Why use distilled water?

[LBell123]

I'm gathering ingredients to make my first batch of soap this week and was wondering why some recipes say to use distilled water and some don't mention it. Is distilled water necessary? If so, why?

 

[BubbaBobba]

https://www.ultimateguidetosoap.com...water,soap, microbial contamination and more.

 

[DeeAnna]

Distilled water does not contain metallic ions that can react with soap which can cause the soap to become rancid over time. Tap water (aka spring water, bottled water, drinking water) can contain metallic ions that trigger rancidity.

Maybe you've heard of DOS (dreaded orange spots)? If so, that's rancidity. DOS is usually caused by tiny specks of contamination. This contamination can come from water, utensils, your hands, dust from the air, etc.

Some people say they can use tap water without any problems and if so, more power to them. But if you do end up with soap that turns rancid, you'll find that out a long time after the soap was made -- weeks to months later -- when the rancidity becomes obvious to your eyes and nose. By then you may have made many batches of soap, so then you may end up having to troubleshoot a DOS problem with many or all of those batches. Distilled water eliminates one potential source of metallic contamination.

 

[saintalchemist]

Distilled water does not contain metallic ions that can react with soap which can cause the soap to become rancid over time. Tap water (aka spring water, bottled water, drinking water) can contain metallic ions that trigger rancidity.

Maybe you've heard of DOS (dreaded orange spots)? If so, that's rancidity. DOS is usually caused by tiny specks of contamination. This contamination can come from water, utensils, your hands, dust from the air, etc.

Some people say they can use tap water without any problems and if so, more power to them. But if you do end up with soap that turns rancid, you'll find that out a long time after the soap was made -- weeks to months later -- when the rancidity becomes obvious to your eyes and nose. By then you may have made many batches of soap, so then you may end up having to troubleshoot a DOS problem with many or all of those batches. Distilled water eliminates one potential source of metallic contamination.

Would a high-quality carbon filtering work to remove metallic ions? I don't want to use water that has been sitting in plastic, due to leaching of xenoestrogens / endocrine disrupting chemicals.

 

[Kcryss]

Would a high-quality carbon filtering work to remove metallic ions? I don't want to use water that has been sitting in plastic, due to leaching of xenoestrogens / endocrine disrupting chemicals.

You could always distill your own water. Here's an article on how you can do it yourself.

 

[AliOop]

Since we go through a lot of DW between my husband's CPAP and my bath and body creations (soap, lotions, scrubs), I bought a distiller on Amazon that I love. It's stainless with a glass container and produces a gallon of DW in less than 4 hours.

 

[lsg]

Would a high-quality carbon filtering work to remove metallic ions? I don't want to use water that has been sitting in plastic, due to leaching of xenoestrogens / endocrine disrupting chemicals.

You water is delivered to your home through plastic pipes.

 

[DeeAnna]

Would a high-quality carbon filtering work to remove metallic ions?...

No. Carbon adsorption does not remove metal ions that cause rancidity. That is a common misunderstanding about how that type of filtration works. You need to use distilled or reverse osmosis to achieve that.

 

[saintalchemist]

You water is delivered to your home through plastic pipes.

Water bottles are made from either Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or Polycarbonate. Both are prone to leaching. Water

No. Carbon adsorption does not remove metal ions that cause rancidity. That is a common misunderstanding about how that type of filtration works. You need to use distilled or reverse osmosis to achieve that.

Thanks

You water is delivered to your home through plastic pipes.

Yeah, PVC pipes also leach know carcinogens. As we've moved away from copper and steel pipes for sake of cost savings, this is a good point. However it doesn't mean we should just give up. One can buy spring water in glass or still use a very good carbon filter, which will remove 99%+ of chemical toxins... My question was about metal Ions. But as DeeAnna is pointing out, we need R.O. or Distilled for that. My friend has a stainless steel water distillation machine, I may look into that.

No. Carbon adsorption does not remove metal ions that cause rancidity. That is a common misunderstanding about how that type of filtration works. You need to use distilled or reverse osmosis to achieve that.

Does adding vitamin E at a given percentage help prevent oxidation or make it worse?

You could always distill your own water. Here's an article on how you can do it yourself.

Fascinating method. Thanks. I found a stainless steel electric distiller into glass container for about hundred bucks on amazon here I might go this route...

 

[Kcryss]

Fascinating method. Thanks. I found a stainless steel electric distiller into glass container for about hundred bucks on amazon here I might go this route...

That sounds like the way to go without a doubt.

 

[MelissaG]

Have you seen some of the water that comes out of some peoples pipes? I live in the swamp. Our water is filtered by a water company but it comes from a spring under our area. You wouldn't believe the number of times a year we have DO NOT DRINK orders from the water companies. And worse, sometimes they don't even tell us. We don't even drink our water because of it. We buy and drink bottled water. It's an additional expense but it's better than getting sick. Even when I had my kitty, we gave her bottled water. So called clean water from the taps usually have fluoride and chlorine (our water smells very strongly of chlorine but that only works as long as there isn't a break in the line somewhere on a nearby street) added at the least in what are supposedly safe levels. Safe for you doesn't mean safe mixed with lye. There's a filter on my shower to try to clean our the extra chemicals and neutralize the chlorine so it doesn't irritate the skin.

At least you know that distilled water doesn't have additional chemicals, minerals, bacteria or animals in it that might react with the lye. Better safe than sorry.

 

[MomInWA]

We have a Berkey water filter that sits on the counter. I’ve wondered about using that water for soaping.

Great question, @LBell123 ! One I’ve been meaning to ask or look up myself.

 

[PaintyLiz]

I'm a new soaper, but I use Berkey water. I haven't had any problems. I am making soap for personal use

 

[jeanemarie]

Muddy Mint Soaps has a YouTube video showing how they master batch lye in large quantities using store bought ice. Their rational was that the ice is from filtered water and can be subbed for distilled.


Has anyone tried this?

 

[Zuleika]

Question about distilled water for CP soap. I usually buy DW from the supermarket that's labelled distilled water. Someone asked me why I don't use distilled water for cosmetic purposes.

Is there a difference? She was visibly surprised when I said I use supermarket DW and my soap turned out fine. Where do you guys get your DW if you purchase it?

 

[lsg]

I use a home water distiller.

 

[AliensrReal]

I buy it from the store.

 

[2lilboots]

Walmart or the dollar general store. Well water here causes DOS......ask me how I know. The worst part was that I freaking knew better. Had to discard several batches of soap due to ignoring what I knew

 

[DeeAnna]

There shouldn't be any meaningful difference between store-bought distilled water and distilled water made at home using a distillation unit. Get it where it's reasonable for you to get it. I buy mine at my local grocery store or Walmart.

 

[katili]

Muddy Mint Soaps has a YouTube video showing how they master batch lye in large quantities using store bought ice. Their rational was that the ice is from filtered water and can be subbed for distilled.


Has anyone tried this?

This is how I master batch my lye, no trouble yet but my oldest batches are only a few months old. I used distilled for the rest of my water when soaping.

Question about distilled water for CP soap. I usually buy DW from the supermarket that's labelled distilled water. Someone asked me why I don't use distilled water for cosmetic purposes.

Is there a difference? She was visibly surprised when I said I use supermarket DW and my soap turned out fine. Where do you guys get your DW if you purchase it?

I can’t imagine it really being different. Mine I’m sure is the same as what’s at the store, but I have a water delivery service so I get a 5gal jug delivered that lasts forever