Does Distilling Water Remove Fluoride?
Written by: Gene Fitzgerald // Last Updated: Aug 15, 2023
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Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral present in rocks, soil, and all kinds of water bodies. Some springs and groundwater may contain higher levels of fluoride, while others have lower concentrations.
But when scientists discovered that fluoride helps prevent tooth decay, many governments started adding it to their tap water supplies artificially. Unfortunately, studies have linked excessive overconsumption of fluoride to major health problems.
So if you are serious about improving your overall wellness, then you should consider taking this element out of your drinking water.
That said, there are a lot of people who want to know if the process of distillation can remove fluoride from water. Some people believe it is possible, while others think there is no chance.
In this short guide, we will explore whether or not water distillation can remove fluoride and what else you can do to get rid of fluoride for good.
Contents
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Key Takeaways
- Distillation can effectively remove fluoride from water.
- As a matter of fact, distillation is a superior purification method that gives you the purest form of water.
Does Distilling Water Remove Fluoride?
Yes, distillation can effectively remove fluoride from drinking water. In fact, distilled water is the cleanest and purest form of water that you can get, making distillation superior to all other methods of water purification.
In a nutshell, distilled water is almost pure H2O.
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Does Distilled Water Contain Fluoride?
Based on the above section, distilled water does not contain fluoride.
Should You Use a Distiller to Purify Your Drinking Water?
Before we move on to whether or not you should use a water distiller to purify your drinking water, it is important to understand how such a system works.
How Does a Water Distiller Work?
A water distiller is a nifty gadget that easily removes over 99% of all impurities from any water source.
It simply heats the water up to its boiling point. As the water boils, it evaporates into steam and rises out of the boiling chamber. As the condensate reaches the cooling coils, it turns back into water and collects in a separate chamber.
Apart from fluoride, distillation removes all kinds of harmful water contaminants like bacteria, lead, chromium 6, and arsenic, since they all have a boiling point much higher than water.
So, any element that has a boiling point of more than 212 °F (100 °C) stays in the kettle.
What’s best about water distillers is that they are extremely simple to use and maintain. All you need to do is fill them with water and plug them in. It takes approx 4-6 hours for a home water distiller to purify one gallon of water.
This may sound like a long time, but again, the resulting water is about as pure as it can get.
Pros
Here are a few reasons why you should think about investing in a water distiller for your home.
Pure and Safe Water
If pure and safe drinking water for your family is your number one concern and your water supply is facing multiple water problems, then water distillation could be your first choice for water treatment.
No Installation Required
Unlike most other water purifications systems, a water distiller requires no installation at all. No plumbing, no tubing that needs to be connected, nothing. Just plug your water distiller in a power source and fill up the chamber to enjoy pure water.
Easy to Use
Perhaps the best thing about water distillers is they are extremely easy to use. Neither do they require repeated filter changes, nor do you need to wrestle with repairs, sanitation, or maintenance.
Apart from occasional cleaning, a unit requires no effort from you.
Compact
Water distillers are not exactly as compact as filtering pitchers, but they don’t take up a lot of counter space either. Moreover, they are light enough so you can move them around if needed.
Affordable
Priced at around $300, water distillers are inexpensive compared to the insane value they provide.
Moreover, each gallon of distilled water costs you less than 40 cents (electricity cost), which is a hundred times cheaper than bottled water costing $8-$9 per gallon on average.
No Plastic Waste
Think about all the bottled water waste that you can save by using a water distiller at home.
No Wastewater
Unlike RO systems, a distillation process does not produce any wastewater. It’s highly resource-efficient.
Cons
So, are there any problems associated with water distillers? Unfortunately, yes.
Here are some concerns:
Slow
It takes around 4-6 hours to produce one gallon of distilled water. This means you will have to wait at least 4 hours before you can have a glass of water after the last batch is used up.
Of course, you can use two units simultaneously to avoid running into such an unfortunate situation. Or, use a container to store enough distilled water for later.
Lack of Minerals
The process of distillation also removes the good guys like calcium and magnesium from your water. If you don’t receive these minerals through your diet, your body will probably be in deficit and you might face health consequences in the long run.
The simple solution is to remineralize your distilled water to add back all essential minerals.
Further Reading:
Other Types of Water Filters That Remove Fluoride
Apart from water distillers, here are three residential water filters that can remove fluoride from drinking water.
Tip: Be sure to check for NSF certifications specifically for fluoride removal.
Reverse Osmosis
Reverse osmosis water filtration systems remove over 95% of fluoride. They work by pushing water through a semi-permeable membrane rated at 0.0001 micron. Since fluoride molecules are bigger than water molecules, they can’t pass through.
Activated Alumina
Activated alumina features dehydrated aluminum hydroxide that is highly porous with good contaminant adsorption capacities. Activated alumina filter media can easily bring down fluoride levels from 10 to 1 ppm.
With that said, the effectiveness of an AA filter largely depends on the quantity of alumina used as well as the temperature and pH level of the source water.
Bone Char Filtration Media
Bone Char, as the name suggests, is made by charring animal bones. It’s highly porous, black in color, and typically in granular form.
But don’t be deterred by the uninspiring name. Bone char is perhaps one of the most underrated filter media.
Apart from removing fluoride, it can eliminate radioactive particles, heavy metals, and THMs from water.
If you have any thoughts about the question, does distilling water remove fluoride, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below!
About the Author Gene Fitzgerald
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