some folks drink distilled water, and some actually need to, but i think most folks use distilled water for humidifiers? if that's you, here's some info (i'll get to this specific distiller after some prefacing)...good humidity (45-55%) is important for musical instruments. my humidifier recommends distilled water. most seem to. and after years of going through humidifiers, have found distilled water does make them last much longer (usually they poop out after a few months). so if you need a humidifier, you'll need distilled water.humidifiers with larger tanks (about 2 gallons) is a big help. in the NE, the humidity is often about 20-30. to generate enough steam, smaller tanks mean you end up filling it more than once a day.the size space is important. i've never found a humidifier that can handle the whole apartment. so we have a "music room" with the door shut. and that makes a HUGE difference.(they do make humidifiers you can connect to the main water supply, but either you can have major plumbing and construction done or minor plumbing and a hose running through your home. for non-commercial use, this isn't really a useful option.)but amazon stopped carrying normally-priced distilled water jugs (~ $1). only the absurd price-gougers remain. that's where a distiller comes in. the amount of water it produces is ideal. make distilled water, fill up the humidifier, then re-fill the distiller (ideally about the same size, makes water faster than you use it up).this distiller does all that great. am thrilled that i'm no longer storing and hunting for those gallon bottles (smaller ones are annoying, i couldn't lift larger ones).HOWEVER, this unit was designed terribly. the top half is where it all happens. the bottom is the tank you refill constantly. you have to plug the top into the bottom and the the bottom into an AC outlet?? which means, you need to unplug it all each time (about every other day?) to bring it to a sink. (and then back without spilling?)also, the i