Drinking DI Water

RobboT

RobboT

Premium Member
One of our fellow members (Joe V.) had asked me a while back if it was safe to drink RO/DI water. Of course he figured that since I had a Chemical Engineering degree that i have a clue. :confused: From the info Im finding it seems that the safe bet is not to drink it but Im an engineer not a doctor and would like to know the answer to this question.

After some research I have found many disparate opinions on the issue. Since RO is really just a super efficient particle filter there is no reason it should be unsafe, in fact many bottled water companies use RO water. DI water is another story. I understand the mechanics of deionization but hear conflicting opinions of how the body might react to DI water. It is a fact that DI water is somewhat corrosive (i.e. it will produce detectable copper levels in the water if it flows through copper pipe) and that cant be good. I have also heard that the DI resin can breed bacteria and other microorganisms. Some scientists claim that the lack of minerals will result in the water drawing minerals from your body. Some say its fine dont worry about it. Anyone have any more info?
 
its simple really.
YES very safe...that is unless you use color changing resin in the di.....then no dont drink it....it uses dyes. not great to use in tank either but not life theatening
 
I would drink RO water but I would not drink RO/DI. I just know that water that has been deionized tastes like crap! I think it is because it is so clean, there is no minerals to give it taste. Its almost like its dry, yuck.... JMO
 
This is the funniest thread!

This is the funniest thread!

I'm rolling around on the floor laughing:rollface:

There is an urban legend going around out there that RO/DI water is unsafe to drink. I imagine that if you had no food and only RO/DI water to drink, you would eventually lose electrolytes, but isn't drinking only water and refraining from solid food unhealthy to begin with?

Yes, you can die from drinking too much of any water (true), but drinking RO/DI water is perfectly safe. I love drinking it because of the pure taste. Water that comes out of the tap in Boston and Somerville tastes like, pardon my French, a**, because of the chloramination.

Mind you, you aren't drinking RO/DI water even if you try. The minute the water hits your tongue, it mixes with all the soluble contents of saliva, and thus is no longer RO/DI.

In the lab, we use a very pure grade of DI water (18 Mohm/cm), and it tastes the best!

Matt:cool:
 
Re: This is the funniest thread!

Re: This is the funniest thread!

matt-davis sq. said:
Water that comes out of the tap in Boston and Somerville tastes like, pardon my French, a**, because of the chloramination.
Click to expand...

I just moved from Lowell... the water there was absolutely the worst.... It tasted like a55, and my TDS meter also measured it at over 250 ppm! If I ever sipped it (toothbrushing, maybe, and that was rare), it really tasted like dirt... literally. Now that I'm in Norwalk, CT, water out of the tap tastes considerably better (still use the Brita, though), and only tests at ~60 ppm on the TDS meter. It's gotta be better on my RO/DI unit...

I'm not hijacking the thread!... Proof of that is my following statement. I personally think that RO/DI tastes great, and many companies purchase RO/DI units for their employees to drink from at work. As WaterKeeper says, coffee tastes great with RO/DI. I honestly don't think the RO/DI companies would have a legitimate market if the RO/DI units they sold made water that was not safe to consume.... Besides, (as Matt said) it isn't like you get the majority of the "ions" you consume from water anyways. (shrug)

--Brad
 
Re: This is the funniest thread!

Re: This is the funniest thread!

Thanks everyone.

With regard to Matt's comment about Urban Legends . . . That is exactly why I posted here. If you poke around the web enough you can find "data" :rolleyes: to support almost any argument. I figured with the people in the group being experienced with RO/DI along with a few highly educated scientific folks that I might get a better answer.
 
There is one issue with RODI that can arise. (or any bottled water for that matter).

During long endurance type exercises (distance running, 4 hour peeing marathons, triathlons, commuting through Boston) or very prolonged heat exposure, electrolyte loss through sweat can be very significant. Adding RODI to your body in this circumstance can leach electrolytes and be deadly. People die each year this way or do permanent kidney damage.

Good ol gatorade is designed to prevent such an event from occuring. So I wouldn't use RODI during exercise as it will likely place greater stress on you kidney/pee response.

Pee freely, often and everywhere !
 
Let's put it another way. Unless your going to be drinking your RO/DI water from a sterilized/autoclaved cup, the amount of residue left over on your cups from local 'crude' water used in a dishwasher will instantly make your RO/DI water shoot up to probably 10+ ppm before you even drink it. Then, you will probably add ice to it. I won't even venture a guess at the purity of store bought ice (although you can buy RO ice now). I buy ice from the store and 10% of the time it smells and tastes like chlorine. Slime in the icebox! And home ice, well, that's probably hooked up to one of those pathetic refrigerator filters...not even RO quality from that.

I used to drink RO/DI water, but after thinking of the above stuff and the expensive DI filters that were burning a hole in my pocket, I'm back to RO only.
 
One thing to keep in mind is that since you've pulled out the chlorine and other bacteria unfriendly additives, you probably don't want to leave a jug of water sitting on your counter for a few weeks before drinking it - probably not a problem for most people though.....leaving water out that is, not drinking from a stagnant pool.

I have noticed with my boa's bowl that if I use filtered water, stuff starts growing in it much faster than if I use straight tap water.

- Jason
 
Teego said:
. Adding RODI to your body in this circumstance can leach electrolytes and be deadly. People die each year this way or do permanent kidney damage.
Click to expand...

Teego,

Plain water from any source is a poor way to replenish minerals lost through exercise. Only a tiny fraction of you body's mineral requirement is met by water consumption. It is far better to consume fluids of any ionic strength than to allow your body to dehydrate during strenuous activity.

As a side note---a few years ago, on RC, we had a med student who claimed that the osmotic imbalance caused by drinking DI caused your cells to burst. I tried this out by filling my ex's bath with ultrapure water.

I'm still paying alimony. :D
 
I personally drin kthe waste water frm my ro/di, I mean my fridge has a carbon filter for water, but I would rather just use the waste, it tastes good, and I can use up at least some of the water that I am putting down the drain. It tastes great, its easily available, I can not complain.
 
All these posts about ro/di water being good for you. Water is a good source of iron for humans. I was told by a rep from a water purification company that Ro water is ok to consume. He did say though ro/di water won't kill you. It is not recommended for human consumption. I was recommended if I wanted to use my my ro/di unit for producing water for drinking I should install a ball valve pre di cartridge that could be switched to produce sutable drinking water. If you read the kent marine pamphlet you will see that they too do not recommend human consumption of ro/di water. Just plain RO water. Has anyone ever researched this before drinking ro/di water? I drink plain ro water & the foul tap water taste is removed with just the ro process. I'm not trying to start a brawl here but I'm just stating my research. Check out kent marines little pamphlet they give out on there water purifiaction products. You will see the disclosure on Di water & human consumption.
 
PHP: 
we had a med student who claimed that the osmotic imbalance caused by drinking DI caused your cells to burst

:lmao:

I hope this person isn't my doctor!

Brian
 
aquaman_68 said:
Water is a good source of iron for humans.
Click to expand...

Got a red water problem at home Aquaman?

Human needs for iron vary with sex and age. Generally men should get 10 mg per day and women around twice that. Just like human needs, tap waters vary among sources. Where I live the water has about 0.15 mg/liter. That is about half of the EPA recommended secondary limit for iron of 0.30 mg/L. That limit is not due to health concerns but taste and staining problems.

If you drink water that meets or exceeds EPA guidelines you would need to drink a great deal of water to satisfy your nutritional needs. Thirty three liters ( 8.7 gallons) per day if you are a male and your water is at the 0.3 mg limit. I think there just may be better sources of iron.

I was told by a rep from a water purification company that Ro water is ok to consume. He did say though ro/di water won't kill you. It is not recommended for human consumption.
Click to expand...

I think part of that stems from the old practice of shipping DI cartridges in a formaldehyde solution to prevent bacteria growth during storage. That is not done anymore. From an aesthetic sense, many people prefer the taste of RO over DI. The solids left in it give better mouth feel and flavor, although that is subjective.
 
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