Ozone-Treated/Distilled Water

[SwaziBird]

We have a somewhat expensive and specialised microwave etc. which incorporates a steamer function.

The warning given is that, to protect the appliance, we should use distilled water for steaming. We happen to use ozone-treated drinking water.

Do you think the impurities would be sufficiently removed from the drinking water to approximate distilled water ?

Any educated opinions ?

Edited August 22, 2010 by SwaziBird

[garyh]

So you realize ozone is toxic?

[whatsupdoc]

Reverse Osmosis water should be very low in minerals. Wouldn't recommend to drink it (although a lot of people in Thailand seem to think differently), but it might be better for your microwave than the ozone-treated water.

[elektrified]

"...Do you think the impurities would be sufficiently removed from the drinking water to approximate distilled water?"

No.

[uptoyoumyfriend]

ozone only kills bacteria and such , it is three oxygen atoms loosely connected and likes to give up one of them and form o 2, regular oxygen which is more stable.the single oxygen atom attaches itself to organic matter and often kills the organism. just like hydrogen peroxide which is used to disinfect for that matter. what you want is water without impurities which is the result of reverse osmosis or distilling. a lot of the machines by the side of the road make that and sell it for a bt/litre i think.

and yes, ozone while short lived is toxic to many life forms despite its uv protecting role in the upper atmosphere.

Edited August 22, 2010 by uptoyoumyfriend

[OriginalPoster]

So you realize ozone is toxic?

But is water that is ozone treated toxic?

[SwaziBird]

Thank you for these answers, scary and otherwise. Very scary, in fact !

Just to momentarily lighten the topic, I have to tell you that I called into my local pharmacy to ask where we might purchase distilled water.

I was offered a bottle of Water Irrigate (Sterile water for Irrigation ) manufactured and bottled by General Hospital Products Public Co. and

described as containing "100% water for injection". The bilingual label went on to state in very large bold red letters 'Not For Injection".

Go figure ??!!

Now back to the other scary stuff ... I'm beginning to get more scared about my innards rather than those of the microwave !

Please continue and thanks for the info so far.

Cheers.

[Amras]

Thank you for these answers, scary and otherwise. Very scary, in fact !

Just to momentarily lighten the topic, I have to tell you that I called into my local pharmacy to ask where we might purchase distilled water.

I was offered a bottle of Water Irrigate (Sterile water for Irrigation ) manufactured and bottled by General Hospital Products Public Co. and

described as containing "100% water for injection". The bilingual label went on to state in very large bold red letters 'Not For Injection".

Go figure ??!!

Now back to the other scary stuff ... I'm beginning to get more scared about my innards rather than those of the microwave !

Please continue and thanks for the info so far.

Cheers.

My first post. Wow. But honestly I wouldn't generally be worried about ozonation in water. It's been used for around a century now to disinfect drinking water and is really an alternative for Chlorination that doesn't have the disadvantages of chlorine, ie taste smell etc. The half life of Ozone is only around 20minutes, so by the time it is used for treating drinking water and bottled, nearly all of the ozone would have degraded and any residual will degrade before you end up drinking it.

There is a big difference bewteen reverse osmosis and ozonation. Reverse osmosis removes impurities from the water, ie metallic ions etc but can leave microorganisms in the water. Ozonation kills bacteria and microorganisms but doesn't remove impurities. Ideally you want water thats gone through both (which I would assume is what happens with water in Thailand). There would be some type of disinfection of the water before bottling, whether that is Ozonation, UV treatment or chlorination. Water here (in Aus, is bottled after reverse osmosis and I beleive UV treatment (or Ozonation some might still be doing) as they manufacturer needs to ensure it is safe for drinking).

The only issue with Ozonation is if the water containes bromide, which would convert the bromide to Bromate which is carcinogenic. I still think that I would pefer to drink water which has undergone reverse osmosis and ozonation then that which has undergone no disinfection. If there are any microorganisms in the water, ie Thailand tap water which is not disinfected, this can and will result in you getting sick pretty quickly.

Here in Australia, most Water treatment plants use UV disnfection and chlorination (extremely low levels to keep the water having anti-microbial properties) to produce what is called A class water (this you could drink with no issues whatso ever). I think most are moving away from Ozonation to UV disnfection due to the bromate issue, but its a matter of whats available and whats in your best interest.

Sorry for the large amount of information, its just something I have come across through my job.

[uptoyoumyfriend]

So you realize ozone is toxic?

But is water that is ozone treated toxic?

no it isn't.as i tried to relate the ozone(o3) is rather short lived and turns into o2. oxygen. basically.

many swimming pools are treated that way as it is less harmful than chlorine (bleach).

[jayjay0]

I am supposed to use distilled water in my cpap machine. I could not find it in Chiang Mai. A friend tells me it is the same as battery water and can be purchased at any gas station. I intend on looking into that when I get home.

[Rama]

Ozone treated water doesn't have the minerals removed. Distilled water has the minerals removed and also has essentially no "free radicals" (electrons that move between different water molecules) in the water molecules. They want you to use distilled water so the minerals don't build up and gum everything up. When the water steams up it leaves behind the minerals if you don't use distilled water. distilled water is dangerous to drink, especially for infants and babies. Since there are no free radicals in distilled water, when you drink and put in your body, the liquid steals free radicals in your blood stream and the electrical imbalance can cause you body to go into shock. For a small body, like a baby or infant, or a person with other health problems, it can cause death.

[moe666]

I drank distilled water in the Navy for years and had a home distillation unit as well. Distilled water will not kill you but you could come up witha shortage of certain minerals unless you are supplementing with Calcium, magnesium, and potassium.

[naboo]

You can get distilled water very cheaply from any chemical store. The one on Mahidol road, heading east, before the river would be a (very) good bet.

[marioumberto]

in chiang mai have a very good and clean factory ozmosis wather .... nam wang kam this factory is in mae wang.....for me the be3st and cleaning wather....mountain wahter....

Edited September 1, 2010 by Lite Beer
E Mail removed.

[NancyL]

SwaziBird, you're getting some good info about how ozone-treated water is different from distilled water. It's not an issue of which is safer to drink, but rather the mineral content of the water. In the U.S. the manual that came with my steam iron said to use distilled water always because the minerals in regular water would clog up the steam vents. Here, I bought a great steam iron at Central Dept store that is intended for sale in S.E. Asia and the Middle East. The manual said it was OK to use tap water, provided it wasn't very high in minerals. Judging by the condition of our toilets and shower walls, I'd say the water here isn't very high in minerals. My Chiang Mai iron has a special rod inserted into the water compartment. The manual says to remove that rod once a month and soak it in vinegar. (I find it interesting that the manual doesn't talk in terms of hours of ironing, but just states once a month). When I remove that rod for vinegar soaking, I find it encrusted with what appears to be calcium carbonate (limestone). The vinegar soak cleans it up within a few hours.

So, I think it would be OK to use your ozone treated water in your fancy microwave, provided you have a way to remove the mineral deposit. Our microwave/oven has a similar steam function and seems to have a ceramic plate, with holes in it, over the water chamber. I suspect that ceramic plate could be removed and soaked in vinegar. I wouldn't know, because anytime I want to steam something I use our rice cooker.

[Soulwy]

My first post. Wow. But honestly I wouldn't generally be worried about ozonation in water. It's been used for around a century now to disinfect drinking water and is really an alternative for Chlorination that doesn't have the disadvantages of chlorine, ie taste smell etc. The half life of Ozone is only around 20minutes, so by the time it is used for treating drinking water and bottled, nearly all of the ozone would have degraded and any residual will degrade before you end up drinking it.

There is a big difference bewteen reverse osmosis and ozonation. Reverse osmosis removes impurities from the water, ie metallic ions etc but can leave microorganisms in the water. Ozonation kills bacteria and microorganisms but doesn't remove impurities. Ideally you want water thats gone through both (which I would assume is what happens with water in Thailand). There would be some type of disinfection of the water before bottling, whether that is Ozonation, UV treatment or chlorination. Water here (in Aus, is bottled after reverse osmosis and I beleive UV treatment (or Ozonation some might still be doing) as they manufacturer needs to ensure it is safe for drinking).

The only issue with Ozonation is if the water containes bromide, which would convert the bromide to Bromate which is carcinogenic. I still think that I would pefer to drink water which has undergone reverse osmosis and ozonation then that which has undergone no disinfection. If there are any microorganisms in the water, ie Thailand tap water which is not disinfected, this can and will result in you getting sick pretty quickly.

Here in Australia, most Water treatment plants use UV disnfection and chlorination (extremely low levels to keep the water having anti-microbial properties) to produce what is called A class water (this you could drink with no issues whatso ever). I think most are moving away from Ozonation to UV disnfection due to the bromate issue, but its a matter of whats available and whats in your best interest.

Sorry for the large amount of information, its just something I have come across through my job.

Congrats with your 1st post Amras! Thank you (and others) for posting. I am a big fan of water, so I enjoyed reading about it.

I refill the bottles from these Reverse Osmosis watertanks, and the water is ok. But it is not as good as the oxygenated water I used to drink on Bali. This was "lighter" and 'softer" in the mouth and throat. Yep, I talk about water as some talk about wine

Is there a refill tank for oxygenated water in CM? (maybe I should start a new topic...)

[kawtot]

Could be that its just me, but ozonated water tastes 'steely' and 'stale' compared to non-ozonated water. I stick to reverse-osmosis and UV treatments only, or a decent mineral water (Stoly or Absolut immediately come to mind ).

Fortunately, on some of the water-vending machines ozonation is optional.

Maybe someone can shed some light on this taste business?