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Water from Dehumidfier?
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Posted by atmail z6 MA (My Page) on Tue, May 25, 04 at 18:54
| I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but is there any harm in using the water from the dehumidifier to water house plants/garden? It seems like a waste to dump it down the drain.
Has anyone done this or read anything about it? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Water from Dehumidfier?
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| I always use it and haven't seen any problems. |
RE: Water from Dehumidfier?
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| I use the condensate from my A/C to water my plants...same concept...never had any problems. Always nice to save water when you have to pay for city water! |
RE: Water from Dehumidfier?
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| (disclaimer - I'm not an expert) I think that water from your dehumidifier should be perfectly fine to use - it's condensed from the atmosphere much like rain is.
Actually, this water may be better for your plants, especially if your water is treated (e.g. chlorine) or hard.
There's one caution I might consider. Often, dehumidifiers are in basements and other places with moisture problems. If so and the area has a mold/mildew problem, it's possible that the standing water may contain spores. Although this may not be the case, or cause any problems, you should watch your plants for signs of trouble.
When in doubt, experiment. Select a few of your plants (the rest is the control group) to receive the condensed water. Monitor these plants in relation to the others. you may realize you've discovered 'wonder water'...or not ! |
RE: Water from Dehumidfier?
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| Man,you guys are cheap!!! |
RE: Water from Dehumidfier?
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| Gasman111-I'm not sure if your're serious or joking? Considering the planet is covered 2/3 by water but only 1% is potable, conservation of it is in everyone's best interests. |
RE: Water from Dehumidfier?
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| I save a couple of gallons of dehumidifer water a year to use in my steam iron... no hard minerals!!!-Ellen |
RE: Water from Dehumidfier?
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| thanks to all that responded I think I will start using it for the plants, no sense in throwing it down the drain! Ellen - I like the idea of using it in the steam iron as well - I'll have to bottle some up! |
RE: Water from Dehumidfier?
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| We put it in the washing machine. |
RE: Water from Dehumidfier?
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| Has anyone used their dehumidifier water on veggies? If so, how did they do? Thanks esp. to AbbeysDad for the detailed post--I'd wondered about exactly that. And, saving water has less to do with being "cheap" than being ecologically conscious! |
RE: Water from Dehumidfier?
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| Water from the dehumidifier could easily pick up mold spores from the humid space. Brian |
RE: Water from Dehumidfier?
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| The world is full of mold spores and bacteria. |
RE: Water from Dehumidfier?
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| Mud, Of course....but dimes to dollars, their concentrations are greater in dehumidifier discharge......sooooooooooooo, let's now transfer them to another space. Brian |
RE: Water from Dehumidfier?
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| My mother taught me always to use the water from the dehumidifier because it is better than tap water: no chlorine (for those on city/suburban systems) and just generally because it is probably cleaner water tha any water out of that tap. Now, having said that (& believed it for years), I was surprised to see the posting that said spores from a mildrew-y basement might reside in the dehumidifier water,...interesting question, I just don't know the answer to that. Anyhow, done it for years. |
RE: Water from Dehumidfier?
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| Lynn, Nice to see that you have an open mind....not everyone does. Your mother COULD have been wrong. Next time you visit your dehumidifier, examine the evaporative coil....that's WHERE the moist air is chilled and the water is 'squeezed' out of it....you'll prolly find that it is thickly laden with dust...Do mold spores concentrate there?? I say they do. Your operator's manual prolly suggest regular cleaning of the coil to enhance efficiency....but prolly makes no reference to mold colonoies. Brian |
RE: Water from Dehumidfier?
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| There are a number of things that can live in the water collected from a dehumidifier. Some of them could cause serious illness in some people. So by all means clean the coils occasionally, and don't allow the water to stand for long periods of time - pour it into the garden. Your garden is a *much* harsher environment than the collecting tank on a dehumidifier. Anything living happily in the supermoist environment of the dehumidifier will quickly die in the garden. It can't compete with the native soil flora, and it won't survive in the lighter and drier environment of the garden. Even the ultraviolet light in the sunlight will kill almost anything in there within a few minutes! BP |
RE: Water from Dehumidfier?
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| why throw it away! since our dehumidifier is in the basement beside the washing machine it is the easiest place to dump it. i tell this to my neighbours who just had a hose and it drained to the sump pump. what a waste. they now all reuse the water too! not sure id really want to drink the water, but for anything else, why not! |
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