Here’s the deal, and I’ll say it plainly so you can go back to your tea: boiling water does not remove fluoride. In fact, it does the opposite—it concentrates it. Imagine you’re at a party, and the room is full of people (water molecules). Fluoride is that one friend who never leaves, even when the music stops. When you boil water, some of those water molecules evaporate into steam, but fluoride sticks around like a houseguest who’s already unpacked their bags. So, if you start with a pot of fluoridated water and boil it down, you end up with less water and more fluoride per drop. Not exactly the win you were hoping for, right?
It’s like trying to get rid of the neighbor’s cat by turning up your sprinklers. The cat just moves to a slightly drier patch of grass. You haven’t solved anything; you’ve just made a wet cat. Boiling water for fluoride removal is similarly futile—it’s a wet cat situation.
Why Doesn’t It Work Like Germs or Chlorine?
Your brain might be thinking, “But boiling kills bacteria and gets rid of chlorine! Why not fluoride?” Great question, and I love that you’re using that noggin. The difference is in the chemistry. Chlorine gas is a lightweight party crasher that evaporates easily as vapor when water boils. Germs are alive (sort of), so heat destroys their little party plans. Fluoride, however, is a mineral—specifically, it’s a compound of fluorine with a bodyguard of calcium or sodium. It’s not alive, and it doesn’t evaporate. It’s stubborn, like that one plastic toy your toddler refuses to give up at bath time.
Think of it this way: if you boil a pot of saltwater, the salt doesn’t disappear, either. You just get saltier water. Fluoride is the salt of the dental world—it hangs out even when things get hot. So unless you’re planning to distill the water (which is a whole other kettle of fish, literally), boiling doesn’t touch it.
Fluoride Removal from Water Sources by Adsorption on MOFs
