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Demineralized water in lieu of a chelate.
I like to help out on a mommy blogger forum when I can, and I heard a new one today.
“You don’t need a chelate, if you formulate with demineralized water.”At first I laughed, then I pondered, then I questioned.
What is the science, or lack there of that statement?
Aloha.
Please understand I do NOT intend on going down this path, just wondering if it is a viable alternative for the ‘recipe makers’?
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4 Replies
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I understand industry standards are using demineralized/deionized water PLUS a chelate. Trying to understand why. Now I would assume part of this would be any other water-based ingredients that might come to the show… but there are plenty that do not have much more than just water in the liquid portion of the aqueous phase.
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Chelate has a preservative adjunct function. EDTA specifically has been a classic addition for >40 years.
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They also chelate calcium from protective cells of bacteria so preservative can kill them easily.
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Graillotion said:I like to help out on a mommy blogger forum when I can, and I heard a new one today. “You don’t need a chelate, if you formulate with demineralized water.”
I’m surprised you hadn’t seen that before. Even better quality pro-science DIYer level instructions/guidance have claimed this for a long time, and it is still prevalent. Most of us hobby level people do this, and our stuff seems fine, so on it continues.
That rationale has never made much sense to me, because the rest of the ingredients are a potential source, but it is hard enough to convince some people to use a real preservative at all.Chelation agents aren’t as easy to understand as preservatives, and the parameters and instructions for use are less clear and often contradictory. It is difficult if your understanding and approach are more cooking/crafting than chemistry/science. I mean, the big and popular US suppliers still use Standard American weights (and sometimes volumes only!) for their “recipes” and don’t provide percentages or even a total of how much you should end up with beyond estimates like “will fill about 6 of these 8 oz jars.” It is a culture that does not encourage scientific thinking, it promotes cookie-cutter “creativity.”Is the supposition about demineralized/distilled water correct? No. Is it better than using tap or even bottled water and still not adding something to chelate? Yes.
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