Question for UK soapers - water question

[DMack]

Hi all and any uk soapers, much appreciate you taking the time to read this.

I’ve DOS on 3 different fragrance soaps, otherwise using same recipe , therefore i think it’s the water or rather the metals etc within. I’m asking UK based purely for local language reasons as I know the same thing often has multiple names.
Is de-ionised water you buy in, say Halfords for your car battery the same as distilled water? And if not where do you purchase your distilled water from? Really grateful for any replies

thank you

 

[TheGecko]

Not in the UK, but Deionized Water is not the same as Distilled Water. DI has been treated to remove all ions...aka dissolved miner salts. DW has been boiled until it is steam and then the steam in re-condensed leaving the impurities (ions, minerals, heavy metals and organic matter) behind. It's the heavy metals in water that causes problems.

Doing some research...finding DW in the UK is really problematic, but I found a couple of places, but man...it's really expensive!!! We pay less than a dollar (80 cents at WalMart) a gallon (3.78 liters) in the US.

So I did some further research on non-commercial water filters. The Brita Longlast Pitcher Filter will remove Lead, Mercury and Cadmium, but not Copper and Zinc. The Standard Pitcher Filter will remove Mercury, Cadmium, Copper and Zinc, but not Lead. Pur Lead Reducing Pitcher Filter removes all five and ZeroWater Pitcher Filter says it removes 97%-99% of those minerals and they have a UK website.

So...you could try a pitcher filter and then make a small batch of soap and see if it works for you.

 

[SeaSuds]

I use de-ionised with no issues. Some people also use bottled spring water

 

[earlene]

Previous discussion on this topic: Distilled water

De-ionized water is sold at Tesco.
£ 1.50
£0.60/litre

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-...pshotimagehandler_2047432389.jpeg?h=540&w=540
Same price at ASDA (owned by Walmart)

https://groceries.asda.com/product/car-maintenance/car-plan-de-ionised-water/479358

 

[DMack]

Thank you so much guys much appreciated

 

[AliOop]

You can also try buying a water distilling machine. In the US, we can buy them on Amazon for $50-$75. Not sure if the UK cost would be as reasonable.

 

[RyloKen]

I just use tap water, but I love in a soft water area and I've had no problems, if that helps. I usually run the child two until it's cold so there's no hot left in the tap.

 

[SeaSuds]

I just use tap water, but I love in a soft water area and I've had no problems, if that helps. I usually run the child two until it's cold so there's no hot left in the tap.

That's interesting, are any of your soaps older than three or four months @RyloKen? I'm in Scotland too and originally used tap water but those soaps developed DOS after a few months. Unfortunately soft water can still have metal particles. I haven't had any issues since switching to de-ionised water and that's been a couple of years now

 

[RyloKen]

That's interesting, are any of your soaps older than three or four months @RyloKen? I'm in Scotland too and originally used tap water but those soaps developed DOS after a few months. Unfortunately soft water can still have metal particles. I haven't had any issues since switching to de-ionised water and that's been a couple of years now

Yes, I've a few that are over a year. Been soaping for years. I've never had DOS, touch wood.

 

[melonpan]

This is an interesting thread for me as I also live in UK.
I've been using filtered water purely for convenience, and that seems to work for me, but all my soaps get used withing 3-4 months usually as I soap in small batches.
I just had one case of DOS with one of my oldest soap, and I'm now wondering if it was due to using filtered water.

 

[SeaSuds]

I just had one case of DOS with one of my oldest soap, and I'm now wondering if it was due to using filtered water.

There's good advice on this forum to keep a bar or two from each batch to test over a period of at least a year to see how they fare for DOS, especially if you plan to sell in the future as then you can be absolutely confident that you have a long lasting product. There's also quite a few good threads on here about other factors that can cause DOS if you have time for a scoot around

 

[nframe]

I'm in Greater London and use mineral water from the supermarket. The big 2 litre bottles are quite cheap (under £1).

 

[DMack]

I'm in Greater London and use mineral water from the supermarket. The big 2 litre bottles are quite cheap (under £1).

You‘ve never had DOS?

 

[nframe]

You‘ve never had DOS?

I have had DOS sometimes but very rarely. I think it depends on the recipe rather than on the water.