Purified Water Vs Distilled Water
You turn on the tap and drink the water. That's what you have always done. But have you ever thought about where that water comes from and how it has been treated? Have you ever wondered if it's safe to drink?
We hear stories in the news about contaminated water sources and unknown dangers of household drinking water. It doesn't matter if you have a private well on a farm in a rural area or if you live in the metro. Getting your water from a regulated public source, your drinking water can still contain contaminants and impurities. The answer is purified water!
Many people do not realize that in addition to contaminated water coming into your home there is another potential source of contamination- your own home's pipes. As water circulates through your pipes, unwanted chemicals, minerals, and other pollutants are often picked up by the water as it travels leaving your water contaminated. In some cases, you may notice an unpleasant odor and bad taste, but not always.
Now let us break down some comparisons on what's the difference between Purified water and Distilled water quality:
Distilled Water
Pros:
Distilled water is a type of purified water that goes through a process of distillation. This includes boiling the water, capturing the steam (pure H20), and condensing it back into the water.
The only difference between distilled and purified water is that distilled goes through distillation while purified water goes through another process such as reverse osmosis, ion exchange, ozonation, sand filtration and etc.
Another factor to look at is that distilled water is more expensive than filtered water.
Cons:
If you suspect your water to have been contaminated by pesticides and such, distillation may not be the best method of treating your water as it will not get rid of the contaminants.
On top of that, distillation, however efficient, does not discriminate between good and bad guests in the water.
Distilling water also runs the risk of eliminating healthy minerals in the water. Some examples of these good substances are sodium, chloride and potassium.
Your body needs these substances to process the water and make good use of it. You're also losing out on plenty of vitamins and minerals that naturally make water the perfect beverage.
Purified Water
This is where our discussion about water gets interesting.
As per definition, purified water is water that has gone through a purification process. Distillation is also considered a purification system because it separates water from most other contaminants. In a way, distilled water can also be called purified water.
For the water to be classified as purified, the water must have less than 10 ppm (parts per million). Water with ppm less than 50 is excellent for drinking and it tastes good.
Anything between ppm 50-100 is good, 100 to 300 is medium good, and 300 to 500 is great for drinking. Water with ppm more than 500 but less than 1000 is poor and water with ppm more than 1000 is not recommended for drinking.
Pros:
Naturally, you have a much cleaner water sample compared to distilled water. Since you've run the water through more purification processes, you get rid of more contaminants.
That includes pesticides, chemicals and other compounds that distillation wouldn't have been able to remove contaminants.
On top of that, getting purified water is easier because it doesn't use distillation. It uses reverse osmosis. This interesting-sounding term refers to the sifting of the substance through filters.
When the water passes through these filters to a different container with a certain amount of pressure, the contaminants are left by the filter and only the clean water comes through.
What's the good stuff about Purified Water?
Compared to distilled water, purified water has gone through the most changes. This makes it more suitable for consumption. It has the least number of contaminants and is even safe for infants and the elderly who need a little more help when it comes to utilizing water in their bodies.
What's the best? Purified or Distilled Water?
Apart from the purification process, there isn't much of a difference between distilled and purified water, as you can probably tell from the information above. While distilled water is purified through the distillation process, purified water is purified through a variety of additional methods.
Another significant distinction between these methods is that the distillation of water removes naturally occurring minerals such as calcium and magnesium, which can be incredibly beneficial to your health. Purified water, on the other hand, retains these essential minerals while removing pollutants and contaminants.
Verdict:
There's no such thing as a bad choice with water as long as you're sure that it's clean. They all do the same thing and they all keep you healthy!