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What's the difference between distilled water, spring water and purified water?
What's in the water, what isn't, and how it tastes play a role in deciding which to use.
Fri, Jan 11 2013 at 11:03 AM
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Photo: Aaron Amat/Shutterstock
Just a couple years ago, when Hurricane Irene flooded our nearby water purification plant, our tap water was no longer safe for drinking, cooking — basically anything besides showering. And I had a newborn baby in the house drinking a bottle of formula every three hours. Needless to say, I got acquainted with the water sold in the grocery store real fast. And the choices were downright overwhelming.
Where were the days of simply picking a few gallons of bottled water off the shelf? Why did I now have to choose whether I wanted drinking water or purified water? And what was the difference anyway? Wasn’t all bottled water the same? Turns out, not so much.
I did what any mother would do in my situation: I bought a half dozen gallons of each kind and lugged them all home. Something was bound to be good enough for my baby and the rest would have to be good enough for me.
The EPA’s website finally answered my questions — after a few quick clicks, I was a water connoisseur. Now I pass that wisdom on to you, my dear readers:
Drinking water — Drinking water is just that: water that is intended for drinking. It is safe for human consumption and comes from a municipal source. There are no added ingredients besides what is considered usual and safe for any tap water, such as fluoride. (Incidentally, my tap water in New Jersey didn’t even contain fluoride — a necessary mineral for a child’s growing teeth and gums. We had to give our kids fluoride supplements.)
Distilled water — Distilled water is a type of purified water. It’s water that has gone through a rigorous filtration process to strip it not only of contaminants, but any natural minerals as well. This water is best for use in small appliances — like hot water urns, or steam irons, because if you use it, you won’t have that mineral buildup that you often get when you use tap water. Though it may seem counterintuitive, this water is not necessarily the best for human consumption, since all of the water’s natural, and often beneficial, minerals are absent.
Purified water — Purified water is water that comes from any source, but has been purified to remove any chemicals or contaminants. Types of purification include distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis, and carbon filtration. Like distilled water, it has its advantages and disadvantages, the advantages being that potentially harmful chemicals may be taken out and the disadvantage being that beneficial minerals may be taken out as well.
Spring water — This is what you often find in bottled water. It’s from an underground source and may or may not have been treated and purified. Though spring water sounds more appealing (like many others, I imagine my spring water coming from a rushing fresh spring at the base of a tall snow-capped mountain), it’s not necessarily the best water for drinking if you have other options. Studies done by the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) have found contaminants in bottled water such as coliform, arsenic and phthalates. Much of bottled water is labeled as spring water, when in fact it is coming from a municipal source and is nothing more than glorified tap water. This topic has been a popular one in recent years, sparking much controversy.
So what did I, the eco-expert, choose when faced with the myriad of choices? For my family, I chose drinking water, but depending on where you live, you may choose differently. To check the quality of your local tap water, check with the EPA. To check the water quality of your favorite bottled water, check out the Environmental Working Group’s report on bottled waters.
— Chanie
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In my opinion this article should be taken off-line at once.To imply that municipal tape water and fluoridation is 'safe' - when so much scientific evidence exists to the contrary, is irresponsible and wholly inappropriate for a website calling itself the 'Mother Nature Network'
I think the website is great but you should really keep better tabs on whomever allows content to be published.
Distillation involves boiling your water, catching the steam, and condensing it back into water. this leaves behind pure H2O. water, nothing else. Pure H2O is the only thing that registers a 7 on the pH scale, which is COMPLETELY NEUTRAL. Not acidic. Not alkaline. Neutral.
Although, yes, DON'T give your kids fluoride (either from water OR from supplements) it is HORRIBLE for them. Even the medical grade stuff the dentist uses is not supposed to be ingested. Oh dear god...
The slight acidity comes from carbon dioxide in the air. Distilled water at the point of distillation will be right at 7 but as it is exposed to air, it will pull in carbon dioxide and drop in pH to around 6. All water does this but because distilled water has no impurities in it, it has nothing to buffer the pH drop.
My comment wasn't referring to mineral rich tap water per se, it was referring to any type of water which is mineral rich versus otherwise.
With all respect, youre so caught up in numbers, stats and chemistry that youre failing to see the forest for the trees.
Jim.
Lemons are very acidic Im sure you'll agree?
Yet drinking lemon water has a massive alkalising effect on the body. By eating extreme acid fruit, lemons I've mentioned and the juice of which has a typical pH of around 2.5, stimulates the pancreas into producing bicarbonate which quickly neutralises stomach acids.
Plenty of sound science exists on this theme.
orange juice, coffee, sodas etc are acidic and bad for health you are correct, but the subject here is about water.
i agree with you on that a lemon is very healthy for you to eat and has an alkalanizing effect on the body. but that is because it is the lemon fruit providing it not the water. Distilled water is removing toxins. The pH is not a problem
you are an "eco-expert" and supplement with FLOURIDE!???
ROFL ROFL this would be funny if it were not sad, especially since you are writing on www.mnn.com
FOR SHAME!
Great article but there is one item that quite disturbs me... Your characterization of Fluoride as a "necessary mineral". I would suggest that you do some research and educate yourself about this dangerous, powerful oxidant. It is only beneficial (and not significantly so) for developing adult enamel and does nothing for gums. It is otherwise only poison that has been proved harmful.