# Very pure water dangerous to drink? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 17, 2022, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706 "2022-02-17T22:32:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706/1 "2022-02-17T22:32:54Z")
There is an article in today’s Times that claims that very pure water would burn your insides if you drank it. Can this be true. The article was about the making of the curling rink in Beijing. It said that the tap water had 375 ppm of dissolved solids and they had to filter most of them out to make curling ice. (As an aside you can’t filter solutes, can you?) It went on to say that the water was so pure it would burn your insides if you drank it. I am afraid it is behind a paywall, but here is a link: [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/16/sports/olympics/curling-ice.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/16/sports/olympics/curling-ice.html) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706/2 "2022-02-17T22:36:01Z")
Total poppycock. The moment water enters your mouth is is no longer pure. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706/3 "2022-02-17T22:36:09Z")
Yes, it is true: distilled water will damage your mucoses, also internally, through osmosis. It “sucks” the salts out of your cells. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706/4 "2022-02-17T22:39:24Z")
Apparently it’s true [http://isciencemag.co.uk/features/fact-of-the-day-1/](http://isciencemag.co.uk/features/fact-of-the-day-1/) [https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/the-purest-of-them-all/](https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/the-purest-of-them-all/) ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706/5 "2022-02-17T22:43:47Z")
I’m not convinced that “leaching valuable minerals from your saliva” is that bad for you. The article says nothing about damage. By the time it gets into you (internally) it is not going to “suck the salt” out of your cells. Of course, if you drink 5 gallons of it, all bets are off. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706/6 "2022-02-17T22:45:09Z")
One or two pints on an empty stomach would be bad enough. A sip will dilute in your bodily fluids without a noticeable effect. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706/7 "2022-02-17T22:45:51Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Yes, it is true: distilled water will damage your mucoses, also internally, through osmosis. It “sucks” the salts out of your cells. Is that how osmosis works? I thought it was about _solvents_ moving through a semipermeable membrane from a weak to a strong solution. Not solutes. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706/8 "2022-02-17T22:46:16Z")
Two pints may indeed cause a slight imbalance in your cell’s salt. But it’s not going to “burn your insides”. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706/9 "2022-02-17T22:49:14Z")
I do not know. But super-pure water is used in some oilfield operations. My friends reported it was “nothing but wet,” lacking in any flavor. I note distilled water does not require labelling as a dangerous chemical. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706/10 "2022-02-17T22:50:29Z")
I’m just not swallowing that there is enough of a difference between “pure” water and tap water/well water that it will make a difference inside your digestive tract. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706/11 "2022-02-17T22:50:41Z")
You are right, it is the water that enters the cells that makes them burst. But the effect is bad: water “wants” to achieve the same concentration on both sides of the membrane (the cell membrane in this case) so the cells fill up, inflate and may burst. If they don’t burst they still may be impaired in their chemical reactions and stop working properly. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706/12 "2022-02-17T22:52:32Z")
Given the already huge difference in concentration of salts between cellular cytoplasm and ordinary tap water, why doesn’t that happen when you drink ordinary water? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706/13 "2022-02-17T22:55:45Z")
WebMD says safe. > **[What Is Distilled Water?](https://www.webmd.com/diet/distilled-water-overview#091e9c5e81cebe7d-2-5)** > > You’ve probably seen jugs of distilled water in stores. Find out what makes it different from other types of water, and what to use it for. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706/14 "2022-02-17T22:56:04Z")
Natural selection has adapted us to what is found in nature: distilled water is not. I only can get this in German, probably it is the same in the USA: > **[Destilliertes Wasser 5 L : Amazon.de: Auto & Motorrad](https://www.amazon.de/Destilliertes-Wasser-5l/dp/B00IMCYH34)** > > Destilliertes Wasser 5 L : Amazon.de: Auto & Motorrad The bottle clearly states: not recomended for intake. And this is only demineralised according to VDE 0510, not even properly distilled. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706/15 "2022-02-17T22:58:27Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Natural selection has adapted us to what is found in nature: distilled water is not. So hemlock is safe, and coca cola is dangerous? > [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > The bottle clearly states: not recomended for intake. Sure, but that could be a caution against routinely drinking gallons of it. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706/16 "2022-02-17T22:59:16Z")
The WHO released a report on the dangers of drinking demineralised water (this is a pdf): [https://www.who.int/water\_sanitation\_health/dwq/nutrientschap12.pdf](https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/nutrientschap12.pdf) One of the main dangers seems to be that the water leaches minerals from pretty much anything it touches. So if you allow it to touch lead, the water will have lead in it… > Among eight outbreaks of chemical poisoning from drinking water reported in the USA in > 1993-1994, there were three cases of lead poisoning in infants…\…For all three cases, lead had leached from brass fittings and lead-soldered seams in drinking water storage tanks. The three water systems used low mineral drinking water that had intensified the leaching process. also: > severe acute damage, such as hyponatremic shock or delirium, may occur following intense physical efforts and ingestion of several litres of low mineral water There are a few other dangers but I haven’t gone through the report in any real detail. And it seems you have to drink a lot of it to cause any damage; and food or other drinks you consume will replace the mineral loss. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706/17 "2022-02-17T23:00:43Z")
Non sequitur: that is not what I meant and I hope that was clear. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706/18 "2022-02-17T23:00:50Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > Seems you have to drink a lot of it Which makes it approximately as dangerous as tap water. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706/19 "2022-02-17T23:01:04Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > So if you allow it to touch lead, the water will have lead in it… But if you are drinking water with lead in it, you aren’t drinking “very pure water”. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706/20 "2022-02-17T23:01:04Z")
Go down to your local grocery store, buy a gallon of distilled water, and drink it. Nothing will happen. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/very-pure-water-dangerous-to-drink/959706.md?page=2)