Can drinking water be re-boiled? Is it possible to boil water several times Is boiled water twice harmful?
Mom, why are you boiling water?
- To kill microbes.
- Do you want me to drink tea with dead microbes?)))
Let's say right away that repeated boiling of water in itself does not bring much harm, but there will be no benefit either.
So why not boil water again or add raw boiled water and boil together? Consider the main opinions.
1. Heavy water.
In the process of prolonged boiling, large masses of water evaporate from the water and in this way the proportion of "heavy" water D2O increases. Heavy water settles at the bottom of the kettle. Therefore, if you do not pour out the rest of the boiled water, but add fresh water to it, then when boiling again, the percentage of heavy water in this vessel will increase even more. With repeated additions of new amounts of fresh water to the remains of old boiled water, a rather large concentration of heavy water can be obtained. And this is dangerous for human health. If you boil the same water for a long time, then it becomes "heavy" - like treated water from nuclear reactors.
Heavy water is water with deuterium (deuterium oxide). Deuterium- heavy hydrogen, denoted by the symbols D and 2H. Deuterium is found in small doses in ordinary water (1:5500). The increase in the concentration of heavy water, even with prolonged boiling, is so negligible that it lies beyond the sensitivity of the organism and can only be detected by precise equipment. An increase in concentration does not mean an increase in the amount of heavy water itself.
Heavy water(also deuterium oxide) - this term is usually used to refer to heavy hydrogen water. Heavy hydrogen water has the same chemical formula as ordinary water, but instead of atoms of the usual light hydrogen isotope (protium), it contains two atoms of the heavy hydrogen isotope, deuterium. The formula for heavy hydrogen water is usually written as or 2H2O. Outwardly, heavy water looks like ordinary water - a colorless liquid without taste and smell.
However, heavy water is not as poisonous as many think. A person can drink a glass of pure 100% heavy water without any visible harm to health, all deuterium will be removed from the body in a few days.
Experiments on mammals have shown that tangible consequences for the body occur at very high concentrations of deuterium in tissues (25%-50%). A person weighing 70 kg should drink 3 liters of 100% heavy water daily for a week so that its concentration in tissues is 25%.
The final answer will be given to us by the school problem book in chemistry for the 11th grade. In one of the tasks, a quote is given from Pokhlebkin's book "Tea", where the author writes about "heavy water", the inadmissibility of making tea from it and the need to pour new water into the kettle every time. Further, the authors of the problem book ask: how many times do you need to add water and boil it in a 1.5-liter kettle so that the concentration of heavy water increases 10 times? There are all sorts of moths, shares, X's and, finally, the answer. "In order to increase the content of heavy water by 10 times, it is necessary to evaporate half of the water 157 times in a row, that is, to reduce its initial amount by some unimaginable number with powers of times, which seems meaningless." So drink calmly tea from boiled water several times!
2. Decrease in oxygen in water.
The statement that it is impossible to boil water twice, because it “becomes less oxygen” is not true. There is as little oxygen in freshly boiled water as in twice boiled water - and several times less than in water, say, 90 degrees A supersaturated solution of oxygen in water does not exist under normal conditions, therefore neither the number of boilings nor the rate of heating of water are important.
3. Increase in salt concentration.
There is an opinion that repeated boiling in water increases the concentration of either just salts or salts of heavy metals, and all this is very harmful, of course. With each boiling, the water evaporates and the concentration of dissolved salts in the residue increases. At the same time, everything depends on the purity of the source water, if the water is clean, you boil it for as long as you like, nothing will happen.
This is not true. All salts of reversible hardness decompose even during the first boiling. When the water is heated, there is a rapid decomposition of hardness salts with the release of carbon dioxide - this explains the "whitening" of the water and the release of a large number of small bubbles before boiling. Accordingly, boiled water, as a rule (with the initial presence of significant reversible hardness, is softer than unboiled water, but it does not matter how many times the water was boiled.
3. Water becomes "dead".
Filtered water is "alive", i.e. saves because "information structure" of flowing water. Boiled, respectively, is inanimate. (Not to be confused with "dead" acidic and "live" alkaline water after hydrolysis!) This is well felt by animals that are more willing to drink running water from a tap (even with chlorine!) or a filter (as well as from puddles and open reservoirs), than boiled from a kettle. This is not officially recognized by science. So to believe or not to believe is your choice.
* * *
So, of course, water can be boiled repeatedly, but from the point of view of benefits, it is most useful to drink filtered water, but not boiled. For tea and coffee, it is enough to heat the water to 80 degrees. And if you boil water, then not immediately from the tap! The water must settle so that the chlorine evaporates, as already mentioned here
You can boil water several times, but it is not necessary. The main factor in the benefits and purity of water is not the amount of boiling, but the degree of quality of the original liquid. Therefore, before use, it is important to purify the water in any existing way.
By the way, the use of bottled water is also not recommended, since there is no single standard and quality requirements for such products. In addition, plastic containers adversely affect the contents.
In everyday life, it is better to use standard tap water, but before use, clean it with filters or other available and effective methods. And in this article we will consider whether it is necessary and whether it is possible to boil water several times.
Harm of tap water
The water that we pour into the kettle from the tap contains both useful and harmful elements. On the one hand, it contains such important substances as calcium and magnesium, oxygen and carbon dioxide. On the other hand, the composition includes dangerous uranium and barium, bleach, fluorine and nitrates. Such components can cause serious harm and damage to human health.
Regular use of untreated tap water for a long period of time causes the formation of stones in the gallbladder and kidneys, worsens the microflora in the intestines and the condition of the mucous membranes, and contributes to the occurrence and development of an allergic reaction.
Poor-quality tap water after cleaning with bleach has an unpleasant taste and worsens the taste of cooked dishes and drinks. Impurities in its composition will easily spoil the value of tea and coffee.
In addition, tap water is often hard, which degrades the quality of things after washing. It makes the material rough and unpleasant to the touch, leaves stains and stains on clothes. To eliminate such harm, you need to clean and soften the water.
Boiling to purify and soften water
The benefit of boiling is that it kills dangerous bacteria and makes the water softer. This is the easiest and most affordable way to cleanse at home. If you boil water for 15 minutes along with steam, harmful chemical compounds will leave. But along with these elements, the concentration of calcium and other beneficial minerals decreases. At the same time, chlorine and non-volatile substances remain in the composition. In boiled water, they turn into more dangerous carcinogens.
The longer and more you boil water, the more nutrients will go away, the more useless it will become. In addition, after boiling, salt deposits and stains remain on the walls of the dishes, and scale forms. At the same time, the level of dangerous pollutants in the water is low enough that it will not cause serious harm to health.
If you use an electric kettle, it turns off quickly and the boiling time is short. Therefore, repeated and even repeated boiling will not become a harmful effect. However, many experts still do not recommend repeating this procedure and consider it overkill. Let's see why you can't boil water twice.
Is it possible to boil water twice
Boiling water again is not recommended. With repeated and subsequent boiling, harmful elements turn into carcinogens that are dangerous to humans. This can lead to oncological and neurological diseases, problems in the functioning of the heart, loss of vascular elasticity, impaired development and growth of children.
Note that the danger lies not in the number of boils, but in the duration of the procedure. The longer the water boils, the more active the production of negative and harmful substances.
With prolonged and repeated boiling, the hydrogen isotope precipitates and deuterium is formed. It disrupts the material metabolism in the body and impairs the absorption of vitamins. This is a scientific fact that explains why you can't boil water twice.
In addition, boiled water acquires an unpleasant taste. And with each new boil, it gets worse. The reason for this process is that harmful impurities in the composition of water at a temperature of 100 degrees react and become active, as a result they give an unpleasant aftertaste.
Six Reasons Why You Shouldn't Reboil Water
- After you have boiled water in a kettle, especially repeatedly, it first loses its taste and then acquires an unpleasant aftertaste;
- When heated to 100 degrees, chlorine interacts with organic substances, which forms carcinogens that are harmful to the body and human health. Each subsequent boiling increases the concentration of the latter;
- The more often heat treatment occurs, the more useful substances and properties the water loses. As a result, it becomes useless and “dead”;
- When reheated, oxygen leaves, water evaporates, and the content of salts and impurities increases. Such water is no longer suitable for making broths and soups, tea and coffee, cooking pasta;
- If after the first boil the water becomes softer, then after the second and subsequent it becomes heavier. This will lead to increased scale formation in the kettle or pan, deterioration in the quality of linen after washing, the taste of cooked food and drinks;
- When water is boiled again in a kettle or other utensils, an isotope of hydrogen is precipitated, which is called toxic deuterium. Gradually, it accumulates, which is dangerous for human health.
How to purify tap water
To get high-quality, healthy and tasty water, it is enough to defend the contents before use. Half an hour is enough for harmful chlorine to disappear. Before boiling, it is better to stand for several hours so that harmful gases and compounds evaporate. If you are pouring the contents into a thermos, leave it open for a few minutes and only then close the lid.
It is healthier and safer to use new fresh water for each boil. Do not boil the liquid again and do not add fresh water to the water left after the previous boil. To make tea or coffee, boiled water can be slightly heated without bringing the liquid back to a boil. Do not do this in the microwave, as it kills all the beneficial elements.
Why can't you boil water a second time? — Unfortunately, many do not know the answer to this question, and every day they make a mistake by not draining the old water from the kettle. But this ban has been known for a long time, but most simply turn a blind eye to it in order to save water and pay utility bills. In this article, you will find comprehensive information on why it is harmful to boil water several times.
Why boil water?
As you know, no living creature can live without water, be it a plant, an animal, a microorganism or a person. 80% of our body consists of liquid (in infants - 90%). Fresh water is simply necessary for us for normal metabolism and removal of toxins and slags from the body.
Unfortunately, the problem of clean tasty water in the modern world is more than relevant:
- in villages where one could find clean springs before, now they are no longer completely clean due to soil pollution;
- in the city water, to reach the apartment, you need to go through kilometers of pipes of dubious purity.
Important! Naturally, in the latter case, the liquid is disinfected with special substances, for example, using bleach, but this spoils the taste and smell of water, and it does not help much. Regarding cleaning systems, their effectiveness is very controversial, because in some cities they have not changed for several decades.
The conclusion regarding the quality of drinking water is deplorable. In order to at least somehow correct the situation, people began to boil the liquid. The purpose of this process is one - to kill all the bacteria and microbes that are in raw water, that is, to literally sterilize it.
Indeed, most microorganisms die under the influence of high temperatures. Then why shouldn’t water be boiled many times, because doctors recommend using only the liquid that was boiled once to make tea or coffee, be sure to pour out the old leftovers. To deal with this recommendation, consider the physical and chemical properties of ordinary water.
What happens to water during boiling?
Let us consider in detail what changes occur at the moment the temperature reaches 100 degrees Celsius with the composition of H2O:
- During the boiling process, oxygen and water molecules evaporate.
- Since any water contains a large amount of impurities, you should know that after boiling they do not go anywhere. Moreover, their concentration increases, as the liquid itself becomes smaller due to the evaporation of water molecules. Particles of dirt and salt settle on the bottom of the kettle, forming a white scale.
Important! That is why sea water, even after boiling, is unsuitable for drinking.
- All pathogenic bacteria, viruses and microbes are destroyed.
Important! It is a mistake to think that each subsequent boiling kills an increasing number of harmful microbes, viruses and bacteria. All harmful microorganisms die at the first heat treatment at 100 degrees Celsius.
- Water molecules contain heavy chemical elements - hydrogen isotopes. They are resistant to temperatures up to 100 degrees and settle to the bottom during the boiling process. Thus, the liquid becomes more "heavy".
Can you boil water multiple times?
A large number of people do not drain the old, previously boiled liquid, and boil it again to make themselves tea. Is it bad to boil water a second time? - Let's look into this matter.
Boiled water is completely tasteless
If a fresh transparent liquid does not already have a special taste, then boiled one loses even its remnants. And if you boil water several times, then it turns into a very tasteless one. To understand the difference, you can conduct an experiment:
Boiling makes water "dead"
The more often and more water is processed, the more useless the resulting liquid is. When boiling, the chemical formula of H2O is violated, as oxygen leaves the liquid. The water becomes dead.
The amount of impurities increases
With each subsequent boiling of the same liquid, the concentration of salts increases. Naturally, the human body does not immediately feel such changes, and the toxicity of such a liquid is a negligible percentage. But all reactions in “heavy” water are slower, and deuterium, an element that is released from hydrogen during boiling, tends to accumulate, which brings undoubted harm to the body.
Important! "Heavy" water looks the same as ordinary water, and has the same chemical formula - H2O, but instead of light hydrogen atoms (protium) it contains heavy hydrogen atoms (deuterium).
Dogs, rats, mice and other mammals die after about a week of regular consumption of such water due to the replacement of more than 25% of light hydrogen in tissues by heavy hydrogen. A person without harm to health can theoretically drink two glasses of "heavy water". In this case, after a few days, the deuterium will be completely eliminated from the body.
Carcinogens are formed
As a rule, the water that we boil for our food needs is treated with bleach. In the process of heating to 100 degrees Celsius, chlorine enters into a chemical reaction with organic substances, resulting in the formation of carcinogens. This is another one of the significant reasons why water should not be boiled repeatedly. With each subsequent heat treatment, the concentration of carcinogens increases, and these substances are known to provoke the development of cancer in the human body.
How to boil water correctly?
Boiled liquid is already of little use, but its repeated processing makes it harmful. Therefore, before the next procedure for heating water for tea, follow these simple rules:
- Use fresh water each time you boil.
- Is it possible to boil water a second time? You can, but you definitely don't need to! Do not boil again, as well as add fresh liquid to the treated residues.
- It is advisable to let the water stand for several hours before boiling.
- When using a thermos, do not close it with a cork immediately after pouring boiling water into it. Do it in a few minutes.
- Keep an eye on the container in which you boil water. Immediately descale the kettle - for this you can use citric acid or vinegar.
- No need to think long about how much water to boil. Wait for the water to turn white from saturating it with air bubbles and turn it off. Don't wait until it starts bubbling and splashing. Remember that the longer the water boils, the less it becomes and the higher the concentration of carcinogens. That's why you can't boil water for a long time.
Important! Boiling for more than 20 minutes completely changes the structure of the water.
footage
As you can see, the arguments as to why it is impossible to boil water several times quite and unimportant. Water and food should only benefit your body. Boil the same water several times or not - it's up to you. But if in this way you can save your body from the accumulation of harmful substances even for a small percentage, then why not try it? Moreover, it does not require much effort.
Probably, every person already knows that water is the most important substance for the functioning of all organs and systems of our body. All doctors strongly recommend that both children and adults drink enough ordinary clean water. And no juices, compotes and other drinks can become a worthy replacement for it. But the opinion of doctors and ordinary people about what kind of water is better to drink does not always coincide. So many people are wondering why you can't boil water twice: is it a scientific fact or a fallacy is this opinion about it?
Many doctors advise their patients to drink water that has only been boiled once. In other words, before adding new liquid to the kettle, pour the rest into the sink. But there are people who are sure that prolonged boiling is guaranteed from various harmful impurities. Who is right anyway?
In daily life, we usually use tap water. And it, as everyone knows, has in its composition a lot of various substances, including those that are not very beneficial to health. It contains not only chlorine, which is necessary for disinfection, but also various heavy compounds. Therefore, it is strongly not recommended to take such water without boiling.
When water boils, organochlorine compounds are formed in it. And the longer the boiling process lasts, the more such compounds are formed. They are represented by dioxins and carcinogens and are capable of exerting a depressing effect on the cells, tissues and organs of our body. But the negative impact will not be noticeable immediately, because aggressive substances accumulate in the body for a long time, and then lead to the development of serious, including chronic health problems.
Probably, everyone noticed that boiled water has a completely different taste than "fresh". This feature is also explained by the presence of dioxins in its composition. Increasing their amount softens the water.
It is worth noting that chlorine from unboiled water harms the body much more. Therefore, you should not drink water just from the tap. Pediatricians even advise bathing newborns in boiled water. Excess chlorine can lead to skin flaking, itching and other unpleasant consequences, especially on delicate children's skin.
What is fraught with prolonged boiling?
The answer to this question is hidden in the above information. Since the boiling process is accompanied by the formation of dioxins, the amount of these compounds increases with prolonged boiling. However, it is worth noting that in order to obtain their critical level in water, it will have to be boiled far more than once.
It should not be forgotten that the taste of water changes markedly when boiled. Thus, a liquid boiled twice will already be far from ideal and may somewhat change the taste of brewed tea or coffee. Quite often, water is re-boiled in different offices, when employees are just too lazy to run for a new portion.
Is re-boiling really dangerous?
No specialist can give a definite answer to this question. With each boil carried out, the amount of organochlorine compounds in the water increases, but their level still does not rise to such an extent as to cause serious poisoning or death. So, the most obvious minus of repeated boiling is the change in the taste of water, which spoils the drinks prepared on its basis, making it difficult to enjoy the fullness of their taste.
At the same time, scientists emphasize that the number of aggressive particles (microbes) in boiled water decreases after the first boil. And turning the kettle on again does not affect their viability in any way. After all, what could not survive when the temperature reached one hundred degrees has already died, and the particles that can stay alive will remain even with repeated boiling.
Boiling allows you to purify water from hardness salts, because they have a lower boiling point. Such particles settle on the walls of the kettle, like scale, which is visible to the naked eye.
Which can be said for quite a long time, yet it is more beneficial for the body than tap water. And the decision to boil it again or not, a person must make on his own, focusing on the information provided above. Once again, I would like to emphasize that organochlorine compounds are still released during repeated boiling, albeit in a small amount, and no one knows what this can be fraught with for the body. Therefore, it is better not to risk your health and not be lazy to change the water in the kettle to fresh.
In order for boiled water to bring only benefits to the body, you need to follow a few recommendations:
For boiling, it is worth using only fresh water each time;
- do not boil the liquid again and add fresh to its remains;
- before boiling water, leave it for a few hours to stand - so part of the aggressive substances and chlorine will disappear from it;
- after pouring boiling water into a thermos, do not cork it immediately, it is better to wait a couple of minutes.
Folk recipes
So, it is clear to every person how important it is. But the consumption of insufficient quality water can lead to the development of various pathological conditions. So, if the liquid for drinking contains too much calcium salts, stone formation in the kidneys may begin. Traditional medicine will help to cope with such a problem.
So with nephrolithiasis, you can use bird knotweed. Brew three tablespoons of fresh and chopped herbs with half a liter of boiling water. Infuse the medicine for four hours, wrap it well, then strain. Take half a glass on an empty stomach in the morning. The feasibility of treatment with folk remedies must be discussed with the doctor.
Every housewife knows firsthand about the benefits of boiling even purchased water, but only a few know that it is highly undesirable to boil the “life-giving liquid” twice in a row. Experienced specialists have recently given a complete explanation of this fact, referring to physical and chemical laws and formulas. Despite the fact that boiled water retains its organoleptic properties, its structure and composition does not change for the better. Physicists and chemists decided to visually confirm this scientific fact by conducting some experiments. There are many reasons why it is undesirable to boil water twice.
Only water that has been boiled only once is suitable for drinking. The structure of a water molecule is known to every person since schooldays - these are two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. The chemical formula has the form H 2 O. Water is a liquid substance that has no color, taste or smell.
The water flowing from our taps, stagnant ponds and springs, has a unique composition, which includes all kinds of mineral chemicals that are dangerous to human health. In addition, natural and spring water contains the most complex high-molecular organics, microscopic flora and fauna. Boiling helps to get rid of all these unpleasant impurities.
The harmfulness of secondary boiling - scientific confirmation
The main task of boiling water is to rid the liquid of harmful, pathogenic microscopic organisms that die when the temperature rises. Organic substances are completely destroyed after the first boiling, but mineral inclusions remain in the same concentration. Repeated boiling leads to the fact that part of the mineral component increases, water evaporates, the concentration of harmful substances increases, which can cause irreparable harm to human health.
Scientists argue that, in addition to minerals, salt inclusions, alkalis, acid radicals, water contains dissolved hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The constant formation of steam and boiling of the same water leads to the fact that atomic hydrogen, together with isotopes of deuterium and tritium, sink to the bottom of the tank in which water is boiled. Because of this, the liquid density increases.
Also, do not forget about the proportion of active chlorine, which is part of tap water. Repeated and long boiling leads to the fact that this substance enters into a chemical reaction with organic residues and mineral inclusions. It is difficult to say what this procedure is fraught with, because the reaction directly depends on the degree of water purification. Water is pre-filtered at water intake and treatment plants, where it is subsequently chlorinated.
Survey
The lessons of physics and chemistry have long taught us that the acceleration of any reaction (including heating the temperature) does not pass without a trace, repeated boiling of the same liquid is fraught with the formation of carcinogens and dioxins.
Why can't you drink distilled water?
The proof of the fact that drinking boiled water twice is unhealthy makes one want to ask a completely logical question, why can't you drink distilled water? Of course, no one forbids drinking distillate, but it has been scientifically proven that purified water that does not have taste, smell and color is also not particularly beneficial for human health. However, it is not clear what the reasons for this damage are.
Some scientists argue that distilled water, purified by steam and subsequently condensed, differs in a different charge direction and dipole moment from ordinary liquid. To restore the original properties of purified water, it is recommended to freeze this liquid in a plastic container. This method, harmless to humans, will help restore lost properties to water, it is perfect for simple drinking and cooking.
Previously, viewers could watch on TV a program about restoring water quality, where the charlatan Alan Vladimirovich Chumak acted as the host, purifying and charging the liquid in front of people sitting on the other side of the screen. According to him, such water was drinkable immediately, and it was not necessary to boil it at all. Although scientific facts state the opposite, that single boiling is necessary for water, but double or multiple boiling can completely change its composition.
