Everything you need to know about demineralized water

What is demineralized water? What are its different applications in everyday life? Where to buy it?

Demineralized water is a product usually found on the hygiene and household product shelves in stores. Sold in bottles or cans, demineralized water is a household product that can be very useful on a daily basis.

This is water that no longer contains any minerals, and should not be confused with distilled or filtered water. It is most often used as ironing water, as it protects appliances from limescale.

L’eau déminéralisée peut avoir de nombreuses autres applications dans la maison.

Here’s all you need to know about demineralized water and its everyday use in the home.

Demineralized water: what’s that?

First and foremost, it’s important to know exactly what demineralized water is, not least because many people tend to confuse it with distilled or filtered water.

Demineralized water is water that has been stripped of all its ions and salts, by various processes such as ion exchange, membrane filtration, electro-deionization, reverse osmosis, etc. If “normal” water has a pH of 7, demineralization reduces the pH to 5.

How to use demineralized water?

Demineralized water is frequently used for ironing. Steam iron users can opt for demineralized water, which prevents limescale build-up in the appliance.

Thanks to this water, the appliance is protected from fur and its lifespan is optimized. Impec demineralized water is suitable for household appliances and is available in stores in 1-liter bottles and 5-liter cans. To save money, demineralized water can be mixed with 50% tap water. What’s more, if used for just one or 2 domestic activities, a 1-liter bottle can last for several weeks.

A little tip: you can add a few drops of lavender essential oil to the demineralized water in your iron to delicately scent your clothes.

It’s also recommended to use it for steampods or steam straighteners, to prevent limescale build-up in the water tank. It’s also worth noting that demineralized water is better for hair: it’s less aggressive and particularly suitable for dull, fragile hair. It can therefore also be used to rinse hair after coloring or aggressive hair treatments such as straightening or shaping, to prevent breakage. Demineralized water can also be used with a little glycerine as a spray to moisturize curly or textured hair.

Demineralized water also has many mechanical uses: it can be used to fill the car’s battery and windscreen washer. To avoid white marks on the bodywork after washing, it can also be used as a rinse water.

Those who keep fish in aquariums use demineralized water because it’s better for their health. It also saves the lengthy process of filtering aquarium water.

It’s also worth cleaning the leaves of certain fragile plants (such as bonsais) with demineralized water, but be careful not to water them completely. This water does not contain the minerals plants need to grow properly.

Finally, demineralized water is ideal for cleaning and polishing mother-of-pearl and pearl jewelry. However, it is not recommended for cleaning stainless steel, as it can cause rust.

Is it safe to drink demineralized water?

Demineralized water is drinkable, but not particularly healthy, as it no longer provides the minerals the body needs for mineral balance. It’s not for nothing that mineral water is more suitable for drinking! Regular consumption of mineral water can lead to potassium and sodium deficiencies, and is therefore not recommended for daily drinking.

It should also be noted that the demineralization process does not eliminate any microbes and bacteria contained in tap water, which means that there is a health risk associated with consuming demineralized water.

Therefore, in and of itself, it is not recommended to drink demineralized water, especially if the manufacturer specifies that it is for household use only.