Distilled water in steam irons

[Caecilius]

I have a ready supply of distilled water from my dehumidifier. I'd like to use it in my steam iron to prevent the build up of scale, but just about every steam iron manual warns about not using distilled water.

A quick search on the net shows the same warning coming up, but most of it just seems to be repeating the same warning without any data to back it up.

Does anyone know whether distilled water is actually bad for steam irons, and how bad it really is?

And, if it is bad, is my softened tap water any better? That will have sodium ions in it instead of calcium ions, which I can't imagine will provide any protection. And what about people in soft water areas?

[Scott]

What about deionised water? Can that be used?

[GB]

Because using distilled water is simply terrible for sales, I imagine.

[Huge]

Of course it isn't bad. Use it and be happy.

[Chris Hogg]

I see no reason why distilled water should be a problem. But I can see why water from a dehumidifier might be, depending on the design. Over the years, we've had two or three dehumidifiers. One had the cooling pipes exposed, with the air being drawn through them. There was no dust filter and the water that collected in the tank always contained traces of dust that had collected on the cooling pipes and then ended up in the tank. I shouldn't think that water would be suitable for a steam iron, although water from a dehumidifier with a decent dust filter before the cooling pipes probably would be.

Lots of stuff here for you to read

[tabbypurr]

Hard water clogs irons with scale. Softened corrodes them. Distilled is fine. Dehumidifier water isn't distilled but it's good for irons.

NT

[Caecilius]

My dehumidifier has a filter, and the water is perfectly clear. So that shouldn't be a problem. I can see how it might be with some designs though, because my dehumidifer filter accumulates quite a lot of dust.

I've already done that search, and reading through the results is why I ended up asking the question here. Everyone seems to be repeating what someone else said, often mixed up with irrelevant information.

[Caecilius]

Yes, I've seen "ironing water" for sale in supermarkets.

[Brian Gaff]

This interests me as back many moons ago, my now long dead Mother had a steam iron which said it had to be used with distilled water. I can recall picking some up from a local garage for her. so what is changing here? Brian

[Brian Gaff]

Ironing water? Is this from the juggling soot camp? Brian

[Brian Gaff]

Yes indeed, the way most modern devices are built I would expect it to die from some other cause long before a wrong type of water would affect it or...

Do what I do, Don't iron anything, what is the point? Save electricity, don't iron. Brian

[Tim Watts]

Nothing.

In the old days, you had to top up your car battery, before they were sealed for life. So garages sold de-ionised water which is as good as distilled, but the process to clean it up is difference (cheaper).

These days, Halfords and many supermarkets still sell it for steam irons etc.

Dehumidifier water or water from a condensing tumble dryer work (being truly distilled) but filtering it through a cloth might be a good idea unless you can see it's fairly free from lint and dust.

[DJC]

I don't think it is. My iron came with some note about not using distilled water, I ignored it, the iron is more 20 years old now, nothing wrong with it.

On the other hand if you are using water from a desiccant type dehumidifier note that the dessicant is very effective at absorbing smells as well as water from the air, and that gets into the distilled water. Took ages to remove the paint smell from the dehumidifier after using it in a freshly painted room, and ironing with the distilled water from the dehumidifier that was used in the kitchen gave a distinct eau de chip fat to the ironing.

[Caecilius]

I'm OK on that front, as my dehumidifier is a standard refrigerant type.

[Graeme]

In message , Caecilius writes

We're in Aberdeenshire, and have been for 15 years. We always use the very soft tap water in the kettle, iron etc., and have never had to descale anything. We're revolutionaries though - we don't put salt in the dishwasher, either. Doesn't help much if you are in a hard water area, though.

[Halmyre]

I thought dishwasher salt is only for hard water areas anyway? Anyway, being Aberdonian, your reasons for not using it are probably financial...

[Graeme]

In message , Halmyre writes

They would be, were I not an Englishman abroad :-)

[Jethro_uk]

Dunno about that, but I have seen (lemon) scented steam iron water (£3.00/ L IIRC) on sale in Waitrose^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H wankier supermarkets

[Jon Fairbairn]

Depends on the bean and roast used. I hate the current fashion for sour tasting coffee, but the same bean brewed correctly with Cambridge will taste sourer with Edinburgh water. So an Edinburgh barrista following the trend will make really sour coffee, but there are places that use the right bean for Edinburgh water and the taste is fine.

[dennis]

I have never seen such a warning. I have seen one that says don't use condensate but that really refers to boiler stuff that can be acidic.