Distilled water shortage??

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Again, I am having trouble finding distilled water. By trouble finding, I mean my supermarket doesn't have it, and Amazon seems quite pricey.

Is anybody else having trouble finding distilled water? What is the next best substitute you would use for soapmaking? I bought purified water. It's not yet rain season here, but next month or so I can probably collect rain water.

Oddly enough, just like all the other stupid rules in Florida...collecting rain water is illegal, unless you catch it from your roof/gutters. I haven't found any convincing reasons for that rule, but I am sure the little that I need to make some soap won't raise any eyebrows.

But darn, now that I am talking about it, it rained a lot one or two days last week, and I had a whole (plastic) wheel barrel full of water that I dumped out on my garden. Shoulda kept a gallon of it.
 
I'm not familiar with your options, but over here its often sold alongside oil and other car-related consumables. (Edit: in dedicated car supplies shops or garages) Might be worth a look if you're stuck.
 
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that's a good idea. I have lots of aloe plants. Never used it before, but I guess to satisfy my soaping needs it will work...and maybe reduce the amount of aloe that I have LOL.

Thank you for that idea!!
Yes I use it all the time - my friend begs me to cut hers back and take it away. It grows like a weed, and I'm sure it's worse in Florida! It makes lovely soap.
 
Vinegar? Lemon juice? Coconut milk? Ion-exchange resin from the aquaristics section? Snow/rain water?
Also, there are some mineral waters that are advertised with very low mineral content.
 
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Again, I am having trouble finding distilled water. By trouble finding, I mean my supermarket doesn't have it, and Amazon seems quite pricey.

Is anybody else having trouble finding distilled water? What is the next best substitute you would use for soapmaking? I bought purified water.


Not lately, but it wouldn't surprise me with a shortage of plastic bottles and cans that already exists.

To sub for distilled water, how about making rice water like you were going to make triple rice soap? Or just about any other liquid. I have used Kombucha tea, vinegar, beer, wine, milks, rejuvalac (a fermented grain drink), etc.
 
I ran into a shortage of distilled water back in February (the freeze in Texas cut off water for a lot of people so you couldn't find it in stores) and someone here suggested aloe vera juice and now that's all I use. Just use it the same as you would water. You can find it in big jugs usually in the pharmacy section of grocery stores.
 
No shortage here in the southwestern US. Sometimes my regular grocer might be out, but when I check at other stores around town, they have plenty in stock.


IrishLass :)
 
I haven't noticed a shortage here' however I did notice time before last of Distilled Water I bought had minerals add'ed to it' I think it was from Walmart for baby formula & such. The next time I bought it I made sure it was only DW w/ no additives.
 
You can make your own distilled water with a cheap distiller. Here is the one I use: https://smile.amazon.com/Mophorn-Co...uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl
I just bought it based on your recommendation. I think it will save money in the long run too.

Yes I use it all the time - my friend begs me to cut hers back and take it away. It grows like a weed, and I'm sure it's worse in Florida! It makes lovely soap.
Someone walked in with a bunch of aloe planted in 4” pots. I took one....almost near regretting it, because it just GROWS. I havent planted it outside because i know that it will get worse lol.

Filtered sun, full sun...wet, dry. It dont care lol. I just gave a nicely potted aloe to my friends kid for her first house. Shes like omg are you sure? Im like...the only thing im sure about it is that you dump the aloe in the neighbors yard and put something else pretty in that pot lol. She got super excited that it already had a baby aloe growing...oh get ready.
 
I just bought it based on your recommendation. I think it will save money in the long run too.
I’ve had my eye on that one for awhile, too - and now you both may have tipped me over the edge.

It’s kinda like peer pressure in junior high, only about gadgets and not jeans or makeup. And thankfully no mean girls, just enabling friends.
 
Dh uses tap water here for his CPAP with no problems and I use tap water for my soap, no issues.
Tap and bottled non-distilled water will work with CPAP machines but are known sources for mineral buildup which, over time, will degrade performance. There also much more likely to be sources of bacteria and CPAP machines are already often filthy and can house bacteria colonies unless cleaned exceptionally well regularly. To that end I only use non-distilled when I go stay over someplace for a night or two.

Especially since, technically, I don't own my CPAP machine yet. I think. So if I ever have to return it to the supplier I don't want to be charged for damage.
 
Interesting how different each locale is. In California there are machines that sit outside every single grocery store that dispense distilled water at $0.30 a gallon. We even had "water stores" where you could bring your five gallon jugs and fill em a bit cheaper. Now that I've moved to Nebraska I notice-no more water stores, and no machines outside the grocery. Kinda makes sense being it does freeze over here. There are some groceries and Walmarts that have water machines inside that dispense water for $0.45 a gallon tho.
 
Interesting how different each locale is. In California there are machines that sit outside every single grocery store that dispense distilled water at $0.30 a gallon. We even had "water stores" where you could bring your five gallon jugs and fill em a bit cheaper. Now that I've moved to Nebraska I notice-no more water stores, and no machines outside the grocery. Kinda makes sense being it does freeze over here. There are some groceries and Walmarts that have water machines inside that dispense water for $0.45 a gallon tho.
The water dispensing machines outside stores I have used in Mendocino County (in California) do not dispense distilled water, but "Spring Water" or "Purified Water". Not at all the same thing. And prices do vary from one store and town to the other. Also, not every store in CA has these dispensers, BTW. (I'm a native Californian who also lived there most of my life, last visited in December 2020, when assisting my son's relocation.)

We don't have any of those around here either, but almost every Super Walmart I have shopped at in various states around the country do have the dispensers for water (NOT distilled, but purified water). Texas also has an abundance of water dispensing locales around some of the large metropolitan areas I've frequented, but again, NOT distilled water, but either "Purified" or "Spring" water. In my experience, prices vary greatly even within the same general neighborhood.
 
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