Water: Distilled or Tap?

[BetterSense]

I think there might be a legal loophole problem over here, the same laws that govern distilling alcohol mean that stills have to be licenced, even for water. Don't know if that is the full story but it might have something to do with it?

Sounds like something is fishy. It's true that distilling water is a very energy-inefficient way to purify it. But no way should it be that expensive. It's about a buck a gallon here in TX, for distilled water, available anywhere even gas stations.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I think there might be a legal loophole problem over here, the same laws that govern distilling alcohol mean that stills have to be licenced, even for water. Don't know if that is the full story but it might have something to do with it?

Not this side of the pond.

Steve

 

[maciekz]

Under $1?!!!

Last time I tried to get some from a pharmacist they told me it would be special order, would take a week or more and they quoted £7.50, that is about $12 a gallon!

[...]

If I could get distilled at $1 a gallon I'd use a lot more of it

You could try to get an reverse osmosis filter, found commonly in aquarium shops, which gives almost pure water and is quite cheap. While it is different from traditional destilation, this process is now in use in most big distilled water users, as it only needs more water, but no extra energy (or a small bit if you want extra performance).

 

[Bruce Watson]

My Dentist ask me if I drink bottled water, I said yes, he gave me a prescription toothpaste and said if I drank tap water I wouldn't need it. I have always found the tap water great here, I use distilled water for some things but tap for most. I live in Northwest Washington like Ken.

Curt

For bottled water you might consider Aquafina. That's *my* municipal tap water -- Pepsi Co. takes water from the City of Raleigh's E.M. Johnson Water Treatment Plant, puts in into little plastic bottles, and charges an absolute fortune for it. Fluoridated and all. I like the claim that they remove chlorides -- the City of Raleigh uses an ammonia based disinfection system -- the water is nearly chloride free to start with. :rolleyes:

That said, it's really good water. Not much in the way of dissolved minerals. Very low organics. And it tastes just like Aquafina

So what do I use for B&W film processing? Steam distilled water I get from the local grocery store. Why? I found that using steam distilled water for everything (mixing, diluting, all washes, all cleanup (yes, cleanup)) cut my spotting by about 30%. Using all my chems as one shot (yes, all, including fixer) was another big improvement. As was cleaning the ceiling (!) and walls in the darkroom every six months or so.

If you hate spotting, steam distilled water is a small price to pay.

 

[BlueWind]

I've used the water that comes out of air conditioners and the water collected by de-humidifiers. It needs to be filtered, however, as some visible residue comes together with the water. But most of the times I use demineralized water for diluting chemicals and final rinse, otherwise tapwater does the job.
Regards
Joao

 

[Photo Engineer]

Water from dehumidifiers and air conditioners carry spores that pass through filters. If they embed in film, they can cause mold or fungus to grow on film in the gelatin and can cause deterioration.

PE

 

[DLawson]

Under $1?!!!

Checked tonight while getting dinner stuff. Store brand (Kroger) 1 gallon jugs are $0.99 and name brand jugs are $1.09. I seem to recall that the other supermarket that is farther from my house is cheaper.

Last time I tried to get some from a pharmacist they told me it would be special order, would take a week or more and they quoted £7.50, that is about $12 a gallon!

I think there might be a legal loophole problem over here, the same laws that govern distilling alcohol mean that stills have to be licenced, even for water. Don't know if that is the full story but it might have something to do with it?

If I could get distilled at $1 a gallon I'd use a lot more of it

And if I were paying $12/gallon, I probably wouldn't use any.

 

[removed account4]

i use tap water, and it doesn't bother me or my chemistry
UNLESS i use TF-4 fixer
then it stinks like ammonia
so i use sprint rapid fix instead ...

 

[Dave Pritchard]

For bottled water you might consider Aquafina. That's *my* municipal tap water -- Pepsi Co. takes water from the City of Raleigh's E.M. Johnson Water Treatment Plant, puts in into little plastic bottles, and charges an absolute fortune for it.
...

You should know you are lucky to have such water. I know about the fight over Jordan Lake. It is a great thing to have tap water of this quality.

 

[BetterSense]

I agree. "Tap water" doesn't really mean anything...which tap?

I typically buy drinking water, but when I lived in Montana, I stopped buying it, because the tap water was perfectly fine quality. Now that I'm in Dallas, I buy water again. I would have no problem if it turned out the water I was buying came from the tap in Montana. Good water is good water.

 

[Anscojohn]

Water from dehumidifiers and air conditioners carry spores that pass through filters. If they embed in film, they can cause mold or fungus to grow on film in the gelatin and can cause deterioration.

PE

**********
I used water I save each summer from the runnoff of my central AC. Did it for years with no (apparent) problems. Ever since you mentioned this, I now boil the water rapidly for five minutes before filtering it and using it. I may be a darkroom dinosaur, but I learned long ago to take the advice of experts.

 

[Dave in Kansas]

I was planning to buy a couple gallons of distilled water at the local grocery stores, until I read the fine print on the "Distilled Water" label. It said something like it contained distilled water, filtered water and water procesed by reverse osmosis. I couldn't find any that were pure distilled. It didn't list the percentages, so maybe only a small percentage was actually distilled.

Instead, there is a "fill your own jug" type place close to my house that sells filtered and RO water for 25 cents a gallon so I use that mixing chemicals. Plain tap water for everything else.

Dave

 

[DLawson]

I was planning to buy a couple gallons of distilled water at the local grocery stores, until I read the fine print on the "Distilled Water" label. It said something like it contained distilled water, filtered water and water procesed by reverse osmosis. I couldn't find any that were pure distilled. It didn't list the percentages, so maybe only a small percentage was actually distilled.

Mine doesn't give that much detail. I suspect this is not a regulated product in (at least most of) the US. I assume that this isn't lab grade.

Instead, there is a "fill your own jug" type place close to my house that sells filtered and RO water for 25 cents a gallon so I use that mixing chemicals. Plain tap water for everything else.
Dave

I miss water stores. I dealt with a couple in San Jose, where even I (a water junkie) wouldn't drink the tap water. No clue how they stayed in business, since it's been $0.25/gallon for at least a decade. I was just glad that they did.

 

[k_jupiter]

Mine doesn't give that much detail. I suspect this is not a regulated product in (at least most of) the US. I assume that this isn't lab grade.



I miss water stores. I dealt with a couple in San Jose, where even I (a water junkie) wouldn't drink the tap water. No clue how they stayed in business, since it's been $0.25/gallon for at least a decade. I was just glad that they did.

They are still in business, I use the one down near Camden. It's reverse osmosis, just a better filter system, and cost 50 cents a gallon these days, bring your own jug. I have a couple of five gallon jugs, they last a good long time if you don't do your rinse in it. I do the final rinse in the distilled water.

As far as SJ water, it's hard as hell, tons of calcium, and I drink it from the tap. Tastes good to me.

tim in san jose

 

[Tony-S]

OK, thanks for the replies. Looks like the correct answer is "it depends." At any rate, I went with tap for all but the Photo Flow 200, which was done with RO water. No streaks, but it looks like my MAT-124G has a bit of light leak on its edges. Bummer.

 

[ajuk]

I tend to use filtered water.