Distilled water is very easy to make, and there are several methods used to make it at home. When you remove the minerals and chemicals from the water, you make distilled water. People make distilled water for a variety of uses, including drinking, watering plants, filling humidifiers, steam irons and even fish tanks, aquariums and etc.
EditSteps
EditDistill Tap Water with a Glass Bowl
Fill a 5-gallon (18.927 L) stainless steel pot about halfway full with tap water.
Place a glass bowl in the water. Be sure it 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
Watch the water collecting in the bowl. This water should be hot but should not boil. If the water begins to boil, turn down the heat on the stove.
Create a condensation effect with a hot/cold barrier. You can do this by inverting the pot's lid and filling it with ice. When hot steam hits the cold lid, it will create condensation.
Boil 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.
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.
Allow the distilled water to cool before storing it.
EditDistill Tap Water with Glass Bottles
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.
EditConvert Rainwater to Drinking Water
Put a large, clean container outside to catch the rainwater.
Leave the container outside for 2 full days to allow the minerals to dissipate.
Store the distilled water in clean jugs.
EditVideo
EditTips
Lift the inverted lid occasionally to be sure that the steam water is collecting into the bowl.
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.
EditWarnings
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.
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.
Make sure that certain glass bowls and bottles can withstand boiling water.
Drinking distilled water will over time strip the body of minerals and diminish health, so when distilling water for drinking, be sure to add mineral drops. Distilling water will remove thousand of contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and heavy metals, but it also removes the minerals that are essential to health.
EditThings 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
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