NotSoSalty t1_ix89r8i wrote on November 21, 2022 at 2:48 PM

Reply to comment by Advanced_Double_42 in Extreme heat will change us by SigmundFreud

Chemical contaminants that have a boiling point near water will contaminate your distilled water. Just boiling it isn't good enough. Even physical contaminates that are light enough to be carried by vapor will still be in your water. Boiling is only a single step in the water purification process.

It's better than nothing, but not a good long term solution.

If you were to live anywhere near fertilizer, boiling is not good enough.

I understand what you mean. Boiling water and capturing the water vapor ain't gonna cut it.

Advanced_Double_42 t1_ix8wj7c wrote on November 21, 2022 at 5:27 PM

I mean humans used to just drink water from random wells, springs, and streams.

Distillation may not be perfect, but I'd argue it is more often overkill than insufficient in survival scenarios.

Maintaining a reverse osmosis system or getting access to chlorine/iodine to purify the water is a much harder and come with their own downsides too.