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Safety

I'd like to know if it's acceptable and safe to use demineralized water instead of potable water on emergency eye washes or is it too aggressive? Some plumbing codes require potable water and in these areas it would require an approval.

Wayne Bloch
- Reading, Pennsylvania

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In general demineralized water will be fine but not always.

Potable water is, simply stated, water that is considered safe to drink by prevailing standards.

Demineralized water is water with the minerals removed. This does not mean that the water is bacteriologically safe.

Demineralized water would not be potable if it contained deadly bacteria in quanitities that are likely to cause disease.

If your demineralized water is bacteriologically safe then I would consider it to be suitable for an emergency eyewash station.

In the best of all worlds you would take sterile, deminerilizeded water and add some electrolytes and a buffer. Check with your eye doctor for details.

John Holroyd
- Elkhorn, WI