How to make Distilled Water at Home

In some places, water is pumped directly from wells, rivers, lakes and underground reservoirs directly to the faucet or to municipal water supplies. This water can contain a variety of substances like heavy metals, pesticides or microorganisms such as bacteria and viral pathogens that can be extremely harmful to humans when consumed. It's for these reasons that distilling your own water at home makes sense when it comes to your health.

Home Water Distillers

Water distillation is a refining process used to separate the components of water by boiling it, collecting the steam and then condensing the steam back to its original state. This process leaves the impurities behind and results in clean, pure water.

Numerous companies make home water distillers, which range from around $150 for a simple counter top model to thousands of dollars for bigger floor models. These commercial distillers can produce anywhere from 1 gallon to over 40 gallons of distilled water a day.

DIY Water Distillation

Another way to get distilled water is to build your own distiller at home. Listed below are a few simple steps for making a small distiller to use on a stove top.

You will need a 1-gallon to 5-gallon stainless steel pot, a concave lid big enough to cover the pot and a stainless steel bowl small enough to fit inside of the pot. You will also need an ice pack or small bag of ice as well as a heat source.

First, fill the pot with water about half way full. Set the bowl inside of the pot and heat the water to a boil, or about 217 degrees Fahrenheit. Put the lid on upside down so that the concave side points inside the pot. Put the ice pack on top of the lid.

The water produces steam as it boils. The steam rises and contacts the cold lid, making the steam condense and form droplets of water that drip into the bowl inside of the pot. The water in the bowl is now distilled and ready for consumption or bottling.

A much easier way to distilling water at home is to purchase an economical home water distiller, which can be even easier than making a pot of coffee.