Mineral water is derived from mineral springs. These springs produce water that has added minerals. Today, it is common for this water to be bottled and sold for mass consumption.
Water that is enriched with minerals is said to produce many health benefits, such as lowered blood pressure, increased bone strength, and regulated blood circulation. These benefits have made mineral water extremely popular across the globe.
In areas where water is non-potable, bottled sources of water are essential. You can use traditional bottled water or mineral water.
Can You Boil Mineral Water?
Technically, any liquid can be boiled if you apply the right amount of heat. With this in mind, it is safe to say that yes, you can boil mineral water.
To boil mineral water, place your desired amount of liquid in a pot or kettle and heat over medium heat. You shouldn’t heat liquids over high heat unless you will be closely monitoring them.
Many of us will put a kettle or pot on to boil and walk away to complete another task, so to be safe, stick to medium heat. The average boiling point of water is 212 degrees Fahrenheit or 100 degrees Celsius. This temperature can vary based on the altitude of an area and the mineral content of water.
Have you ever wondered why the ocean water feels so cool even on a hot day? That is because sea water has higher salinity than tap water, making it harder to boil.
Mineral water contains more magnesium, calcium, sodium, and zinc than tap water. This increase in minerals could mean a higher boiling point.
Unfortunately, there’s a wide variance in the mineral concentration of mineral waters because each spring is its own. The same spring could even produce different concentrations over time as the rocks where the minerals originate erode over time.
There’s no way to tell what the exact boiling point of mineral water is; you’ll just need to figure it out for yourself. When your water has reached the temperature you desire, you can remove it from the heat source.
Now, you’ve got freshly boiled water suitable for making tea or other beverages.
Advantages of Boiling Mineral Water
The most important production of boiling mineral water is having hot water that is suitable for human consumption. Many people live in areas where tap water or the water supply is tainted.
Tainted water supplies can lead to humans ingesting toxins that could maim or even kill them. Sometimes, it takes many years to see the effects of ingesting unsuitable water.
In remote locations, you could find yourself in a situation where there are no fresh water sources. You can boil water that you find in the wild to kill pathogens lurking within it, but boiling will not remove any toxic chemicals.
Having mineral water on hand is a great way to ensure that you always have a fresh source of drinkable water. Besides producing hot water, boiling mineral water can result in a liquid that is super concentrated with minerals.
When water boils, it evaporates. If you left a pot of water on the stove for several hours, you would eventually find a dry pot.
With the addition of heat, water goes from liquid to gas form. This can easily be observed as you look at the steam rising from a boiling liquid. Steam is just hot, gaseous water.
As water in the mineral water evaporates, the minerals are left behind. If you boiled your mineral water for a considerable amount of time, you would find that the remaining liquid has a higher concentration of minerals per milliliter than non-boiled mineral water.
If you’re really interested in deriving minerals from mineral water, you could boil it for a while prior to consumption.
Disadvantages of Boiling Mineral Water
In many places, even tap water isn’t free. Most Americans pay utility and/or water bills that track their water usage and charge accordingly. Only 13 percent of Americans get their water from a well.
The price tag on water from your faucet is considerably lower than bottled water, and even lower than mineral water. A six-pack of mineral water in glass bottles is more than double the cost of a case of bottled spring water.
Regions and provinces where tap water is not suitable for drinking are often struck by poverty. These are not people who can afford to pay $15 for six bottles of mineral water.
Oftentimes, it’s more cost-effective for people in these regions to drink water that has been deemed unsafe and suffer the consequences. Sometimes they may not even be aware their tap water is unsafe.
While bottled water is held to high standards by the Food and Drug Administration, mineral water is not. Mineral water is exempt from allowable level concentrates that deem spring water safe for consumption. Mineral water is exempt because its chemical components are what make it mineral water.
However, there is no federal or international standard of which minerals should be in which concentrations in mineral water. Thus, you could drink one brand that is high in sodium, while another is exceptionally high in calcium.
This lack of regulation means that it is difficult to track what you are putting into your body when you consume mineral water. As stated previously, when you boil mineral water, some of the water content evaporates.
This is good news if you’re looking to get a high concentration of minerals, but bad news if you’re worried about what could be in your mineral water.
Mineral water is bottled at the source and sold directly to consumers. This makes many people believe that it is inherently pure, but that is not the case.
Contaminants could be present in the spring and they are hard to detect without regular testing. If you boil your mineral water, you could increase your potential of consuming those contaminants.
Uses of Boiled Mineral Water
You can use boiled mineral water in all the same ways that you would use boiled tap water. You can use boiled mineral water to make tea or other warm beverages. You can pour it over coffee grounds to create a cup of traditionally brewed coffee.
You could also use boiled mineral water in your cooking. If a recipe requires hot water, you can easily boil some mineral water on the stove or in a kettle.
Certain shelf-stable foods require hot water to create a meal out of their contents. Boiled mineral water can also be used to boil pasta. This is a fantastic way to add flavor and minerals to your pasta before you add your sauce.
You can also use boiled mineral water for hygienic purposes. You can use the boiled water to wet your toothbrush and rinse your mouth out when brushing your teeth. You can utilize the warm water during your shaving routine, and you can even bathe in it.
You should never submerge your body in boiling water. This will cause burns, and you could go into shock. Allow water to cool slightly before using it in a bathing routine.
The steam from boiling mineral water can be used for a fantastic facial. Stand with your face several inches away from the pot. Use your hands to waft the steam toward your face. This warm air will relax the muscles in your face and help loosen up any dead skin that may be lurking about.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems and over 10 years of experience working in IT. As a homeowner, I love working on projects around the house, and as a father, I love investigating various ways to keep my family safe (whether or not this involves tech). I’ve also played guitar for almost 20 years and love writing music, although it’s hard to find the time these days.