How to Demineralize (Distill?) Water for an Iron
 

I was thinking - rather than buying distilled water for an iron (or other appliance), is there a way to remove the minerals?

Remember - in the olden days - there was a tube filled with copper-colored filter material that was stuck into the top of a plastic water bottle (not the drinking kind). I'm thinking that the filter was essentially "distilling" the water (not exactly but perhaps close enough).

My mother would have killed me if I'd ever filled the iron without passing the water through the filter. Just tripping down memory lane...They don't make those kinds of gizmos any more, do they?!

Other than buying distilled water, what are our options today?

I found this online:
http://www.philips.co.uk/c/irons/iro...-gc024_10/prd/

Rowenta and other irons come with a warning not to use distilled water in them. Not sure why distilled water is supposed to be bad for them, although someone posted that distilled water still has salt in it (and salt is corrosive).

I think the important thing if you have hard tap water (as we do) is to remove the calcium from the water. I have cleaned the calcium from my Rowenta (and voided the warranty) by using Iron Out and even then I had to use a pin to scrape off the white calcium flakes from the holes.

Prism, that's interesting - wonder if they sell that here.

Well, it's a Rowenta that's on its way out due to horrid leaking. Several new irons I've looked at don't specify distilled or tap. One I looked at requires distilled which is why I probably will not get it even though it has other features I really like. I did buy a Black and Decker today but until I open it, I'll still be looking. :)

Thanks!

Oh my goodness. After looking more carefully at the product, I now realize that the copper color was probably because the filter needed replacing. HAHA and we kept using it that way for years. Oh, that poor iron. :D

Oh, now, that's FUNNY!!! :D

I use water out of the dehumidifier. It can't have salt. I have been doing this for a good while and my irons seem to last longer.

I use water from the dehumidifier also. It's plentiful and pure.

Wow!! What a great suggestion. We'll be running ours for the next three to four months - emptying daily.

Thanks so much!

You could also get a Brita or Pur water filter. They are relatively inexpensive. They are meant for drinking water, so can't be too bad for the iron.

Demineralized water is good for stainless steel. It will corrode carbon steel because there is no minerals to form a protective shied. Much more to it but it is definitely not for consumption. It's not worth the trouble to make it.