Water is an essential source of livelihood. In the absence of it, there won’t be life on earth. Earth is also mostly covered with water, but most of it is not drinkable. Water can be found in liquid, solid, and gas. No human can survive without it for more than 2 or 3 days maximum. Well, it is clear that water is important, but not many know water comes in types, or there are varieties of water available in the surrounding. For example, Distilled and Tap Water can be consumed and easily available, but despite that, as the name suggests, both of them are different.
Distilled vs Tap Water
The main difference between Distilled and Tap Water is that Distilled water does not have minerals or any other chemical impurities, whereas tap water comes without purification from the tap and has some ions along with the impurities. Both of them are produced in different methods. Distilled water is produced by the process by machines and humans, whereas tap water is a more natural process. Except for these, they differ in terms of composition and uses.
The water that goes through the process of distillation with the help of water purified chemicals such as chlorine is called distilled water. It is water with pH 7, meaning it is neither acidic nor base in nature. Due to this property, it is mainly used in laboratories and by doctors for keeping chemicals and tools safe, respectively.
Tap water is the normal water that we receive through the tap from several water bodies. They are used for several house chores but mainly for drinking due to all its benefits. They are used for cleaning utensils, house furniture, clothes, etc. it is said to be the most convenient and useful type of water.
Comparison Table Between Distilled and Tap Water
| Parameters of Comparison | Distilled Water | Tap Water |
| Impurities | It does not have any impurities | May or may not have impurities |
| Composition | Chlorine (sometimes) | Only some ions |
| Drinking | Not good | Good for drinking |
| Production | Distilled tap water | Collection of water from several sources. |
| Uses | Laboratory purposes | Daily in household chores. |
What is Distilled Water?
Distilled water can be used for the following purposes:
- Staying Hydrated: while most people say drinking distilled water is not good for health as it lacks minerals and other important nutritional value, but some people think despite that, it may be a good source of staying hydrated.
- Sterile medical uses: under these uses, it can also be used for more than a single purpose, as it is distilled and lack any impurities it is used for sterling medical pieces of equipment and making sure it does not cause infections, to clean wounds, by dentists for tooth extraction, etc.
- Laboratory experiments: to make sure the contaminants do not taint the experiment result, distilled water is used as it is pure and does not react with chemicals making sure the results remain as it is.
- Humidifiers functions: it makes sure the humidifiers are working properly and also lead to an increase in their life. Normal water due to chemicals can lead to shorting the life of humidifiers.
- Automobile Care: if a tap or normal water is used in automotive care such as a car or other vehicles, it may lead to corrosion due to the presence of chemicals that can be easily avoided by replacing that water with distilled water; it serves the purpose and also does not cause corrosion or any other reaction.
What is Tap Water?
Tap water is the most used and easily available water. Following are the main uses and benefits of tap water:
- Healthier for drinking: it is believed that the healthiest water for consumption is tap water; it contained the entire required mineral and is filled with other nutrition’s that are requiring by the body. Therefore, the main use of tap water in the consumption.
- Taste: it is believed that the taste of distilled and purified water is slightly different from tap water, and more people prefer and like the taste of tap water as it is neutral, not salty or sweet.
- Convenience: just imagine drinking water getting from the tap then distilling it or purifying it. It causes lots of effort. But having tap water is so convenient nothing extra has to be done just drink the water directly from the tap. Therefore, it is said to be the most convenient source.
- Save money: purifying and distilling the water costs much more than compared to tap water. Therefore, it is also economical and easily affordable for anyone.
- Environment-friendly: purified and distilled water is sold in a bottle and also requires extra types of equipment that are not eco-friendly, for example, bottles made up of plastics. But tap water does not require these. It comes directly from the tap at the house.
Main Differences Between Distilled and Tap Water
- The first and most important difference between Distilled and Tap Water is that tap water has impurities making it less effective for some work, for example, for keeping the chemical safe as it will react with them due to the presence of minerals, whereas distilled water does not have any impurities making it the best choice for all the purposes.
- They have different compositions. Distilled water may have some chlorine present in it due to the distillation process, whereas tap water is consists of some ions only.
- Tap water is considered to be the best option for consumption due to its minerals and nutritional content, while distilled water is not a great choice for consumption in comparison.
- Both of them differ in terms of production, distilled water is produced with the process of distillation of the tap water, whereas tap water is the collected water from several water bodies such as rivers, ponds, lakes, etc. that follow through channels made by the government and finally comes in the house through taps.
- Both of them are used for their respective purposes, such as tap water is mainly used for consumption and daily household chores, whereas distilled water is used for professional work that includes experiments in the lab.
Conclusion
Therefore, every confusion between Distilled and Tap Water should be cleared. Water is not for luxurious life, but it is a necessity. Several functions inside the body will stop working in case of less water consumption. But nowadays water is being decreased in the environment; the reason behind this is increasing pollution and global warming, although the new generation is aware of all the consequences and measures to prevent this. People have started behaving responsibly towards it. But still, it is there, and it will be for a long time. Scientists are trying to find a more sustainable way of using ocean water for drinking and other purposes.
References
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2466/pr0.1965.17.1.191
- https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1957-05630-001