Homemade Distillation Appliance

Why Need Distillation

• If your area has been hit by a hurricane, flood, tornado or other natural disaster, the water supply may be cut off for a long period of time. No matter how much bottled water you have saved, it may eventually run out. If the only water you can find to keep you and your family healthy is dirty water from a lake or river, distillation will make the water potable.

What Distillation Does

• Distillation is the process of causing water to evaporate in a closed container. The elements of the still catch the evaporated water, allow it to cool and condense and collect the condensed water in a separate container. The dirt that was formerly in the water is left behind to be discarded, leaving only clean water without foreign objects.

Materials Needed

• When it comes to emergency supplies, the simplest form that works is often the best. You may create an inelegant but workable distillation appliance with a large pot, a bundt cake pan and a metal mixing bowl, stacked and set on top of a heat source. Add towels or rags to pick up the hot metal pieces of the still and a clean container in which to pour the distilled water and package them together into your emergency supply closet.

Problems with Distilled Water

• Distilled water tastes flat, as most of the excess gases have been boiled off and only the essential elements are left. It may not be pleasant to drink, but in an emergency it can add needed moisture to your diet. The water is also lacking in any essential minerals it may have formerly contained. If you drink distilled water for any length of time, you may have to supplement dietary minerals to keep your overall health, but in an emergency situation this should not become a problem.