Is There A Shortage Of Distilled Water In The US In 2023? Yes, there is a shortage of Distilled Water in the US. Since the spread of COVID-19 globally, distilled water has been in huge demand and has become increasingly scarce.
It is believed that consumers went to the grocery stores and found the aisle vacant, and the product was marked “out of stock.”
Due to this shortage, people are scratching their heads but need help finding distilled water.
We know the pain you all are feeling can’t be explained. We are considering you all are shocked, confused, and anxious at the same time. It is like an apocalypse.
We’ve learned that consumers are desperately finding distilled water at various stores, but distilled water is nowhere to be found. In searching for distilled water, people stroll through every store, including Walmart, Target, and plenty of stores, but it takes more work.
Some went to various stores searching for distilled water. A couple went to 10 different stores in search of it. As a result, distilled water is not found, and every state, city, and store repeats the same scenario.
What Is Distilled Water?
Distilled water is the purest form of water that contains minerals and other substances. It is also free from harmful organisms such as viruses, bacteria, and harsh chemicals.
It is mostly used for medical and industrial purposes.
It is also used in several other mechanical systems, such as inverters, aquariums, steam irons, laboratory experiments, etc. It is used over tap water because it is an ultra-pure form of water and prevents contamination.
Who Buys Distilled Water Usually?
Doctors/ Dentists:
Doctors use Distilled Water to sterilize equipment. Dentists use to rinse their mouth out while cleaning and in treatments. Dentists and doctors do not use tap water…
Doctors are desperately searching for distilled water but cannot find them on the store shelves.
Distilled water is used instead of tap water in the hospitals for patients’ mouth cleaning and equipment cleaning due to the presence of unknown E.coli in the tap water.
That’s why dentists and doctors use distilled water to avoid E.coli outbreaks and maintain patients’ health and safety.
In the Laboratories:
In laboratories, distilled water is also used for testing, cleaning purposes, experiments, testing, and several other applications. School and college laboratories use distilled water to perform experiments.
Surgeons/ Health Care Professionals/ Veterinarians:
In health care, distilled water is preferable over tap water for sanitizing and cleaning equipment and in-patient treatments. Health Care Professionals, Veterinarians, and Surgeons never use tap water; they always prefer distilled water.
In The Industries where Natural & Organic Products are Manufactured:
The product base in the industries must always be clean, and for this purpose, they need distilled water.
In natural and Organic product manufacturing, distilled water is used as a base, such as a shampoo and soap distilled water is used as a base.
The all-natural beauty manufacturer was believed to be short on distilled water a few months back. A manufacturer shared the experience by saying:
“I need 200 gallons of distilled water for the manufacturing process in the industries, but I found it nowhere. I am exhausted from going to almost every grocery store, but every time we find distilled water is out of stock. We need 200 gallons of distilled water every week for the manufacturing process.”
Distilled water is also demanded by families who usually prefer to drink distilled water over tap water:
Thousands of people prefer to drink distilled water over tap water. Because tap contains viruses, parasites, toxic heavy metals, bacteria, harsh chemicals, poisons, pesticides, gas, oil, radioactive particles, nitrates, and other bad things that affect people’s health.
Most families drink distilled water to avoid these harmful organisms, chemicals, and metals.
Moreover, many people use it for personal health conditions daily, including CPAP water distillers, Water distillers for humidifiers, or Oxygen concentrators.
Why Is There No Distilled Water In Stores In The US?
It is very hard to find Distilled Water in US stores because of high demand. Moreover, supply chain issues are also one of the major causes that led to a restricted shortage of distilled water in the US.
It is believed that, since 2017, the distilled water shortage has been the issue but only in the local areas, and it was not a big deal at that time.
Later, the shortage arises and becomes one of the major issues nationwide. During the Coronavirus pandemic, there was a huge demand for distilled water, which made this trend a national concern.
Some Distilled water suppliers explained there is a shortage of distilled water because plastic bottles are also a major concern worldwide, and no plastic bottles are there to package distilled water.
In Short:
- There is a huge demand for distilled water than before.
- Supply chain issues
- No Labor/ Labor shortages
- Plastic is banned, so there is also a shortage of plastic bottles to package distilled water.
When Will The Distilled Water Shortage End?
The availability of distilled water has been in jeopardy since the spread of the coronavirus.
Later, people thought the condition would improve, but no changes were seen. Omicron spread after a couple of years, and the availability of distilled water worsened.
We are still determining when this distilled water shortage will end in 2023, as no certain end date has been announced.
Because there is no single cause for the shortage of distilled water, it depends on numerous factors, including demand alterations, production capacity, and other mitigating measures to address this issue.
Can Distilled Water Spoil?
No, Distilled Water can not spoil. You can store it for a long time; it will not go bad. It depends on your storage method; if you store distilled water properly, we are sure it will go smoothly. No contaminants will come in contact with distilled water.
Distilled water that is sold in the market comes with an expiry date. But if you store the water correctly, it can be used more, or you can expand its shelf life by storing it properly.
If you want to enhance its shelf life, you do not need any special instrument to store it. You must store packaged distilled water in the refrigerator or protect it from direct sunlight. Ensure to keep distilled water in a clean container.
One more question arises regarding the storage of distilled water “How long does it last?” If stored properly, you can extend its shelf life to 24 months.
But it is recommended that, if you are using distilled water for drinking purposes, try to use it until its expiry date.
Alternatives To Distilled Water
Natural disasters, higher demands, supply chain issues, and equipment failures temporarily led to distilled water shortages. But Distilled Water is heavily in demand, and plenty of things can only be prepared with it!! So what can you do?
Here are a few alternative options for distilled water shortage. Let’s have a look at the following:
- Purified Bottled Water
- Filtered Water
- Spring Water
- Boiled Water
- Deionized Water
- Distilled water DIY can also be a great option.
What To Do If You Are In Much Need Of Distilled Water?
If you are in much need of distilled water but cannot find it anywhere else. Then what will you do? You can make distilled water at home. Distilled water preparation at home is the best way to overcome its shortage.
A question arises, how to prepare distilled water at home:
Do you know? Making distilled water can be a lengthy process, but it is effortless. To make distilled water, you first need to get distillers. But if you do not have a distiller, then you can still perform distill water preparation at home: The step involves:
Requirements:
- Tap Water
- Large-sized pan/ pot
- Curved Lid
- Medium-sized pan/ pot (should be heat resistant)
- Ice Cubes (for speeding up the process)
- Muslin Cloth/ Coffee filter
- Rubber Band
Recipe:
- Place a large pan on the stove with seven to eight cups of water, and place a medium size pot float on top of the water in the large pan.
- Make sure there is constant airflow for this. There must be some vacant place around the sides of the medium size pot.
- Now heat up to medium heat; take care while preparing distilled water because it does not require boiling. All you need to do is perform this process at simmering heat.
- Ensure to cover the top of the large pan with the curved lid. A curved lid is preferable because the center of the lid should always be lower than the side part. Because water vapors collect in the lower part of the lid, and vapors condense and drop back into the medium pot. This way, you’ll be able to prepare distilled water.
- If you want to speed up the process, put a bag of ice on the lid to boost the condensation process. For this, you must replace ice regularly to keep it cool.
Distilled Water Shortage 2023 – Summing Up
Regarding summing, we’ve concluded that Distilled Water has been short in supply nowadays since the spread of the coronavirus. And other pandemics, such as the spread of Omicron, enhanced the effect.
Several factors are to be blamed for the shortages of Distilled Water. Increased demand, Post pandemic hygienic practices, industrial usage, complex distillation process, and unforeseen situations have been put in place to address the distilled water shortage issue.
