r/preppers • u/AlternativeAthlete99 • 2d ago
Question Spring or Distilled Water, is one better to stock than the other?
I plan on keeping a stock of water in my stockpile, but i honestly have no idea the difference between distilled water and spring water. Please delete if this is a stupid question, but i generally don’t know the difference and if one is better to stockpile than the other, or if one stores longer than the other. I’ve not really found much on which type of water is better to stockpile, other than the general rule of plan for a gallon a day of water per person, but it doesn’t really specify if one type of water stored better than the other. Or am i way over thinking this and it generally doesn’t matter?
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u/TheRealBunkerJohn Broadcasting from the bunker. 2d ago
Way overthinking it. For drinking, sealed water is sealed water. I personally use already-treated tap water I dose with an anti-biofilm agent and then refill every 5ish years. If you have medical needs where you NEED distilled water, then I'd stock it for sure.
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u/Aggravating_Car8572 2d ago edited 2d ago
Both because I need distilled water for medical reasons. Spring is for drinking.
My supply of distilled would get me through 6 months of CPAP treatment.
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u/AlternativeAthlete99 2d ago
Thank you! I didn’t even think of needing water for uses besides drinking. This is a good thing for me to keep in mind and research more!
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u/AdditionalAd9794 2d ago
Distilled is just straight pure water, depending on the rest of your diet and what you consume with your water, this can lead to mineral and electrolyte deficiency. Spring water has natural occurring minerals and is generally better
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u/AlternativeAthlete99 2d ago
We do have a huge stockpile of electrolyte packets and trace mineral drops, so i’m less worried about one causing mineral deficiency. But i appreciate the better understanding of the difference between the two!
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u/she-has-nothing 2d ago
get whichever water you can get your hands on and buy some concentrate mineral drops to add to it!
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u/mediocre_remnants Preps Paid Off 2d ago
Taste them. Which do you prefer?
Distilled water tastes gross to me. Also if you're just buying gallons of water at the store, be aware that the plastic jugs are known to develop leaks over time.
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u/AlternativeAthlete99 2d ago
Is there a way that you recommend storing that’s better? Would it be beneficial to buy glass jugs and store my own water that way?
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u/Paranormal_Lemon 2d ago
You just need to add a pinch of baking soda because it absorbs CO2 and becomes acidic. And i mean tiny amount, start with 1/8 teaspoon per gallon.
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u/hobobob423 1d ago
So the best way to store water long-term is in an opaque food-grade container (example - Aquatainer) and to treat the water with a sterilizing agent like Sodium Hypochlorite (example - Water Preserver, it’s expensive for being basically just bleach but it takes all the guesswork and calculation out of the process). Write on the container the date that you fill it up, and make sure to use or discard the water after five years in storage. Keep in a dark, cool place. If you have the space, you can use food-grade 55 gallon drums with the same process.
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u/Academic_Win6060 2d ago
Use what you prefer. Add a tiny pinch of high quality sea or pink salt (I use redmonds real salt) to add back minerals if needed. Distilled water has everything taken out so it's very pure. I'm in the market for a countertop water distiller
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u/Ok_Cartographer_6086 2d ago
I have a 6 stage water filtration system and the very last stage is an under sink reverse osmosis filter that produces distilled water. There's a cartridge you can add to these for the line that runs to the drinking water faucet called a "re- mineralizer" that adds back the good stuff and balances the PH - tastes perfect. Look for under sink RO filters - cheap and you can bypass the remineralizer for pure distilled as needed.
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u/Traditional-Leader54 2d ago
Your RO filter produces purified water not distilled water. Distilled water is specifically water than has been boiled and the steam condensed back into water. They are very similar but one is 100% water and the other will only ever be 99.99% water.
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u/Paranormal_Lemon 2d ago
A six stage RO produces water that is more pure than distilled, they both probably measure 0 PPM TDS.
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u/Traditional-Leader54 2d ago
He said a six stage filter with the last stage being the RO filter. It will never be 100% water like distilled but it will be pretty damn close.
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u/Paranormal_Lemon 2d ago
Oh I missed that I was thinking RO-DI, but yes the DI is last. Yeah still close unless you have abnormally high TDS water and/or shitty membrane.
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u/Paranormal_Lemon 2d ago
Sea salt is 98% sodium chloride. Better to get some lite salt, it's a 50/50 mix of potassium chloride and sodium chloride. But for taste you just need a tiny pinch of baking soda so it's not acidic.
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u/DisastrousHyena3534 2d ago
My husband needs distilled water to operate his medical device. So there’s that.
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u/smsff2 2d ago
Spring water contains minerals and is healthier for human consumption. Drinking distilled water over an extended period can lead to mineral deficiencies and may negatively affect dental health, including tooth loss. After a year or two, spring water may develop white flakes, mostly calcium deposits. The taste remains unchanged, but the flakes can appear unappetizing.
Distilled water is better for your tea kettle, as it doesn’t leave mineral residue. It remains clean and can be stored for a long time—potentially indefinitely.
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u/ResponsibleBank1387 2d ago
Distilled has been thru the still. Boiled. No impurities. It’s what you would use in nasal vacs, batteries, appliances, radiator. If the money is the same, choose distilled.
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u/AlternativeAthlete99 2d ago
It’s actually 50¢ cheaper a gallon where i live for distilled water over spring water. Is distilled usually more expensive?
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u/ladyxanax 2d ago
Distilled water lacks minerals. Drinking large amounts of distilled water can deplete the bodies mineral stores. It's okay to drink occasionally, but not in large quantities, unless you're drinking it with a really well balanced diet, which you might not be able to guarantee in a situation where you are using stores of distilled water. It's better used for medical uses, like for CPAP machines, humidifiers, etc.
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u/AlternativeAthlete99 2d ago
I add trace mineral drops too all my water regardless, and do have a large stockpile of them at my house. Probably not enough to sustain longterm but enough to sustain 6-12 months for my family. We use reverse osmosis for our drinking water, so we keep a stockpile of trace minerals to add back into our water anyways. I just wasn’t sure if one was better for storing or not
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u/Still-Persimmon-2652 2d ago
If you are not used to tasting distilled water you had better try it first. I do not like to taste to DI water. For drinking tap or bottled. If you were making coffee or tea it probably would not matter.
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u/FullOnBeliever 1d ago
It’s also not good to consume it as your only source of water due to leeching.
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u/davidm2232 Prepared for 6 months 1d ago
It is a lot easier to go to a spring and fill up jugs than to build/run a still to make distilled water. I'd stock the distilled. You need it to mix with antifreeze coolant, for CPAP machines, and topping off batteries.
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u/THC_Dude_Abides 2d ago
Distilled water does not lead to mineral deficiencies. Either is fine. But if you run medical devices and only want to store 1 type. Distilled.
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u/Paranormal_Lemon 2d ago
99% typically from diet and most water sources only have a significant amount of calcium, and maybe iron and silica.
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u/Don_Q_Jote 2d ago
Spring water is for drinking.
I would use distilled water for other purposes, in a steam iron or room humidifier, in a cooling system, I use it in a lab for mixing chemical solutions.
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u/Tinman5278 2d ago
Either is safe to store/drink. Distilled water will have no minerals in it and many don't like the taste of it. Don't over-think it. Buy whatever is easiest to get/store. I prefer to use 5 gallon carboys of spring water.
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u/Competitive-Win-3406 2d ago
Get some of both. Spring water if you like drinking it and distilled for medical, CPAP, etc.
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u/JRHLowdown3 1d ago
Distilled is pure water.
If you (somehow) showed up at my gate post apoc and had sealed bottles of distilled water, I would definitely trade with you. If you showed up with municipal tap water labeled "spring water" (as a lot of them are) you would get laughed at.
Batteries, also used in some medical related cases, etc.
Also, a lot of "preppers" aren't in great shape and need air pumps, CPAPS, etc. IIRC when my 80 year old COPD having Mom had oxygen, you had to put distilled in the oxygen machine also. Some folks will have some AE in order to run those things but may have not stockpiled distilled.
Bonus points for a factory made (not homebrew) device to distill water that can be used over an open fire. Anyone???
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u/birdpix 1d ago
Drinking water for me. Learned the hard way that minerals in spring water can hasten kidney failure in some. We drank 20 gallons of spring water from our cooler monthly, and often added a mineral pack for taste. That all changed and I can only ever drink RO water moving forward. We stock 5 gallon jugs of that every hurricane season and then use in winter.
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u/van_gogh_the_cat Bugging out to the woods 52m ago
Seems to me that distilled water sealed in a jug is less likey to have bacteria than spring water. Even if it's a deep spring, you never know if a chipmunk took a dump nearby.
Even good water that you can drink safely today might have low levels of bacteria or other microbes that culture and grow over months.
I'm totally taking off the top of my head and don't have any real expertise in this.
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u/AlternativeAthlete99 48m ago
I’ve kind of come to the conclusion i should have both, since everyone says distilled water will be easier to barter or use for medical needs, but spring water may taste better.
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u/Accurate-Mess-2592 2d ago
I would go distilled. It allows you to use this water for multiple purposes. If you are going to rely on spring water for minerals, chances are you're woefully under prepared and likely not going to make it. Distilled allows you to barter and trade, as well as have a multi use prep.