Distilled vs. bottled water for vehicle storage?

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).

Self bottled water?... six months minimum, with a drop of chlorine, over a year.

The secret lies in aeration... pour about a third of the water into another container, put the cap back on, and shake the behasus out of it...this oxygenates the water, and improves the taste drastically, try it, you'll be surprised.

Troy

I checked the 2 gallons of distilled water in my garage. I purchased them awhile back for battery top-offs. Printed on the label of one of them is: "Micron Filtered and Ozonated". Stamped on the other one is simply: "Best if used by 03/20/05" (I recall buying it in the fall of 2003.) They are two different manufacturers/bottlers. So it seems that there may be variation in the purification procedure after all. Is "ozonation" what you were referring to as UV treatment? If so then that is the type I'll look to buy.

Regards, Vince

Where I live commercially distilled and bottled water is about $1.00 a gallon which is cheaper than what you pay for a six-pint pack of bottled water. Oddly enough, of the two types of bottled water I currently have in my vehicle, neither of them has a use-by date. However, one of the two types of distilled water that I have in my garage does.

It's looking like the only advantage bottled water has over distilled is the individual (pint-size) packaging, which admittedly could be useful in some circumstances.

Regards, Vince

" Water to be stored for any significant period of time, should be hyper-chlorinated to 10-12ppm."

I guess it's up to each person to define significant. I currently rotate the bottled water out of my vehicle once a year. I guess what I'm looking for is to be able to extend that to a two-year interval by going to distilled water. That would be a worthwhile improvement to me, for convenience rather than money.

I also keep a single burner white gas stove in my truck. Even if the water went bad I could always boil it. But it would be nice to not have to worry about that.

Regards, Vince

I eat significantly less when it´s hot and I need plenty of water. Eating just to get minerals isn´t too good. I experienced several situations were the loss of salt was an issue. Water from springs or tap water usually have some minerals in it without being called mineral water. Both can be essentially free.
Sometimes (maybe not in the US) water that was desalinated be other means is sold as "distilled water". As it´s not intended for drinking it´s technically clean but not neccessarily food grade. This may become an issue so checking can´t hurt.

It is not only the increase in the heat levels, but more specifically the intensity of the UV radiation from the sun at those middle latitudes that allows for the effectiveness of this technique.

In the higher latitudes, depending upon the time of year (summer with longer periods of daytime would work better), UV disinfection might be possible, but the effectiveness would be much more dependant upon the weather.

Pete

Ozonation is different from UV treatment and is another method to disinfect and even sterilize an item/material (water). Free or nascent oxygen is biocidal (that is why hydrogen peroxide was used for a long period of time for wound cleansing- although it is really not that great and can cause tissue damage).

There are many means to sterilize a product/material; steam under pressure, long exposure to dry heat, ethylene oxide, paraformaldahyde, peracidic acid, UV radiation are but a few. Each has advantages and disadvantages and appropriate uses. In the last 5-10 years, the industry has developed peroxide autoclaves for sterilizing certain items; similar technology is used for the ozonation of water.

Hope this helps and is not too confusing.

Pete

I recently bought one of these:
Amcor
The device prevents the build up of moisture. It keeps my storage from becoming to damp.
Every 3 or 4 days it produces about a gallon of very clear and apparently clean water. It works like a little refrigerator with the door open: moisture condenses and drips in the reservoir. Do you think this water is potable? If it is, the thing not only keeps my storage dry but is a constant source of water, as long as there is electricity of course.

As long as the electricity is working and keeping your unit in operation, then yes, it looks like a potential source of water. Personally, I would still run the condensate through a standard filtering system with an activated charcoal pre/post filter. If the water is super clean, there should be little consumption of the filter’s efficiency for future field use and if the water does retain/contain biological and/or chemical contaminants, the filter should eliminate those to provide potable (drinkable) water.

Pete

Keep in mind the residual (for moderate and long term storage) biocidal effects of added chlorine will be dependant upon the availability of “free” chlorine and the bio-load (the concentration of organisms to be killed). Water, might contain large amounts of organic compounds (think of well water near farming operations), which may bind/tie up the “free” chlorine as chlorinated hydrocarbons (not real good for the body over time). If you are planning on storing and treating large amounts of water with chlorine, it might be wise to have the water tested for organic and chemical load/contamination or in a pinch, at least obtain a water test kit from an aquarium store and test the water yourself.

Pete

Wildcard, I should have been more specific. It wasn't the flat taste of the water, it was the strong taste of the plastic.

Sue

If distilled water is in an airtight container, it will (hypothetically) be good indefinitely. The hypothetical part comes in with maintaining a proper seal, just not possible in a plastic container (at least as far as I know). The water will lose oxygen content, and go "flat" but the odd taste doesn't effect the drinkability at all. Water can be kept in plastic bottles indefinitely by treating it bi-annually with chlorine (plain, not scented), six drops per gallon, or two drops per liter/quart, as long as it doesn't evaporate, it will remain drinkable longer than you'll live.

That's the hitch... I just noticed you're posting from Germany...sorry about making the assumption, distilled water on this side of the pond is clear to drink.

Troy

P.S. I guess my ugly American was showing, some of us tend to forget that things get different when you leave the States, sorry again <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Distilled water is distilled water. That means that it is pure H2O, maybe with some air bubbles dissolved in it. I don't care were in the world you are, if it is anything else, it isn't distilled water.

And FYI, my local stores have "spring", "bottled", and "distilled" water on the shelf for human consumption. I drink them all pretty regualrly, becuase they are the same prive and on the same shelf. If you use a desert still/asperation bag, you are getting distilled water. It is safe to drink.

Good point, thanks Pete.

Troy

Powered gatoraide or flavored drink mixes help, and take little room. Even tea helps.

No, it was clear and very helpful.

Thanks, Vince

I treat my emergency water supplies at my home with chlorine. I do that because with 55 gallons of stored water it is worth the effort. But I'm trying to weasel out of doing that with the two gallons I keep in my truck. It's easier just to continue to buy two new gallons and rotate them. I'm just trying to lengthen the interval between switches. If distilled will get me an extra year over bottled without having to mess with it in any way I'll be happy. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Regards, Vince

No need to be sorry. Seems like we both learned something. That´s an advantage of an international audience. As far as the supply in the USA is concerned I stand corrected.

Just curious, where abouts in Germany? When I was in High School, I took an AFS trip to Munich, Salzburg, and Vienna... loved it, would like to come back again some day, you folks know how to live, I had some of the best times of my life.

Troy

I live in the area of Erlangen and Nuremburg. We had a lot of US miltary in the vicinity. I met some of the folks. They had a considerable impact on my attitude towards American people. Most of them were great people.