Distillers Vs Bottled Water Vs Reverse Osmosis

You should only ever use purified water in an autoclave but there are several different ways of obtaining it. Which one is best?

Distillers

• Regularly heating water to boiling point can require large amounts of electrical energy: distillers can use more than 600 watts of energy to produce one litre of water, approx. £300 per year in electricity alone.
• Heating elements and can be prone to scale damage and can fail. Many distillers last only 2 to 3 years.
• Maximum capacity: approx. 16 litres per day for all but the largest commercial distillers.
  

De-ionised/Purified Water

• Some surgeries can buy in between 10 - 20 litres of de-ionised water per day.
• For a small, two surgery practice this equates to over £600 per year. For a larger practice, it will be much more.
• Water is heavy and transporting it is costly and is not good for the environment.
  

Reverse Osmosis

• Reverse osmosis systems force water through a fine membrane leaving impurities behind.
• R.O. uses water pressure and doesn't require electricity (mains booster pump optional for low water pressure).
• Less than 3p per litre of purified water.
• Maximum capacity of up to 80 litres per day.
• Reverse osmosis systems last much longer and require less maintenance than a distiller.