the water to cool before removing the bowl, if you prefer. -
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Section 2 of 3:
Distilling Tap Water with Glass Bottles
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Get 2 glass bottles for making distilled water. This process works best if at least 1 of the bottles curves outward from the neck, preventing the distilled water from sliding back into the other bottle. -
Fill 1 bottle with tap water. Stop filling about 5 in (12.7 cm) from the top. -
Join the 2 bottles together at the neck and secure them tightly with duct tape. -
Use a 5-gallon (18.927 L) stainless steel pot of boiling water to distill the water. You want just enough water to cover the bottle filled with tap water. -
Tilt the bottles at about a 30-degree angle, leaning the top, empty bottle on the inside of the pot's rim. The angle makes it easier to collect the evaporated distilled water. -
Rest an ice pack or a bag of ice on top of the bottle on top. This will create a hot/cold barrier, causing the evaporation of water in the filled bottle to condense into the cooler bottle. -
Continue the distillation process until you collect enough distilled water in the bottle for your needs.
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Tips
- Lift the inverted lid occasionally to be sure that the steam water is collecting into the bowl.Thanks
- If you think the tap water is not pure enough, it is safer to use distilled water in your saltwater aquarium. You must mix the distilled water with a saltwater mix before adding the solution to your tank.Thanks
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Warnings
- Make sure that certain glass bowls and bottles can withstand boiling water.Thanks
- Only the water in the bowl or bottle will have distilled water. The remaining water will contain all the impurities you removed from the distilled water.Thanks
- You will need to add the appropriate chemicals to distilled water to support aquatic life before using it in your fish tank or aquarium. Without these chemicals, the distilled water will not be able to support life.Thanks
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Things You'll Need
- 5-gallon (18.927 L) stainless steel pot
- Tap water
- Glass bowl
- Round baking rack
- Pot lid
- Ice
- 2 glass bottles
- Duct tape
- Ice pack or a bag of ice
- Large container
- Rainwater
- Jugs
About This Article
Article Summary
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To make distilled water, first place a round baking rack in the bottom of a 5-gallon (19-L) stainless steel pot and fill the pot halfway with tap water. Then, place a glass bowl in the water so it floats. Turn the cover to the pot upside down, place it over the pot, and fill it with ice. Bring the water in the pot to a boil and let it boil for around 45 minutes. Replace the ice whenever it melts. The boiling water will turn to steam, rise up, and condense on the cold lid. When it condenses, it will drip back down into the bowl and fill it with distilled water. Once you have enough distilled water, turn off the heat and take off the lid. Use gloves to carefully remove the bowl full of water. Finally, let the distilled water cool before using it. To learn how to make distilled water from rainwater, scroll down!
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Reader Success Stories
- "Been finding a shortage of distilled water for awhile, no satisfactory answers were provided to my inquiries. Minerals in water store in my body and become toxic, so I need to drink and use distilled. The video's instruction was great, now I'll make my own." ..." more
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"Been finding a shortage of distilled water for awhile, no satisfactory answers were provided to my inquiries. Minerals in water store in my body and become toxic, so I need to drink and use distilled. The video's instruction was great, now I'll make my own."
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"Thank you. It is 9pm and I'm finally at home. I have zero distilled water. My string of hearts absolutely must have water. I don't drive nor do I live in the city. I'm rather uneasy about walking 1.5 miles to the store, as it is so dark out. Thanks again."
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"I ran out of distilled water to treat my car battery and couldn't get to the store, so this article was perfect! All the pertinent water info was very educational. I live in the rain forest of Hawaii and have to use rainwater sometimes."
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"I bought a tabletop water feature which recommended using distilled water to prolong the pump's life. I wasn't sure if boiled water or rain water would be suitable. This article explained the differences - I'll just buy some ready-made!"
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"I want to make my own scented therapeutic air fresheners using natural oils, and was advised to use only distilled water. I found the article very helpful; I'm looking forward to producing some lovely, sweet-smelling sprays! Thank you."
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