Frequently Asked Questions About Distillation

Q: What is Distilled Water?

A: Distilled water is pure water. It is water, which has been separated by evaporating it from anything that is dissolved in it, such as salts or chemical contaminants, or is suspended in it, such as silt, viruses, bacteria, or worms.

Q: What is Solar Distillation?

A: Evaporation and then condensation is the oldest method of making pure water, (the other is reverse osmosis, a mechanical process). Physically, evaporation means that liquid water is slowly converted to gaseous water, one molecule at a time, by adding the heat of the sun. This happens in nature as the sun evaporates water molecules from the ocean leaving behind the salt and everything else found in the ocean. When the water molecules evaporate in the AquaCone one at a time, everything else dissolved or mixed into the water, such as salts, chemicals, bacteria, viruses, or silt-stays behind on the evaporative wick.

Q: What are the Benefits and Drawbacks of distilled water?

A: There are many claims as to the health benefits of drinking distilled water. Conversely, there is evidence that drinking nothing but distilled water for years at a time may cause health problems.

Distilled Water is pure and pure water is a gentle but potent solvent, easily absorbing a wide variety of substances. Some claim that drinking distilled water flushes your system of toxins while others say that over time it depletes your body of essential minerals by flushing those out, as well.

In our view, distilled water is fine for drinking under normal conditions. Our only concern is the circumstance of drinking only distilled water and not eating for an extended period of time. It is known that drinking any water in large quantities without adequately replacing electrolytes (through eating food) can result in the brain being starved of the ions it needs to function.

Clearly in a serious survival situation, this is a concern. Therefore, we include packets of oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) with the AquaCone and instructions for the user to add small amounts of the salts if they are not consuming food.

The purity of distilled water also makes it perfect for many non-drinking applications. Distilled water is ideal for applications where the mineral scale is unacceptable like in steam irons and dental equipment, for example.

The purity makes it very attractive for organic gardening, where the chemicals and toxins sometimes found in tap water would violate organic standards. Finally, distilled water’s gentle solvent properties make it great for cleaning - it is the softest water possible.

Q: Are There Any Contaminants Distillation Will Not Remove?

A: Yes, distillation cannot remove a class of chemicals known as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), which evaporate and condense at similar and lower temperatures than water. VOCs include toxic chemicals like crude oil and its derivatives (gasoline, kerosene, diesel, fuel oil, motor oil, etc.); solvents like turpentine and benzene; and other substances like antifreeze (glycol), alcohols, and paint. Many plant poisons (poison oak and ivy for instance) are also VOC. In practice, if source water smells like chemicals or paint, has a shimmery, rainbow-colored substance floating on it, or is a strange color, distillation may not remove the contaminants. In fact, no purification method should be trusted. If the area of contamination is widespread, appropriate authorities should be contacted. Clean up and removal of these kinds of toxic chemicals is not within the range of any consumer-oriented water purification device, but rather serious remediation efforts are required. Also note that care should be exercised if plants are used as a source of fluid for distillation, because if toxic plants are used, the distilled water could be contaminated. Even non-toxic plants may impart a taste to the water, as most substances that we can smell and taste are also (non-toxic) VOC.

Finally, you should be aware that in many instructions for building box-type water stills, the use of silicone sealants is advised. However, there is concern that many of these sealants release VOC over their lifetime that could contaminate the distilled water.

Our AquaCone is constructed of materials approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use with potable water, so our device will not compromise the distillation process.

Q: Is It Possible That Other Substances, Like Bacteria, Viruses, or Heavy Metals, Could Evaporate and Contaminate the Water?

A: No. Bacteria and viruses are hundreds of times larger than water molecules. Since evaporation is a molecule by molecule process, if a bacterium or virus “evaporated” this would mean it would be broken apart, rendering it harmless. Heavy metals are about ten times heavier than water molecules, and are correspondingly difficult to evaporate. Thus, they are left behind as well.

Conclusion

For the purposes under which you’d use the AquaCone™, the distillation process simply means that the water is cleansed of anything which might cause you to get sick. If you’re starving in the desert, use the Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS). If you’re thinking about drinking nothing but distilled water for the rest of your life, it would be best to do some medical research and ask your doctor.