Distilled water is not dangerous to drink, and most of what circulates about it online overstates the case. What is true is narrower: distillation strips the dissolved minerals that give water its taste, so it drinks flat, and it does nothing about the underlying quality of the supply you are trying to escape. Those are the honest limitations, and they are enough to shape a decision.
The mineral objection, put in proportion
The usual complaint is that distilled water contains no calcium or magnesium. That part is accurate: those minerals stay behind in the boiling chamber. The leap people then make is that drinking it drains minerals from the body, which is a much stronger claim than anyone can support. Diet supplies far more of those minerals than any glass of tap water, and this hub does not make health claims either way. Treat the mineral question as a taste and preference issue, not a safety one.
The taste objection, which is real
Dissolved minerals are what makes water taste like water. Take them all out and the result is noticeably flat, which is why many people who buy a distiller for household jobs go back to filtered water for drinking. Some owners aerate the finished batch by pouring it between jugs, and some add mineral drops. Both help, and neither is necessary if the reason you wanted purity was a specific contaminant rather than a general worry.
The problem it does not solve
A distiller sits on the counter and treats a batch at a time. It cannot help the water going into your washing machine, your dishwasher, your shower or your water heater, so scale, staining and odour problems continue exactly as before. If those are the symptoms driving your search, the answer is treatment on the line, chosen from a test result, not a jug of very pure water on the worktop.
Find out what you are actually treating
Before deciding anything, read your own water report. Every community water system publishes an annual Consumer Confidence Report, and the EPA maintains a finder for locating yours. That document tells you which regulated contaminants were detected in your supply and at what level, which turns a vague worry into a specific target. Well owners have no such report and need a lab test instead, as our well water testing guide explains.
Questions people ask about why is distilled water bad for you
Is distilled water safe to drink?
Yes, it is safe. The genuine drawbacks are flat taste and the fact that it treats only the batch you distil, not your household supply.
Why does distilled water taste flat?
Because the dissolved minerals that give water flavor are left behind in the boiling chamber, so nothing remains to carry taste.
Should I switch my whole household to distilled?
Rarely worth it. A distiller makes small batches slowly, so for whole-house problems, line-mounted treatment is the practical route.