Aquafina for record cleaning

Just out of curiosity, what is the limit for impurities in the lab grade water? It has been a decade or so since I worked in a lab, but if I recall correctly the specification for Purified Water USP was 1 ppm total dissolved solids. This is the water we routinely used except for sensitive HPLC testing. Lab grade can mean different things.

Also, the downside to purchasing in large quantities is the length of time it would take to use it all after opening the bottle. It is not easy to keep things from growing in your water. Those specifications don’t mean a thing after that.

Newbrook, I just looked at Aquafina prices when picking up some things at the supermarket, and it was 95 cents per quart. I didn't see any distilled water there as cheap as $2/gallon. At these prices, it's pretty academic, though. And anyone who thinks his pricy ultra-pure water (my last bottle cost approx. $25 for 32 oz.) is going to STAY ultra-pure should read Wdi's comment.

On the broader subject, I find that the more steps I add to my cleaning regimen, the fewer records I can actually bring myself to clean. A second rinse would just about finish me off :-)

I think that's the primary point, Wdi. From my understanding on what I've read about the use of Aquafina is that the levels of dissolved solids in it render it essentially "lab-grade" even though it's not marketed that way, obviously.

I've been using it since Fremer (like him or not...) first started talking about it and find it works every bit as well as the more pricey stuff I had been using. It's readily available and cheap.

I've been a tad skeptical about generic grocery-store "distilled" water.

Michael Fremer vs. Psychicanimal. Who's the authority?

I couldn't stand to read much of this thread. It's dumb.