I currently keep bottled water in my vehicle kit and rotate it every fall. Do you think that distilled water is going to resist spoilage better than bottled, thus giving me a longer storage time? (Around here bottled water is simply tap water in a fancy--but sterile--package, despite the marketing hype.)

Regards, Vince

Distilled water may give you longer storage time. Keep in mind that it isn´t save to drink because of the lack of minerals. It may not have been intended for human consumption in the first place so it may have some contaminants.

First of all there is nothing inherently unsafe in drinking distilled water. The lack of minerals may or may not affect an individual’s like or dislike of the taste.

As to bottled water, unless the company filters the water with a low micro sized filter (for bacteria/fungi and parasites, viruses are generally too small to be filtered) or treats the water with chemicals and/or UV to kill bacteria/fungi, parasites and viruses, it is likely to contain biological organisms. For the most part, unless there is organic material for which the bacteria/fungi to live on while being stored, they will die over time. Parasites, spore forming bacteria and some viruses may remain viable for long periods of time, although water stored in a closed vehicle, with high temperatures will tend to kill most of these organisms over time.

Pete

I can tell you this much, in the middle east the military keeps bottled water done in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (my experience), and it's fine for years. Been there, drank that. But don't drink the tap over there... <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

I buy bottled water because it has a use-by date. If I bottled it myself, even if I used distilled water, I'd have no idea how long it was good for.

I also find it convenient and reasonably cheap. £5 buys enough water for a couple of weeks.

Didn't I read somewhere there's a way to sanitize water that involves a plastic bottle and a lot of sunshine? Seems to me, water might be the one consumable that'd benefit from being left in direct sunlight somewhere in the car. Not saying I would, just...

On the distilled vs. bottled: If the bottled water really is just tap water, then it's probably chlorinated. One of the water storage FAQs I found said that you didn't need to treat tap water for storage of < 6 months or so because of the chlorination. Distilled water is probably not chlorinated, but as mentioned earlier also may not be filtered / treated either, so anything that's in there will be free to grow, I guess. Bottled water probably wins on a cost / convenience comparison to distilled.

Most public water systems treat water so that by the time it reaches your tap, the chlorine level is around 0.5 to 1.0 ppm. This is sufficient for a water system that is in regular use, since the constant on and off, flushes the system ensuring low levels of chlorine are still present. If you were to collect this water and measure chlorine levels as little as 24 hours later, you would likely find < (less then) 0.5 ppm, not really enough to have significant biocidal properties. Water to be stored for any significant period of time, should be hyper-chlorinated to 10-12ppm.

As to solar (UV) disinfection of water check out this web site:

Solar Water Disinfection

But keep in mind it works best in the middle latitudes.


Pete

I haven't got a P.H.D. in hydrochemistry, but distilled water is H2O... pure water... your body should be getting enough minerals/nutrients from what you're EATING... and for that matter, you'd last much longer with the distilled water than without it. Mineral water is a marketing creation to get a higher price for something that should be almost free.

The middle latitudes are specifically, between 30?N to 30?S.

I?ve drunk water that was stored in the trunk in the original plastic jugs for two hot days in AZ. The taste of plastic was enough to gag a goat. <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

Sue

Thanks Pete (see my post, higher up the page).