Distilled water has numerous industrial uses. It is also used in the laboratories for various reasons, but it was not used for drinking purposes. Although it may seem, that distillation of water is relatively a new phenomena, it has been known to mankind for thousands of years. However, in the last few decades there is a huge increase in the number of people drinking bottled water. Hence, people want to know the answer to the question, how to distill water at home, so that they do not have to spend a lot of money on buying bottled water. This brings us to the question, can you distill water at home. Many people ask this question, because they are not aware what is distilled water exactly.
When water is in its purest form it contains only hydrogen and oxygen molecules. However, the water we normally get, does contain a number of other substances like minerals, impurities, etc. If one wants to get rid of the molecules, which are not actually a part of water, but have gotten added to it, then one has to undertake the distillation process. To cut the long story short, distilled water is one of the purest form of water, with almost no impurities, or any other additions. Distilled water is used for a number of industrial purposes. It is often a part of a number of chemical projects. When different chemical processes are undertaken, distilled water is used to ensure that the impurities or minerals in water do not play a role in the reaction that takes place with the additions of different chemicals. Therefore, it is not uncommon to see that distillation process is undertaken in different laboratories.
These days it is not uncommon to see humans consuming distilled water. However, there are some people, who are of the opinion, water in its purest form should not be consumed. One can get rid of the impurities, by using filtration process, but the minerals in water actually have a positive role to play on the human body. These minerals are actually essential minerals. At the same time, it is important to note that even if water is distilled, it does not remain in its purest form for a long period of time, as atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolves in it, which causes the pH balance to change and water becomes acidic. When carbon dioxide is absorbed by water, it does not remain fit for human consumption.
How to Distill Water at Home
After reading about distilled water in short, we will now find out go about distilling water at home. The objective of the distillation process is to separate the water molecules from contaminants. The basic process of distillation involves heating water, till it reaches boiling point. Once water reaches boiling point, it begins to evaporate. During the entire process of distillation, the temperature does not vary and is kept constant. Since the temperature is kept stable only pure water evaporates from the container. The contaminants have different boiling point, due to which they are left at the bottom of the container. When water is evaporating, the steam is guided through a tube into another container. Once all the water has evaporated, water is removed from heat, after which the steam condenses to give us distilled water.
We now know the basic process of distillation. How can we carry out the same process at home, is what we will see now. Pour water in a heat resistant glass container. Connect a stopper from the container to a glass condenser. It is in the condenser that the steam will be converted into liquid form. To the condenser a beaker should be attached, so that water can be collected in it. Boil the water at low and constant temperature. When the water reaches boiling point, it will get converted into steam, which will make its way from the glass container to the beaker via condenser. The water that is collected in the beaker is distilled water.
Now you see it is fairly easy to distill water at home. This will ensure that you also save some money on buying distilled water. At the same time, I would like to remind you that if the distilled water comes in contact with carbon dioxide, then it will be contaminated again, hence essential measures will have to be taken.