Can I use DI (De-Ionized) water instead of Distilled

[ilikefishes]

So I have a DI unit that I am showing to customers for cleaning external windows up to 70'.  This unit is really cool and it filters regular tap water to make it De-Ionized.  My question is can I run a bunch through the filters and capture it in bottles and use this instead of distilled water for a while.  I could easily fill up as many bottles as I needed.  I think there might be a difference in chemistry that may or may not be damaging to the cigars or humidors.  Thanks for your input.
 

 

[jfields]

While a pure form of water that sounds great for the window cleaning application you mentioned, due to removing minerals. I would worry about mold formation in your humidification media. Deionization of water does not remove negatively charged organic molecules.

Might be worth a small controlled experiment over a period of time to see what happens.

 

[BlindedByScience]

I'm with Mr. Fields; distilled, not DI.  I buy a gallon of distilled water at the grocery store for under a buck.  Seems like a no brainer to me.....

 

[ilikefishes]

Yeah, all my research said about what you guys are saying.  I was just wondering if anybody had any other ideas or facts.  Thanks and I agree, it is so inexpensive that it is really moot.  I was just thinking about being lazy.
 
I will run a small controlled experiment and let everyone know what I get.

 

[Jonesy]

Quick answer, no. I've researched this before because I work in a lab and have a High output DI unit that I use daily and wondered the same thing. Distilled is a pure water because it's boiled, turned to steam through condensers and returned back to a liquid form. DI water goes through  a filtration system that doesn't remove organic or biological contaminants from the water.

I wouldn't even run an experiment on it because it would be a waste of time. Distilled water leaves EVERYTHING behind when it goes through the distillation process, the Deionization process is only removing metals and minerals and replacing them with more hydrogen.

 

[Jonesy]

On a side note (I know this doesn't have anything to do with the topic on hand), this is also why I would never use a PG/water mixture in an humidifier either. Propylene Glycol is one of our biggest raw materials at our plant site so I know the chemical makeup of it and would never have my cigars near the stuff. We use it to make deicers with and the reason being is it has a very low freezing and evaporation points. That's one of the selling points of the "cigar juice". It stays in the humidification device longer because it doesn't evaporate out as quickly as Distilled water. The bad point is that water in the mixture does, so after time, even though you may have started out with a 50% mixture, that percentage starts tilting more and more towards a higher PG % which is never good for cigars.

 

[ilikefishes]

Nice chemistry lesson. It makes sense. Thanks. You make deicers for roads?

 

[Jonesy]

Nice chemistry lesson. It makes sense. Thanks. You make deicers for roads?

No, aircraft deicers. That's why we use Propylene Glycol. It sticks to the wings of the plane and won't allow freezing with altitude or weather.

 

[mjolnir01]

 

Nice chemistry lesson. It makes sense. Thanks. You make deicers for roads?

No, aircraft deicers. That's why we use Propylene Glycol. It sticks to the wings of the plane and won't allow freezing with altitude or weather.
 

 
Yup... when I first learned that deicing fluid I used on my wings in the wintertime was essentially the same propylene glycol I used in my humidor, I quickly sought out another humidification solution.  I've been a beads guy ever since.