Ok, so if you’re here, you’ve probably already discovered that it can be quite difficult to find somewhere that sells distilled water. You’ve checked supermarkets, hardware stores, pharmacies, but still, to no avail, you can’t find it anywhere.
In this article, we’ll explain why it's hard to buy distilled water in person and where you can buy distilled water online.
Can I buy distilled water in supermarkets?
At this moment in time, none of the big five supermarkets stock distilled water. This is for two keys reasons:
1. Difficulty to Ensure Purity
Distilled water reacts to sunlight, temperature and a variety of other exposure events it's likely to experience when moving from the manufacturer to the supermarket depot before it finally hits the shelves.This makes it difficult for manufacturers like ourselves to guarantee the purity of the water we sell when sold via supermarkets.
2. Storage Conditions
To ensure the shelf life of distilled water it needs to be kept in a cool, dark place at all times. Supermarkets with their bright lights and varying temperatures does not make for a good place to store the product without drastically reducing its sell by date. For this reason, supermarkets would rather not take the risk of stocking something they would have to sell so quickly.
Can I make distilled water at home?
This is a question we get asked often. Firstly, it should be noted that we are manufacturer of distilled water, so we are slightly biased in our answering. However, there are some things we do recommend avoiding for safety reasons.
- Is boiling water the same as distilled water?
No, boiling water is not the same as distilled water. Boiled water is simply water with most bacteria killed. It does not however remove all the impurities such as micro-organisms, minerals and some viruses.
- Is bottled water or purified water the same distilled water?
No, bottled water is usually sourced from a spring and will still contain lots of bacteria and will have a high mineral content. Purified water, usually made using the purifying jugs, will simply remove some of the contaminants found in water.
- Is deionised water the same as distilled water?
No, deionised water is not the same as distilled water. Deionised water is a type of water that has had the IONs and some of the mineral content removed in a process call deionisation. This type of water will still contain many different bacteria, viruses and other mineral contaminents the deionisation process could not remove.
Read more on this subject in our Deionised Water vs Distilled Water article.
- Can I use a countertop water distilling machine?
Of course, you can purchase a countertop distilling machine to produce distilled water. These machines have come down in price over the last few years and make for a simple way to produce distilled water. However, it is still cheaper to buy distilled water from a manufacturer. These machines consume a lot of energy to distill water and the latest estimates suggest even the best machines use about £4.00 of electricity to create 1 litre of distilled water.
If you do decide to go the route of producing your own distilled water, we would recommend that you do two things when using a countertop machine.
1. Buy a TDS measurement tool
A TDS test will measure the total dissolved solids of the water you are producing. Any water that measures over 1 PPM (part per million) would not be classified as distilled water and will damage machines like a Steam Iron or CPAP.
Read more on How to Test the TDS of Distilled Water here.
2. Purchase Bacteria Dip Sticks
While a TDS test will give you an indication of the dissolved particles content of your water, it will not indicate the presence of any harmful bacteria in your water. To understand the bacterial content of your water we would recommend using a bacteria dip stick test. This is far from a clinical test or certification of your water, but it will highlight if your machine is actually producing 100% pure distilled water or something that is below par.
Where can I buy distilled water online?
There are several places you can buy distilled water online. All of which stock our 5-star rated Pure&More distilled water. These are:
Direct from the Manufacturer
You can, of course, find the best deals on distilled water directly on the manufacutuers website. For example, you will not find Pure&More distilled water cheaper anywhere else than on NordChem.
Buy Distilled Water UK here.
Amazon
If you’re willing to pay a little more, you can of course purchase distilled water on Amazon. The pricing is a bit more expensive as the manufacturer has to off-set the fees the platform charges.
Buy Distilled Water Amazon here.
eBay
eBay is another popular platform to find distilled water. The fees won’t quite be as high as Amazon, but you will still be paying for the servicing fees on that platform.
Buy Distilled Water eBay here.