Get water from a dehumidifier?

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jibboo

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Dec 3, 2004
Messages
342
Location
Pennsylvania
hey all,

I have a dehumidifier in my basement, and was wondering why I'm dumping a gallon of water at a time down the toilet ... surely it can be of some good use.

Would it be safe to top off my tank with this water? I can't imagine that there is any chlorine in it (unlike my city water from the tap).

Does anyone have any experience doing this?

thanks,
nate
 
I wouldn't use it for the tank. Might be good for the garden tho.
Dehumidifiers can get quite a few nasties in the drip pan because there is nothing to stop the growth of any bacteria, mold, etc. Not something I personally would chance putting in the tank.
 
I'm just wondering ... the humidifier was new last August and visually appears new ... and water needs to be emptied about once a day in the spring/summer time.

Is there a way to test for harmful things in the tank?
 
If you put the water in the tank then find out there's a problem..... Probably not worth it for a gallon of water. Technically you could test the water before putting it into the tank but... also, not worth it for a gallon of water.

Give it to the house plants.
 
Its just that my tank is in the basement right next to the toilet (I'm too lazy to carry it all the way outside). I just wondered if anyone had any experience in doing this.

See, I don't fully understand the process by which a dehumidifier grabs the water out of the air, but in my mind, the water pulled out of the air should be pure water without any contaminents.

But you're right, its not worth the risk if no one can tell me that its definitely safe.
 
the water pulled out the air itself is fine, its when it sits as a volume of stagnent water. Any body of water will start to grow bacteria etc in it. This is wot the problem would be. We have special chemicals added to any large body of water at work to stop this.
 
I doubt bacteria would be a concern in distilled water. There wouldn't be any nutrients in that environment, and no light to support photosynthesis. The dehumidifier is just an air conditioning unit really, condensing water on a cold surface. My only concern would be the possibility of heavy metal ions dissolving off the surface, similar to the reason people recommend never using hot tap water. Whether it's safe depends on the material it's made of, how old it is, and how long the water sits before being emptied.

I say test it on some Daphnia first. It's probably fine, but I also wouldn't use it myself.
 
the condensate would also gather any fine particles in the air that could include spores as well as other organic debris that would function as nutrients for bacteria - I second the movement to apply that water to plants and not aquaria.
 
dehumidifiers and air conditioning unit are famouse for major bacteria build up. modern air conditioning units are specifically treated when they are serviced to stop the bacteria buildup. And looking in the drip trays of out air conditoner units at work is not nice, They are full of algae and are generally just nasty.
 
Agree that the dehumidifier plates are notorious for harbouring molds & fungi & bacteria. Even though the water produced is pure, there is always some dirt & stuff trapped in the plates over time & nasty stuff can grow. So I would second & third the suggestion to use the water on plants & not the fish tank.
 
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