Purified vs Distilled vs Regular Water: What’s the Difference?

Most people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the water they
drink. They may have heard that the water treatment plant adds chemicals that could be dangerous to
their health. This is probably enough for them to invest in home water purifiers, which is actually a good option.

But, before you fit a filter or anything else you should understand the
differences between purified, distilled, and regular water. It will help you to
choose the right product for your needs.

Regular Water

Regular water is effectively the water that comes out of your tap. It’s
been treated by the local treatment works and should meet specific government
standards. In short, it should be safe to drink.

But, the treatment plant adds chlorine to the water to kill bacteria.
This can cause reactions in people with allergens as chlorine is known to give
respiratory issues, it’s a key ingredient in nerve gas.

They also add fluoride which recent research suggests may increase the
risk of cancer.

Alongside this, regular water can become contaminated after it has left
the treatment plant. An issue is not likely to be noticed until after hundreds,
or thousands, of people, have drunk the water.

Purified Water

Purified water is the name given to any water that has been filtered. In
a sense you could state that tap water is purified as it has been filtered by
the treatment plant.

However, as it is difficult to verify the quality of the water every
time you use it, purified water tends to be used to describe water put through
a filtration system at home.

There are several filtration systems you can choose from. The most
popular are aerated carbon and reverse osmosis. They remove slightly different
things from the water which is why it’s usually beneficial to have your water
tested first and decide which type of filter will be most beneficial.

Using the right filter is essential to get safe drinking water. The good
news is that these filters are very easy to maintain and work in the
background.

Distilled Water

Distilled water is essentially the purest form of water and very safe to
drink. However, in normal practice, It’s more convenient to use purified water
which is also safe to drink.

To get distilled water you need to boil it, effectively turning it from
a liquid into a gas. The gas generally referred to as steam, hits a cool
surface as it rises from your boiling pot. This cools the steam and turns it
back into water which you can collect in another container. 

The water you collect is pure because water boils at a lower temperature
to the minerals and other contaminants in it. In other words, it leaves all the
contaminants behind and you collect pure water.

This is safe to drink but you should consider
the fact that some minerals are beneficial to the human body. It makes
distillation a useful emergency procedure and purified water the practical
daily option.