Replacement for distilled water

[WiltsStarGazer]

Hi,

I want to clean the primary mirror and it seems the most important thing to do is rinse it with distilled water.

Here in the U.K. this seems very hard to find locally and expensive for cold steam!

I live in a hard water area so have a kettle with a built-in Britta filter.

Would cooled boiled water from this kettle work as well as distilled water, had anyone tried it?

Grateful for any replies.

[Stu]

3 minutes ago, WiltsStarGazer said:

Hi,

I want to clean the primary mirror and it seems the most important thing to do is rinse it with distilled water.

Here in the U.K. this seems very hard to find locally and expensive for cold steam!

I live in a hard water area so have a kettle with a built-in Britta filter.

Would cooled boiled water from this kettle work as well as distilled water, had anyone tried it?

Grateful for any replies.

If you can find an aquarium open, then go and buy some RO (Reverse Osmosis) water, very cheap and does the trick nicely.

[Pixies]

No. Cooled boiled water will be even more concentrated with minerals.

Do you have a local tropical fish store nearby? You can ask for RODI water. (Reverse Osmosis Deionised Water)

Edited June 8, 2020 by Pixies

[johninderby]

Regular tap water with a bit of dishwashing liquid is fine for the initial wash, then rinse off with distilled water so you don’t need a lot.

Yes distilled water is expensive.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=distilled+water&rh=p_76%3A419158031&dc&qid=1591649079&rnid=419157031&ref=sr_nr_p_76_1

Edited June 8, 2020 by johninderby

[wookie1965]

[WiltsStarGazer]

Thanks for the advice.👍

[Pixies]

RO water from a Fishkeepers shop is about £2 for 10 litres. You'll need to take your own container.

[x6gas]

Or buy a dehumidifier - endless supply of distilled water then 🙂

 

[Shimrod]

I used a bottle of Carplan de-ionised water to clean the mirror on my LX90 - about £1.50 from Asda in the car section. Hasn't left any deposits or marks on the mirror.

[jambouk]

B&Q sell it in the car section.

[jonathan]

De-ionised water is the same thing, AFAIK.  It's used for car radiators so likewise they won't want to be adding any minerals otherwise limescale would eventually destroy the engine.  I've used De-ionised water to rinse a primary before, works fine.  Just use it for the final rinse, allow as much water to run off as possible and then leave to air dry, shouldn't be any problems.  Most garages or auto shops should sell it, you won't need much so 1 litre or so should be fine.

Edited June 10, 2020 by jonathan

[kirkster501]

I did a article on my website about this but it got hacked so I am rebuilding it.  The short is you can get distilled off of the bay for a quid or two.  Or use RO water as suggested.  

[JG777]

On 10/06/2020 at 11:22, jonathan said:

De-ionised water is the same thing, AFAIK.  It's used for car radiators so likewise they won't want to be adding any minerals otherwise limescale would eventually destroy the engine.  I've used De-ionised water to rinse a primary before, works fine.  Just use it for the final rinse, allow as much water to run off as possible and then leave to air dry, shouldn't be any problems.  Most garages or auto shops should sell it, you won't need much so 1 litre or so should be fine.

They are not quite the same thing

 https://www.chemicals.co.uk/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-distilled-water-and-deionised-water

But for cleaning mirrors they are totally interchangeable and will achieve the same result. Deionized seems to be cheaper and easier to find, just don't drink it.  

 

 

 

[Stardaze]

Halfords do it for £3.90 it’s just called battery top up water. It is deionised and not distilled which are different.

[Pixies]

15 hours ago, JG777 said:

They are not quite the same thing

 https://www.chemicals.co.uk/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-distilled-water-and-deionised-water

But for cleaning mirrors they are totally interchangeable and will achieve the same result. Deionized seems to be cheaper and easier to find, just don't drink it.  

 

 

 

As a long-term source of fluid, it's not very good for you! But for the occasional sip, it'll be ok 🤮

Quote

It was thought that low-mineral water acts on osmoreceptors of the gastrointestinal tract, causing an increased flow of sodium ions into the intestinal lumen and slight reduction in osmotic pressure in the portal venous system with subsequent enhanced release of sodium into the blood as an adaptation response. This osmotic change in the blood plasma results in the redistribution of body water; that is, there is an increase in the total extracellular fluid volume and the transfer of water from erythrocytes and interstitial fluid into the plasma and between intracellular and interstitial fluids. In response to the changed plasma volume, baroreceptors and volume receptors in the bloodstream are activated, inducing a decrease in aldosterone release and thus an increase in sodium elimination.

https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/nutrientschap12.pdf

[malc-c]

I keep a reef tank so have my own RO unit under the sink.  This is a four stage unit, the last stage being the DI resin, so the output is fully filtered and deionized with zero PPM of dissolved solids.  I used this to clean the optics of my 200P.  

You can get deionized water for use in car radiators, steam irons etc, or if you do get water from a local tropical fish supplier it will do the same job

[malc-c]

On 12/06/2020 at 08:21, Pixies said:

As a long-term source of fluid, it's not very good for you! But for the occasional sip, it'll be ok 🤮

https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/nutrientschap12.pdf

Drinking RO water is dangerous, to a degree and depending on what stage of the filtration process you take the water from, and what size filters are used as RO units for domestic supplies are different from those sued in fish keeping.  

As mentioned above, I use a 4 stage aquarium rated RO unit for producing the water for top up and weekly water changes.  Out of the tap the water has around 350-375 PPM of dissolved solids (including the additives the loacy authority drop in).  Our water is also very hard.  We tee off after the membrane stage and use that for making tea and coffee.  The kettle has never been de-furred in years, and still looks as good as the day it was first used.  The tea and coffee also taste a lot nicer.  The water is around 30-50 ppm at this stage.  We also use the water with squashes, and haven't suffered any long term health issues over the past decade.  However, I wouldn't recommend drinking the water after the 4th stage, as the water after this stage is pure with zero ppm.  If you did it would start to re-absorb minerals and calcium from your body, which is not ideal !

[Captain Scarlet]

It also tastes not very nice. I find it tastes “grey” as it were. At our “offices” (former locations where people used to congregate during working hours) there are pure water dispensers which are marketed as supplying ultra pure water therefore ultra good for you <eye-roll>
M

[picclock]

De ionised water at Tesco ~£2 for 2.5 Litres from memory. Sold for steam irons etc.

Best Regards

picclock