New Member Tonya Brown

[TonyaBrown77]

Im New to this group and also new to soap making. i have a question.
distilled water is hard to find, so can i use purified water instead? thx in advance everyone

 

[LynetteO]

@TonyaBrown77 Welcome to SMF!
I found this old thread where someone else asked that question as well. Good news is th e answer is YES. Purified water can be subbed for distilled water. So can Aloe Vera juice & more.
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/distilled-water-or-purified-water.28821/

 

[TonyaBrown77]

@TonyaBrown77 Welcome to SMF!
I found this old thread where someone else asked that question as well. Good news is th e answer is YES. Purified water can be subbed for distilled water. So can Aloe Vera juice & more.
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/distilled-water-or-purified-water.28821/

thx so much cuz i been going crazy trying to find the answer to this

 

[Babyshoes]

Hi and welcome!

I use deionised water, as distilled water is also hard to find here in the UK. That might be another option for you.

 

[DeeAnna]

I recommend purchasing water that's clearly labeled as having been treated with reverse osmosis, deionization, or distillation process. The gold standard is distillation, but RO and DI water are acceptable too.

If the label says just "purified" with no other info, you don't know if it's had the dissolved minerals removed. It might just be drinking water run through an activated carbon filter, which purifies the water for drinking purposes, but doesn't remove minerals.

So read the label and see how it's been purified -- if it doesn't specifically say the water has been treated with a deionization (DI), reverse osmosis (RO), or distillation system, it's probably still got dissolved minerals in it.

Minerals are good if you're using the water for drinking, but not good if you're using the water for soap, lotions, etc.

 

[TheGecko]

Im New to this group and also new to soap making. i have a question. distilled water is hard to find, so can i use purified water instead? thx in advance everyone

If you're having problems finding DW in the grocery stores, check with some of the 'water stores'. There used to be one off 32nd Street & Bell that I used to get my water from but I'm not seeing it on the map.

 

[AliOop]

Welcome, Tonya! Our local Walmart seems to run out of distilled water quite regularly. But if I go to the baby section, I often find a gallon or two, tucked away by the bottles and powdered formula. It's the same stuff, for the same price; it just has a cute baby on the front label.

I've also used AVJ and plain white vinegar for water. The AVJ is a one-to-one sub for distilled water, but it's pricey. The vinegar is much cheaper, but it requires some extra calculations to adjust the amount of lye. The SoapmakingFriend calculator will do that for you, if you do all of the following:

1. Under Custom Additives, select Vinegar (commercial 5%)
2. Mark Yes to Liquid Discount? - which is under the spot where vinegar is now listed
3. Tinker with the amount of vinegar you are adding (still under Custom Additives) until you see that the amount of additional water needed (under Results) is as close to zero as you are able to get it. This will depend on your batch size, etc. Also, note that this doesn't work if you are using master-batched lye solution. Then you have to do the math on your own, which is explained here: Acetic acid (Vinegar) | Soapy Stuff


It's a bit of a fiddly process in the calculator, but vinegar does help your soap to unmold more quickly, and adds a nice lather feel, IMO.

Good luck, and welcome to SMF!

 

[SavonP]

Hi and welcome!

I use deionised water, as distilled water is also hard to find here in the UK. That might be another option for you.

You can get distilled water on Amazon

 

[Babyshoes]

You can get distilled water on Amazon

Yes that's true, but has it's own issues. For starters it requires forward planning (unless you have prime and can get next day delivery) rather than just grabbing it from the supermarket where I'll be at least once a week. It also seems generally more expensive, having had a quick browse. Deionised water works just fine for me!

 

[DMack]

Yes that's true, but has it's own issues. For starters it requires forward planning (unless you have prime and can get next day delivery) rather than just grabbing it from the supermarket where I'll be at least once a week. It also seems generally more expensive, having had a quick browse. Deionised water works just fine for me!

Ditto @Babyshoes De ionised water from Tesco is less than a quarter of the price of distilled water on Amazon. Also had no problems using it either

 

[gww]

Our local walmart has almost always has distilled water for .88 cents per gal. I do not know if this is a good price or bad price. I do know I have bought tons of it due to a battery for a solar system and now soap.
Cheers
gww

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I don't recommend this for everybody, depends on where you live, but I use cold tap water. In the past, I used potato water, rice water, pasta water, rain water and fresh snow water.

 

[DMack]

I don't recommend this for everybody, depends on where you live, but I use cold tap water. In the past, I used potato water, rice water, pasta water, rain water and fresh snow water.

I’m coastal. could I use sea water?

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I’m coastal. could I use sea water?

Many members use it to make Zany's No Slime Castile that uses Faux Sea Water.
So, yes, as long as you understand that sea water adds hardness to your soap and may fade natural colorants. Not sure about how it affects fragrance. Use the magnifying glass on the upper right corner to search thread titles, "sea water".

 

[DMack]

Many members use it to make Zany's No Slime Castile that uses Faux Sea Water.
So, yes, as long as you understand that sea water adds hardness to your soap and may fade natural colorants. Not sure about how it affects fragrance. Use the magnifying glass on the upper right corner to search thread titles, "sea water".

Many members use it to make Zany's No Slime Castile that uses Faux Sea Water.
So, yes, as long as you understand that sea water adds hardness to your soap and may fade natural colorants. Not sure about how it affects fragrance. Use the magnifying glass on the upper right corner to search thread titles, "sea water".

I was going to try it to make your recipe! I’ve had the page with the recipe open for ages
Thanks for the reply

 

[Sharon Patterson]

Im New to this group and also new to soap making. i have a question.
distilled water is hard to find, so can i use purified water instead? thx in advance everyone

Amazon carries an affordable distiller. I purchased one. It makes about a gallon of water at a time. It's not super fast, takes about four hours to distill the water but you can always have water when you need it.

 

[lianasouza]

Where I live drugstores and medical supplies stores sell distilled water at reasonable prices

 

[Basil]

I don't recommend this for everybody, depends on where you live, but I use cold tap water. In the past, I used potato water, rice water, pasta water, rain water and fresh snow water.

We had snow this week and I’ve been collecting it to use for the lye solution. No, I’m not replacing it for the goat milk but maybe do 50/50. So, I thought maybe I’d look here to see who else has tried it and of course
@Zany_in_CO pops up!
I’m going outside to collect my third bucket. What I don’t master batch , I’ll freeze into ice cubes and add to the goat milk cubes already in the freezer . I’m soooooo excited!! Is this hijacking a thread?? I hope not! If so I apologize!!

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

Hello and Welcome @TonyaBrown77.

 

[lsg]

Welcome to the forum. You can buy a water distiller from Amazon.com. They are not all that expensive, considering the savings on distilled water.