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Water is an essential source of livelihood. In the absence of it, there won’t be life on Earth. Earth is also mostly covered with water, but most of it is not drinkable. Water can be found in liquid, solid, and gas.

No human can survive without it for more than 2 or 3 days maximum. Well, it is clear that water is important, but not many know water comes in types or there are varieties of water available in the surrounding.

For example, Distilled and Tap Water can be consumed and easily available, but despite that, as the name suggests, both of them are different.

Key Takeaways

  1. Distilled water undergoes a purification process that removes impurities and minerals, while tap water contains various minerals and may have added chemicals.
  2. Distillation involves boiling water and collecting the resulting vapor, ensuring a purer end product than tap water.
  3. Tap water is suitable for everyday consumption and use, while distilled water is ideal for sensitive applications, such as laboratory experiments and medical procedures.

Distilled vs Tap Water

The difference between Distilled and Tap Water is that Distilled water does not have minerals or any other chemical impurities, whereas tap water comes without purification from the tap and has some ions along with the impurities. Both of them are produced by different methods. Distilled water is produced by the process by machines and humans, whereas tap water is a more natural process. Except for these, they differ in terms of composition and uses.

Distilled vs Tap Water

The water that goes through the process of distillation with the help of water-purified chemicals such as chlorine is called distilled water. It is water with pH 7, meaning it is neither acidic nor base in nature.

Due to this property, it is mainly used in laboratories and by doctors for keeping chemicals and tools safe, respectively.

Tap water is the normal water that we receive through the tap from several water bodies. They are used for several house chores but mainly for drinking due to all their benefits.

They are used for cleaning utensils, house furniture, clothes, etc. It is said to be the most convenient and useful type of water.

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Comparison Table  

Parameters of ComparisonDistilled WaterTap Water
ImpuritiesIt does not have any impuritiesMay or may not have impurities
CompositionChlorine (sometimes)Only some ions
DrinkingNot goodGood for drinking
ProductionDistilled tap waterCollection of water from several sources.
UsesLaboratory purposesDaily in household chores.

What is Distilled Water?

Distilled water can be used for the following purposes:

  1. Staying Hydrated: while most people say drinking distilled water is not good for health as it lacks minerals and other important nutritional value, some people think despite that, it may be a good source of staying hydrated.
  2. Sterile medical uses: under these uses, it can also be used for more than a single purpose, as it is distilled and lacks any impurities. It is used for sterling medical pieces of equipment and making sure it does not cause infections, cleaning wounds, by dentists for tooth extraction, etc.
  3. Laboratory experiments: to make sure the contaminants do not taint the experiment result, distilled water is used as it is pure and does not react with chemicals making sure the results remain as it is.
  4. Humidifier functions: it makes sure the humidifiers are working properly and also lead to an increase in their life. Normal water due to chemicals can lead to shorting the life of humidifiers.
  5. Automobile Care: if a tap or normal water is used in automotive care, such as a car or other vehicles, it may lead to corrosion due to the presence of chemicals that can be easily avoided by replacing that water with distilled water; it serves the purpose and also does not cause corrosion or any other reaction.
distilled water

What is Tap Water?

Tap water is the most used and easily available water. The following are the main uses and benefits of tap water:

  1. Healthier for drinking: it is believed that the healthiest water for consumption is tap water; it contains the entire required mineral and is filled with other nutrition that is required by the body. Therefore, the main use of tap water in the consumption.
  2. Taste: it is believed that the taste of distilled and purified water is slightly different from tap water, and more people prefer and like the taste of tap water as it is neutral, not salty or sweet.
  3. Convenience: just imagine drinking water getting from the tap and then distilling it or purifying it. It causes lots of effort. But having tap water is so convenient; nothing extra has to be done to drink the water directly from the tap. Therefore, it is said to be the most convenient source.
  4. Save money: purifying and distilling the water costs much more than compared to tap water. Therefore, it is also economical and easily affordable for anyone.
  5. Environment-friendly: purified and distilled water is sold in a bottle and also requires extra types of equipment that are not eco-friendly, for example, bottles made up of plastics. But tap water does not require these. It comes directly from the tap at the house.
tap water

Main Differences Between Distilled and Tap Water 

  1. The first and most important difference between Distilled and Tap Water is that tap water has impurities making it less effective for some work, for example, for keeping the chemical safe as it will react with them due to the presence of minerals, whereas distilled water does not have any impurities making it the best choice for all the purposes.
  2. They have different compositions. Distilled water may have some chlorine present in it due to the distillation process, whereas tap water consists of some ions only.
  3. Tap water is considered to be the best option for consumption due to its minerals and nutritional content, while distilled water is not a great choice for consumption in comparison.
  4. Both of them differ in terms of production, distilled water is produced through the process of distillation of tap water, whereas tap water is the collected water from several water bodies, such as rivers, ponds, lakes, etc., that follow through channels made by the government and finally comes in the house through taps.
  5. Both of them are used for their respective purposes, such as tap water is mainly used for consumption and daily household chores, whereas distilled water is used for professional work that includes experiments in the lab.
Difference Between Distilled and Tap Water
References
  1. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2466/pr0.1965.17.1.191
  2. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1957-05630-001
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By Piyush Yadav

Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.