Did you know that water purity is a concern even of carwash shops? Now you do.

Basically, almost all the water you see is impure and this is due to the truth that the liquid we are dealing with is one of the most aggressive solvents in the universe. There are many agents that are present in plain water and often plain water is too crudely purified to render extensive use. However, water is widely useful even in its less pure forms. General home use does not need water to be in its purest possible state. Tap water is generally all right for cooking, laundering, and home cleaning purposes.

In more advanced applications, the importance of purification is more pressing. Tap water contains considerable levels of chlorine and ions, which in the long run would cause stains on glass and utensil surfaces and result in undesirable effects on the fabric of clothes.

Industrial use of water demands intensive purification to remove even minute amounts of dissolved solids and minerals. The series of processes is essential because in most cases the contaminants are not needed and, even in minute quantities, they make water unsuitable for several specific purposes.

Pure water is more effective as a solvent than plain water. Take note that chlorinated tap water is never absolutely pure. The fact that it contains chlorine, which combines with water to form dilute hypochlorous acid, renders it even impure. There are two known effects of this substance in water: it kills some bacteria and it creates a characteristic smell like bleach. Moreover, water that comes out of the taps contains some amount of ions. Ions come from dissolved salts that dissociate into negative and positive ions.

Now, experts say that the presence of ions makes the water inappropriate for laboratory, pharmaceutical, medical, and industrial use. Chemical and medical labs would often request for ultra pure water for their specific usages.

In automotive industry, for instance, in car batteries, the use tap water, which would affect the efficiency of their electrolytic component, is heavily discouraged. The ions in the tap water could chemically react with the ions already present inside the electrolyte cells of batteries. Hence, it is imperative that only deionized water is used. This vehicle water has the common purpose as water additive in vehicle batteries, which dry up upon charging and upon exposure to extreme ambient heat (that occurs during prolonged engine use and during hot weather).

Water to be used for vehicles may be distilled or deionized. While the former is the cheaper of the two, the latter has higher quality, for deionization of water involves several processes that ensure not only sterility but also negligible conductivity. Take note that conductivity is a standard used in measuring or assessing the quality of pure water. Deionized water or DI water has insignificant conductivity due to the absence of ions. Thus, if one uses this type of water that is devoid of ionic salts one can ensure unaffected life of their car batteries.

Take note also that reputable car wash shops use distilled or deionized water during the final rinsing to avoid ugly stains from ever appearing on glass wind shields and car windows and metal surfaces. This is due to the fact that water that is free from ions readily takes away or dissolves dirt on surfaces. Furthermore, water dries without leaving traces of dirt or stains on the surface, since it does not contain minerals or ions.

In practical terms, DI, analysis, laboratory, or demineralized water are basically similar in the sense that they all are pure water. What distinguishes them from each other is their application and manner of purification. Note that by crude inspection, pure water appears the same as does plain water. Only laboratory tests can determine whether or not a sample is deionized and pure. Take note further, that there are different grades of purity. Moreover, different companies use different types of pure water.