Where do you get your distilled water?

[snowblink]

I live in a hard water area. For that final rinse to avoid water marks, I use distilled water. Thanks to all who recommended that. However, it is quite an expensive option for me - about £3.50 per litre.

I'm guessing that most of you are not paying that much for distilled water, so I'm wondering what cheaper options there are.

Do you buy your distilled water? If so, where is the cheapest place to buy it?
Do you have your own distiller? Which brand would you recommend?
Is de-ionized water that is used for cars any good?

Thanks,
Jon

 

[rlouzan]

Local pharmacy - No matter what you decide don´t use water from a dehumidifier😱.

http://photo.net/black-and-white-photo-film-processing-forum/003l7O

 

[Solinar]

Where do you get your distilled water?

Out of a filtered vending machine at a grocery store for 35 centavos por US gallon. The reverse osmosis and activated carbon filtering does the trick on our local tap water.

 

[JeffGreene]

I get mine at the local pharmacy for $.89 gallon.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

You could get yourself a water filtering device and even drink it. Are there in your area? They are the kind you can put on the end of the faucet.

 

[JRG]

Filtering devices don't give you true distilled water. As with JeffGreene, I pay about $0.89/gallon at a local discount pharmacy. It's a trivial costs, compared to the rest of the photo-related expenses.

 

[mac_wt]

I never used it for developing, but the distilled water we use in our clothes iron is a by-product of our condensation dryer.

 

[raid]

Local pharmacy - No matter what you decide don´t use water from a dehumidifier😱.

http://photo.net/black-and-white-photo-film-processing-forum/003l7O

What is wrong with water from a dehumidifier?

 

[Steveh]

I'm in the UK as well and I just use the de-ionized car battery stuff ("Car Plan" I think) , which works fine - I've not had any drying mark issues since I started using it with a bit of wetting agent as my final rinse. About 2 quid a bottle I think.

 

[FallisPhoto]

I live in a hard water area. For that final rinse to avoid water marks, I use distilled water. Thanks to all who recommended that. However, it is quite an expensive option for me - about £3.50 per litre.

I'm guessing that most of you are not paying that much for distilled water, so I'm wondering what cheaper options there are.

Do you buy your distilled water? If so, where is the cheapest place to buy it?
Do you have your own distiller? Which brand would you recommend?
Is de-ionized water that is used for cars any good?

Thanks,
Jon

The local pharmacy and the local grocery store both sell it here for under $1 per gallon.

 

[Photon42]

I use a water filter, something like that: http://www.brita.net/uk/jugs.html?&L=1. Works great.

 

[MartinP]

I'd second the heavily-filtered water, from one of the usual jug things. As it happens I don't have one of those at the moment though ! So I use the stuff for irons, or even a low dissolved-solids bottled water a couple of times. I moved house, so it might even be ok out of the tap here, but I don't want to break a successful habit...

 

[rlouzan]

Fungus spores, dust, pollen, ... 😡

What is wrong with water from a dehumidifier?

 

[sunsworth]

As mentioned above, deionised water bought from a car accessory shop. Comes in 5 litre containers.

 

[Pherdinand]

i get it at a drugstore. Any of them have distilled water here for about an euro per litre. Maybe a bit under an euro.
I only use it for mixing diafine, fixer and the last rinsing solution with wetting agent, these three I reuse so it's not so expensive.

 

[Thardy]

I have a reverse osmosis device connected to drinking water. Will that work or should I just get distilled from the pharmacy?

 

[kmerenkov]

$2 for 5 litres in auto parts shop.
Though I am in Russia, so it all must be different for the rest of the world 🙂

 

[rlouzan]

Yes - It will work fine, but distilled water is better.

I have a reverse osmosis device connected to drinking water. Will that work or should I just get distilled from the pharmacy?

 

[Joao]

Fungus spores, dust, pollen, ... 😡

I have tried filtering the water from the air-conditioner, it works fine - no unexpected living beings in my negs. However most of the time I use the water sold for car batteries (mixing chemicals and final rinse).
The more exquisite option I have used was outdated bi-distilled water from an Hospital Pharmacy (not better than the other options, but it was free)
Washing the film after fixing is done with tap water.
One important point to get less water marks is frequent washing of thanks & reels with warm water & detergent. Just rinsing them is not enough.
Joao

 

[Roger Hicks]

What is wrong with water from a dehumidifier?

Dear Raid,

Nothing, unless it starts growing algae.

I've been using the water from the darkroom dehumidifier for years. Once a year I rinse the receiver with algicide, and I try to use the distilled water -- which is what it is -- pretty quickly, within a week or two, or there is a risk of algae growing.

If you do get spots (and I never have) then just filter the water or even just strain it through a Paterson filter:

http://www.rogerandfrances.com/photoschool/mt paterson water filter.html


Cheers,

R.