Distilled water is safe, so the question is not whether you can but whether you should, and that depends on why you are asking. Four situations come up regularly and they have different answers, including one where distilled water is genuinely the right choice and one where a household is about to spend a lot of money solving the wrong problem.
If you distrust your tap water
This is the most common reason and the one where distilled water is the least efficient answer. Find out what is actually in the supply first: on a community system the annual report covers it at no cost, and on a well a laboratory test does. Then treat what you find. Carbon for chlorine and taste, reverse osmosis with remineralization for a broad reduction that still tastes like water, a softener for scale. All cost less over a year than carrying bottles and produce on demand.
If a specific contaminant has been found
Distilled water does remove essentially everything non volatile, so it works, and for a short period during a problem it is a reasonable stopgap. As a permanent arrangement it is expensive and tedious, and a certified filter or a reverse osmosis system addresses the same contaminant at the tap for a fraction of the ongoing cost. The exception is a household without the space or permission to fit anything, where buying water may genuinely be the only route.
If you have read that it is healthier
The claims in this direction do not hold up well. The USGS describes hardness as dissolved calcium and magnesium, and distillation removes them along with everything else, so water stops being a source of either, which is modest for someone eating normally and is a reason to prefer remineralized water rather than bare distilled. The leaching and acidity arguments apply properties of water somewhere they do not operate. There is no health advantage to seek here.
If it is for an appliance
Then yes, and this is where most households legitimately buy it: steam irons, humidifiers, CPAP machines, steam cleaners, car batteries and some cooling systems all specify it, because mineral deposits damage them or become airborne. Follow the appliance manufacturer rather than substituting deionized water, since distillation also leaves organisms and non volatile organics behind while deionization removes only charged species. Our softener guide covers the household hardness question.
Questions people ask about should you drink distilled water
Should I drink distilled water because I distrust my tap?
Test the supply first and treat what you find. Carbon or reverse osmosis with remineralization costs less and produces on demand.
Is distilled water healthier?
No. It removes minerals along with everything else, and the leaching and acidity claims apply water's properties where they do not operate.
When is it genuinely the right choice?
For appliances that specify it: steam irons, humidifiers, CPAP machines, steam cleaners and batteries.
Can I use deionized water instead in an appliance?
Not where the manufacturer specifies distilled, since deionization removes only charged species and leaves organisms and organics.