Distilled water is very easy to make, and there are several ways to make it at home. When you remove minerals and chemicals from water, you make distilled water. People make distilled water for a variety of purposes, including for drinking, watering plants, filling humidifiers, steam irons, and even fish tanks, aquariums, and so on.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Distilling Tap Water with a Glass Bowl
Step 1. Fill a 5-gallon (19 liter) stainless steel pot about halfway with tap water
Step 2. Place the glass bowl in the water
Make sure the bowl is floating. The bowl should not touch the bottom of the pan.
If the bowl doesn't float, remove it from the water and place a circular saucer on the bottom of the pan. Then, put the bowl back in the water
Step 3. Wait for the water in the pot to boil before proceeding to the previous step
This step serves to evaporate chemicals such as methanol and ethanol.
Step 4. Create a condensation effect with a heat/cold barrier
You can do this by flipping the lid on the pot and filling it with ice. When hot steam hits a cold pot lid, condensation will occur.
Step 5. Bring water to a boil in a saucepan
As the water continues to boil, it will produce steam that rises and condenses on the lid of the pot. The dew will drip onto the bowl. Continue this distillation process until you have enough distilled water for your needs in your bowl.
Step 6. Watch the water collect in the bowl
The water in the bowl should be hot but not boiling. If the water in the bowl starts to boil, reduce the heat so that only the water in the pot is boiling.
Step 7. Turn off the heat of the pot and open the lid
Step 8. Take the bowl of distilled water from the pot of boiling water
Be careful when doing this so you don't get boiling water. You can let the water cool before removing the bowl, if you prefer.
Step 9. Allow the distilled water to cool before storing it
Method 2 of 3: Distilling Tap Water with a Glass Bottle
Step 1. Take 2 glass bottles to make distilled water
This process works best if at least 1 bottle has a neck that curves outward, preventing the distilled water from returning to the other bottle.
Step 2. Fill 1 bottle with tap water
Stop filling about 12 cm from the end of the bottle.
Step 3. Join the 2 bottles at the neck and secure them tightly with tape
Step 4. Use a 5 gallon (19 liter) stainless steel pot of boiling water to distill the water
You will need enough water to submerge a bottle filled with tap water.
Step 5. Tilt the bottle at about a 30-degree angle, leaning it against the empty bottle on top, on the rim of the pan
The angle makes it easy to collect distilled water vapor.
Step 6. Place a bag of ice on top of the bottle on top
This ice pack will create a heat/cold barrier, causing the moisture in the bottle filled with water to condense onto the cooler bottle.
Step 7. Continue the distillation process until you get enough distilled water for your needs in a bottle
Method 3 of 3: Turning Rainwater Into Drinking Water
Step 1. Place a large, clean container to collect rainwater
Step 2. Leave the container outside for 2 full days to allow the minerals to settle
Step 3. Store distilled water in a clean container
Note: although this method can produce potable water, there may still be harmful pollutants and bacteria in the water. Unless you're sure, for safety's sake, it's best if you strain, boil, or apply water-cleaning chemicals to rainwater before drinking.
Tips
- Lift the lid of the inverted pot occasionally to ensure that the steam collects in the bowl.
- If you feel the tap water is not very clean, it is safer to use distilled water in your saltwater aquarium. You must mix the distilled water with the seawater mixture before adding the mixture to your tank.
Warning
- Make sure the bowl and glass bottle can withstand boiling water.
- You must add suitable chemicals to distilled water to support aquatic life before using it in your fish tank or aquarium. Without these chemicals, the distilled water would not be able to support life.
- Only water in a bowl or bottle contains distilled water. The rest of the water will contain the impurities you removed from the distilled water.
- Drinking distilled water over time will deplete the minerals in the body and decrease health, so when distilled water for drinking, be sure to add a drop of minerals. Distilling water will remove thousands of contaminants such as drugs and heavy metals, but distilling also removes minerals that are vital to health.
