Deionized water - where to find it?

waste

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TFP Expert
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Mar 29, 2007
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Coastalish 'down easter'
Hey all :wave:

I got a salt tester that needs be rinsed with deionized water before calibrating it(Tracer brand, if that matters). I can't find deionized water :rant:

Does anyone know what else it would be used for or where to start looking for it?

It also needs to be rinsed with distilled water after every use, but I've got gallons of that (my wife has sleep apnea and has to use it in her CPAP machine).

If all else fails, how do I get the d*mned ions out of water? :lol:

Thanks :cheers:
 
Call the chemistry department at the local college. Hopefully, they're open for summer school. Once you explain the situation, I bet they'd be happy to fill a bottle for you, or more likely, ask you to bring the tester down so they can play with it, too. My science teachers were always looking for real-world applications of what they were teaching.
 
I read an article in the LA times about de-ionized water as a cleaning agent. I can't find the article but I did find this from Google...

Deionized water is a type of purified water with mineral ions (salts) removed. These mineral ions include sodium, calcium, iron, copper, chloride, and bromide. Deionized water is created by taking conventional water and exposing it to electrically charged resins that attract and bind to the salts, removing them from the water. Because most of the impurities in water are mineral salts, deionized water is mostly pure, but it does still contain numerous bacteria and viruses, which have no charge and therefore are not attracted to the electrified resins.

Despite its uselessness for improving health, deionized water has many applications, most of them scientific or industrial. Deionized water is used extensively in microbiology experiments as a medium. This deionized water is also cooked in an autoclave prior to use, which kills off all bacteria or viruses therein. It is used to top up lead acid batteries used in cars and trucks, as mineral ions found in tap water drastically reduce their lifespan. It is used for steam irons used on clothing, ensuring well-ironed clothes without any chance of mineral residue. Deionized water is also used as a medium or additive in many pharmaceutical or cosmetic products, desired for its low chemical reactivity.


Here's a link for where you can purchase it...

http://www.coleparmer.com/catalog/produ ... 41179&pfx=
 
Deionized is not the same as distilled water. The distillation process does not remove all ionic salts, just a majority of them. To be truly deionized, the distilled water needs to be run through a resin bed to remove the remaining impurities.

Waste - did you check with your local pharmacies? I am pretty sure they need di water for some of the preparations they make.
 
I also would recommend asking the local university chemistry lab for some. Once you get it and calibrate your device, you can check it against the distilled water you have. GOOD distilled water will be very similar.

You can tell the difference between good and not so good distilled water using a conductivity meter if you have one. Cheap device. Better water reads closer to zero.
 
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