Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Where can I buy distilled water in the UK?

fff - 24-2-2019 at 14:41

Hi all,
I need some distilled water. I only want OTC sources and I've searched local stores like Tesco, Lidl, Home Bargain, poundworld/land etc, but none of them have distilled water. Are there any places I missed?

[Edited on 25-2-2019 by fff]

VSEPR_VOID - 24-2-2019 at 15:01

do you have a loiscence for distilled water m8?

DavidJR - 24-2-2019 at 15:51

It's just not really a thing that's available here. I used to use a benchtop water distiller from ebay but that developed a leak. So I replaced it with a reverse osmosis/deionization system from eBay (£60 or so) which works very well and doesn't use a ridiculous amount of energy like distilling water does.

j_sum1 - 24-2-2019 at 15:56

Quote: Originally posted by VSEPR_VOID  
do you have a loiscence for distilled water m8?

What is with this, VSEPR? And here?
Please don't do this again.
[/modding]

DavidJR - 24-2-2019 at 16:02

He's making a joke about how the UK government likes to come up with ridiculous licencing requirements for stuff.

Ubya - 25-2-2019 at 03:23

well wow i did not expect distilled water to be hard to find, what do you use in england to iron your clothes? tap water?

DrP - 25-2-2019 at 03:30

Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1  
Quote: Originally posted by VSEPR_VOID  
do you have a loiscence for distilled water m8?

What is with this, VSEPR? And here?
Please don't do this again.
[/modding]


Are you sure you understood him? It's a joke yea? I thought it was quite funny - although I see both sides of the argument over chemical restrictions.

j_sum1 - 25-2-2019 at 03:45

Sorry if I overreacted.
I got it but didn't think it funny. And I didn't think it added anything to the conversation. Seeing the same thing on two threads, I figured was enough.

... Back on topic

DavidJR - 25-2-2019 at 04:36

I got pretty far using just tap water, but I live in an area with exceptionally soft water - TDS of around 50ppm according to my cheapo eBay TDS meter. Distilled water and water from my RO/DI system both read 0ppm on the same meter. I use the water from the RO/DI system for just about all lab purposes nowadays because I have an essentially unlimited supply. I also use it as the feed water for my type 1 ultrapure water system, which I need for HPLC mobile phase preparation.

Herr Haber - 25-2-2019 at 04:37

Quote: Originally posted by Ubya  
well wow i did not expect distilled water to be hard to find, what do you use in england to iron your clothes? tap water?


My thoughts exactly.
APC Pure sells distilled water.
The clouds are a good source too.

Other than than I think the OP is a troll.

12thealchemist - 25-2-2019 at 06:10

Quote: Originally posted by fff  
Hi all,
I need some distilled water. I've searched local stores like Tesco, Lidl, Home Bargain, poundworld/land etc, but none of them have distilled water. Are there any places I missed?


Quick question: Have you looked for distilled water, or ironing water? I suspect (given other replies in the thread and a little sense) that so-called "ironing water" is distilled/deionised water. It may be usually sold scented, but it may be available somewhere unscented.
And I don't think OP is a troll, I've not seen it readily available.

[Edited on 25-2-2019 by 12thealchemist]

fff - 25-2-2019 at 06:57

Sorry, missed an important point: I want OTC sources, not online sources, so now the original post is edited.

[Edited on 25-2-2019 by fff]

Morgan - 25-2-2019 at 07:50

Wonder why distilled water is so rare when in the U.S. it's everywhere? You'd think the need or desire would be the same.


Distilled water in London - London Forum

"There was a previous discussion on where to get distilled water in London, but it is closed and the advice given there is incorrect. I just returned from London and needed the water for my CPAP machine. Boots Chemists do not carry distilled water. At first they said they could order some for me but it would take two days. However, when I actually ordered it, they found it was not available through their wholesaler and I never found any at any chemist who carried it or found one of could order it for me. I tried supermarkets like Tesco, who had distilled water for ironing that was scented in Lavender, hardly suitable for breathing. I was referred to a home supply store like our Home Depot. They had ionized water for automobile batteries, etc., they that is not de-mineralized. I went without for 10 days and made it because London was so high in humidity. As nearly as I could determine you have to get it from suppliers who deliver it to your home. That seems to be the only way to get it. I could never get through to the ones I found in the Yellow Pages. If you need it, I would not leave home without being certain you could get it. London is not friendly in terms of distilled water."
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g186338-i17-k6697401-o...

Tsjerk - 25-2-2019 at 08:02

Usually water sold as dH2O is demineralized, not distilled water. It works just as fine but demi-water is way cheaper to make.

[Edited on 25-2-2019 by Tsjerk]

Herr Haber - 25-2-2019 at 08:26

Meh...
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/272512807

It's not distilled water but de-ionised water. Is there a specific reason you were looking for distilled water? Because well... for home chemistry they are essentially the same.


It all reminds me of this kid, yelling on a forum how stupid pharmacy clerks were for not knowing about "epsom salts". Well, had he asked for magnesium sulphate...
The situation feels similar.

fff - 25-2-2019 at 09:25

Quote: Originally posted by Herr Haber  
Meh...
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/272512807

It's not distilled water but de-ionised water. Is there a specific reason you were looking for distilled water? Because well... for home chemistry they are essentially the same.
No, no specific reasons, just thought distilled should be more common as a general consumer product.

Tsjerk - 25-2-2019 at 09:30

I'm not saying average hardware stores and supermarkets do sell demi-water in the UK, because I just don't know. I only know in the Netherlands it is sold as "dH20" about anywhere. I guess if it was sold like that you would have noticed.

But it shouldn't be a problem because this was the first hit on Google when googling for "de-mineralized water UK".

If you don't like people delivering things like dH20 at your place I think you might have a problem though.

DrP - 26-2-2019 at 06:22

I thought you could buy it for car batteries.

Should be simple to make with a still though.

Morgan - 26-2-2019 at 06:41

Maybe of interest/tidbits ...
https://www.uswatersystems.com/deionized-water-vs-distilled-...

nezza - 26-2-2019 at 08:13

Halfords or other Garages sell battery top up water. It is deionised rather than distilled, but nearly all "distilled" water is these days. It dissolves silver nitrate and such without giving any cloudiness.

Mr. Rogers - 26-2-2019 at 10:35

Is this for real? You can get this in a grocery store by the bottled water.