How to Make Distilled Water-Steam Method
Do you use distilled water or tap water when you make your own bath and beauty or cleaning products?
Did you know that using distilled water will help your homemade products last longer?
Also, it will keep lotions from going rancid in a short period of time.
Honestly, if you’re going through all that effort, it makes sense that you’d want to make your products last as long as possible.
Hard Water Fact:
It is a sad fact that the majority of homes here in the United States have hard water. If your home is one of them, you know what a pain it is. However, you can rest easy knowing that there is no health risk associated with hard water. But it certainly isn’t the best tasting stuff either.
As a result, some people use chemicals to soften their hard water. Others prefer to buy bottled or distilled water for use in drinking and cooking.
Good news! There is a way to work around hard water and that is by making your own distilled water. (Bonus: This is also the same process you would use if you wanted to make a hydrosol)
Here’s what you’ll need:
1. Stainless steel stock pot (or water bath canner) and a lid. Most importantly, the pot needs to be fairly tall.
2. A trivet, small brick or similar item to fit inside the pot. This item will act as a “platform” for the drip catcher. Ideally, the goal is to keep the drip catcher above the water. You could also use the canning rack from a water bath canner.
3. A heat resistant bowl; glass is best. Make sure the glass is not sitting on the bottom of the pan or it might crack and break. Hence, the need for a platform.
4. Lots of ice.
5. If making hydrosol, you’ll also need lots of herb or plant material.
The Process:
1. Place the pan on the stove with the trivet, brick, flat rock or whatever inside. (Here, I used an inverted burner cover) This will be the platform for your drip catcher.
2. Place the bowl/drip catcher on top of your platform. (I used my largest glass measuring cup) If making a hydrosol, this is when you’ll also add all your herb/plant material.
3. Next, add enough water to cover the platform but not the bowl/drip catcher. I usually fill my pan about 1/3 of the way. If you’re using a water bath canner and rack, you may be able to fill it a little fuller.
4. Bring the water to a simmer or low boil and keep it there. Place the lid on the pan upside down, so the handle is inside the pan.
5. Last, place a baggie filled with ice on top of the inverted lid. My lid had a steam hole so I made sure the bag of ice covered it. Some people don’t bag their ice and prefer to put it directly on the lid. I don’t like the idea of having to carry that hot lid to the sink to dump the melted ice. Bagging makes sense to me but it’s really a matter of preference.
Now…wait.
Condensation will gather on the lid, drip off the lid handle and into the bowl/drip catcher. Replace the melted ice as needed. (Easier to do if its bagged) When needed, empty the bowl/drip catcher into a clean container and repeat until you have the amount of distilled water you need.
Additionally, if you’re making a hydrosol, make sure that your storage container (preferably glass) is clean and dry. Any moisture in your container could spoil your hydrosol.
For me, it took about an hour to accumulate a little over one cup of distilled water. Results may be different for you.
My two cents worth:
I’ve seen videos where people “float” their glass bowl on the water instead of using a platform. I prefer not to do this for two reasons:
1) I don’t want the boiling water to splash into my bowl. At that point, I would consider my distilled water or hydrosol to be “contaminated”.
2) If I’m not paying attention and the water in the pan boils out, the glass bowl descends to the bottom of the pan and can break.
I’ve also seen where regular cooking pans (with teflon) have been used in place of the stainless steel. I haven’t researched enough to know if this might be a health hazard as far as using the resulting distilled water for consumption. So…be your own judge.
One final thought:
I also would not use a teflon pan in making hydrosols but that is just my personal preference. In my mind, I don’t believe I would be getting a pure hydrosol if teflon were involved. But I am not a professional distiller so take this opinion as just that…an opinion.
In summary, this method is great is you just need a small amount to use today. On the other hand, the boiling method will give you a larger amount…but you have to wait 12 hours or more for it.
Either method seems a fair trade off for not having to buy bottled water. And if saving money and keeping plastic bottles and jugs out of landfills is important to you, what other reason do you really need?
Happy distilling,
lisa
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