I know I should use distilled water but at times when all you need is a little into the overflow plastic bottle to keep the level between "min" and "max"?

 

I think it depends on where you live. If you live in an area that has "hard" water(lotsa mineral deposits) then I would recommend distilled. If you live in "soft" water areas, I don't think it matters a whole lot.

 

yeah I agree...

if you want to check whether you have hard water or soft water, check to see if you've got mineral deposits around your faucets and drains at home...if not, your water is fine

where I live (Davis, CA) the water is like the hardest in the state...it's horrible...but in San Francisco, the tap water is excellent (tested to be better tasting than even the bottled imported waters)

 

It'll hurt really bad when you pee....

oh wait you meant something else...

Actually I've seen, in areas with really really bad water (FL), this 95-ish sentra that somehow ate up its plastic radiator. Appearently, the water did something electrolytic with the anti-freeze (and it was never flushed). I think that takes some pretty bad tap water, I cant imagine what that must do to your stomach