Originally posted by FyreStorm:
If you distill water doesn't it actually turn to vapor and then back to water? If it does during distilling then I believe all impurities would be distilled out of the water.
Many chemicals have a lower boiling point than water, and will be carried over into the distillate. An an example, alcohol has a boiling point of about 175 degrees. If you were trying to get pure water or pure alcohol, you would have to distill the alcohol out first, then distill the water into a separate container.
If you are trying to remove chlorine or fluoride from the water (or pesticide residue or other contaminants), you have to monitor the temperature closely as you run the distillation.
Onward and upward,
airforce
