How to Make Distilled Water

Distilled water is very easy to make, and there are several methods you can use to make it at
home. When you remove the minerals and chemicals from the water, you make distilled water.
People make distilled water for a variety of uses, including drinking, watering plants, filling
humidifiers, steam irons and even fish tanks, aquariums and etc. This wikiHow will show you how to
make it.

Method One of Three:

Distill Tap Water with a Glass Bowl

1 Fill a 5-gallon (18.927 L) stainless steel pot about halfway full with tap water.
2 Place a glass bowl in the water. Be sure it floats. The bowl should not touch the bottom of
the pot.

If the bowl doesn't float, remove it from the water and set a round baking rack on the bottom
of the pot. Then place the bowl back in the water
3 Watch the water collecting in the bowl. This water should be hot but should not boil. If the
water begins to boil, turn down the heat on the stove.
4 Create a condensation effect with a hot/cold barrier. You can do this by inverting the pot's
lid and filling it with ice. When hot steam hits the cold lid, it will create condensation.
5 Boil the water in your pot. As the water continues to boil, it will cause steam to rise and
condense on the pot's lid. The condensation will drip into the bowl. Allow the distillation
process to continue until you have enough distilled water in the bowl for your needs.
6 Remove your pot from the heat and take off the lid.
7 Take the bowl of distilled water out of the pot of boiling water. Use caution when doing this
so you do not burn yourself. You can allow the water to cool before removing the bowl, if you
prefer.
8 Allow the distilled water to cool before storing it.

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Distill Tap Water with a Glass Bowl
Method Two of Three:
Distill Tap Water with Glass Bottles

1 Get 2 glass bottles for making distilled water. This process works best if at least 1 of the
bottles curves outward from the neck, preventing the distilled water from sliding back into
the other bottle.
2 Fill 1 bottle with tap water. Stop filling about 5 in (12.7 cm) from the top.
3 Join the 2 bottles together at the neck and secure them tightly with duct tape.
4 Use a 5-gallon (18.927 L) stainless steel pot of boiling water to distill the water. You want
just enough water to cover the bottle filled with tap water.
5 Tilt the bottles at about a 30-degree angle, leaning the top, empty bottle on the inside of
the pot's rim. The angle makes it easier to collect the evaporated distilled water.
6 Rest an ice pack or a bag of ice on top of the bottle on top. This will create a hot/cold
barrier, causing the evaporation of water in the filled bottle to condense into the cooler
bottle.
7 Continue the distillation process until you collect enough distilled water in the bottle for
your needs.

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 Distill Tap Water with Glass Bottles

Method Three of Three:

Convert Rainwater to Drinking Water

1 Put a large, clean container outside to catch the rainwater.

2 Leave the container outside for 2 full days to allow the minerals to dissipate.
3 Store the distilled water in clean jugs. Note: While this method can produce drinkable water,
it's possible for pollutants and harmful bacteria to remain in the water. It's always safest to
filter, boil, or chemically treat rainwater before drinking, unless you know it's safe otherwise.

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Convert Rainwater to Drinking Water

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Community Q&A
 Question

Is it cheaper to buy distilled water, factoring in the energy used to make your own?

wikiHow Contributor
Community Answer

I just gave it a try, and my results indicate that it's much more expensive to make a gallon of distilled
water using Method 1 with an electric stove and ice maker than to buy a gallon at Walmart. Almost 4x
the cost.

29 2

Question

Can I substitute filtered water for distilled?

wikiHow Contributor
Community Answer

The short answer is no. Filtered water (not to be confused with 'purified water) may still contain
microbes and trace minerals that are dissolved in the water and are able to pass through the filtration
medium. It has an alkaline ph. Distilled water, on the other hand, has these trace minerals and microbes
removed during the distillation process, which turns water into a gas form and condenses it back into a
liquid, leaving contaminates behind.

50 6

Question

Does distillation remove fluoride from the water?

wikiHow Contributor
Community Answer

Yes.

40 6

Question

What types of plants need distilled water?

wikiHow Contributor
 Community Answer

Most carnivorous plants like venus flytraps and pitcher plants need distilled water. Tap water, spring
water, and purified water can kill carnivorous plants.

56 12

Question

How long can I store distilled water?

wikiHow Contributor
Community Answer

You can store distill water in glass bottles which are boiled and cleansed with distilled water and you
can store it for a few years if not used medically.

132 38

Question

I thought just boiling water for a certain length of time distilled it. Am I wrong?

wikiHow Contributor
Community Answer

While boiling water kills any bacteria, it does not distill the water - it kind of does the opposite, by
making some water evaporate, leaving behind an even higher concentration of mineral deposits. You
*can* distill water by boiling water and collecting the evaporated water, however, as this article
describes.

176 60

Question

If the water contains pesticides, will distilling get rid of them?

wikiHow Contributor
Community Answer

If you have a pesticide that evaporates at lower than 212 F/ 100 C, then you could end up with that
pesticide still in your water if you followed this process. Check the MDS sheet to find the boiling point of
the pesticide you are concerned about.
 74 22

Question

Is rain water the same as distilled water?

wikiHow Contributor
Community Answer

No, it is not. Fresh rain water can pick up various things from our atmosphere and carry them; distilling
removes these impurities.

74 22

Question

Do the lid and bowl have to be made from glass?

wikiHow Contributor
Community Answer

Glass is preferred because it'll last forever, unlike plastic which may leak chemicals over time. If for
immediate use or limited storage time, any clean container should do just fine. Extended storage should
be reserved for glass or something similar.

103 36

Question

Can I use distilled water when taking an injection?

wikiHow Contributor
Community Answer
Show more answers

Can rain water be used instead of distilled water (as written about in your how to test the PH of your soil
article) to test the PH of soil?

Answer

Does distillation remove micro plastics in the water?

Answer
 Can we use it for battery refilling in bikes and cars and inverter points in homes? And can we use
stainless steel pots floating instead of glass?

Answer

Can I make distilled water with a dehumidifier?

Answer

Can a mixture of distilled water and rain water be used in a solar battery?

Answer

Show more unanswered questions

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Quick Summary

To make distilled water, start by filling a large pot halfway with water. Then, place a glass bowl
inside the pot so it's floating in the water. Next, cover the pot with an upside-down lid and fill the lid
with ice, which will help create more condensation inside of the pot. When you're ready, bring the
water in the pot to a boil over a stovetop so that steam starts to rise and condense on the lid and
then drip into the glass bowl. Once the bowl is full of distilled water, turn the heat off, let the water
cool, and remove it from the pot.

Video

How to make Distilled Water

Tips

Lift the inverted lid occasionally to be sure that the steam water is collecting into the bowl.
229 Helpful? 219
 

If you think the tap water is not pure enough, it is safer to use distilled water in your saltwater
aquarium. You must mix the distilled water with a saltwater mix before adding the solution to
your tank.
157 Helpful? 186
 

Know a good tip? Add it. Add

Warnings

Only the water in the bowl or bottle will have distilled water. The remaining water will contain all
the impurities you removed from the distilled water.
121 Helpful? 81
 

You will need to add the appropriate chemicals to distilled water to support aquatic life before
using it in your fish tank or aquarium. Without these chemicals, the distilled water will not be
able to support life.
109 Helpful? 74
 

Make sure that certain glass bowls and bottles can withstand boiling water.
39 Helpful? 34
 
 Drinking distilled water will over time strip the body of minerals and diminish health, so when
distilling water for drinking, be sure to add mineral drops. Distilling water will remove thousand
of contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and heavy metals, but it also removes the minerals
that are essential to health.
71 Helpful? 73
 

Things You'll Need

5-gallon (18.927 L) stainless steel pot

Tap water
Glass bowl
Round baking rack
Pot lid
Ice
2 glass bottles
Duct tape
Ice pack or a bag of ice
Large container
Rainwater
Jugs

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About This Article

Co-authors: 53
Updated: 16 days ago
4 votes - 75%
Views: 2,929,825

Categories: Featured Articles | Science | Safe Drinking Water

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