They did this because they found that the water squeezed out from the sponges was not salty and was drinkable. Today, the US Navy uses distilled water derived from sea water for drinking on-board. Distillation is generally recognized as an effective broad spectrum water treatment method and removes many different kinds of contaminants including biological contaminants such as bacteria and viruses. Distilled water, besides being the best for Drinking and Cooking water, is used for a variety of applications. Distilled water is best for use in Home Aquariums and Fish Tanks, Home Appliances such as Irons and Humidifiers and is used in Wet-Celled Batteries.
Water distillation is an effective process for producing highly treated drinking water.
Water distillation can significantly reduce levels of sediment, metals, and biological contaminants, which are unable to travel out of the boiling chamber with the steam. When combined with effective activated carbon filtration, contaminants like VOCs and radon can also be controlled. It is recommended that only units designed and tested for health-contaminant reduction be used for such purposes. The following are questions consumers have about Distilled Water and Water Distiller units. I was told that water distillation is all the same in all units and it would be a waist of money for me to pay for a Name Brand water distiller when I can get a non-brand name for less.