How to ... Idea for using Dehumidifier Water for Irrigation

Posted by Hot-Adhesiveness-438@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 49 comments

Hi folks,

First time posting. I have a bunch of water that gets collected from my dehumidifier and I hate wasting it. I want to turn that into water for fruits and veggies.

I was thinking, two large buckets with a gravity filter in between and a subpump from the bottom bucket pushing clean water to the hoses.

Anything like this already exist? Any ideas on how to make it better?

Pump would be turned on and off manually to control water output.

Biggest concern is getting the water into the top bucket because water is heavy and I am short.

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ryanmercer@reddit

I wouldn't. There are two big dangers with dehumidifier water: lead contamination from solder joints and legionella bacteria.

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dittybopper_05H@reddit

These can be largely mitigated if you get a droid that speaks Bocce.

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Superslim-Anoniem@reddit

If it's one you bought in the EU, there isnt supposed to be any lead solder used in it. Bacteria can be mostly taken care of by cooking.

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Hot-Adhesiveness-438@reddit (OP)

Thank you! But if it is so bad, how should it be disposed of?

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Putting it in the drain is fine. Other wastewater will dilute it and the sewer processing plant will take care of it. I think it's just something you don't want super concentrated poured over and over again on something you're going to eat.

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Hot-Adhesiveness-438@reddit (OP)

Yeah, I've appreciated everyone's thoughts. I just started to be a little concerned cause I usually dump it outside. I know filtration through sand and dirt probably helps but it is in the basement with some lose inflation and collecting mold, glass, concrete dust etc. Probably not great for the ground water either?

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IdealDesperate2732@reddit

I think that diluting it into the ground water is the safest way to deal with it. You're producing such a small amount, dehumidifiers are generally rated to a few liters a day, right? The ground water is measured in acre feet per year. It's not even close in comparison.

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Hot-Adhesiveness-438@reddit (OP)

Totally true. I forget how much it produces per day because I collect in a trash barrel and dump it every 3 weeks or so depending on how quickly it fills up.

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ryanmercer@reddit

It's not necessarily bad, I just wouldn't use it to irrigate things I'm going to eat. Ours just gets dumped into the utility sink and goes into the sewer, but in a previous house it just got shot outside into the driveway via a condensate pump.

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Hot-Adhesiveness-438@reddit (OP)

Thank you

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YouTasteStrange@reddit

I placed my dehumidifier hose in my sump pump so now my water gets piped to the back of my house.

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Hot_Annual6360@reddit

You would probably have to enrich the water, one way would be to add fruit remains and potato peels, so that it ferments and enrich the water.

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Hot-Adhesiveness-438@reddit (OP)

This is interesting. I appreciate the idea.

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hydrogenbound@reddit

Banana peels are great for this.

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AstronomerUnited89@reddit

Hello. I saw one of your answers about how xilimelts cured your tonsil stones. Did that work? I wanna get one lf those please. Where did you get it?.

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hydrogenbound@reddit

Hi yes, I get mine on Amazon and use them every night.

https://a.co/d/9414e5C.

I gargle with Therabreath mouth wash.

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AstronomerUnited89@reddit

But bro please tell me has that helped you tryly? Like no more bad breath?

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hydrogenbound@reddit

No I have sinus issues and reflux that cause bad breath unfortunately. It does help a lot, I can definitely tell when I haven’t used them in a couple of days.

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021fluff5@reddit

I would advise against using dehumidifier water for things you intend to eat. An often-overlooked part of gardening is caring for the soil by developing a community of microorganisms. The water from your dehumidifier doesn’t contain anything nutritious for your plants or the soil, and I’d worry that the heavy metals might build up in your soil over time (or make you sick).

If you’re worried about wasting water, focus on irrigating your plants efficiently - e.g. watering in the early morning, setting up an automatic drip irrigation system, researching the correct timing/amount of water for all your plants.

If you are drawn to the idea of reusing water…aquarium water is a fantastic source of nutrients for plants. It’s basically a diluted fertilizer, so it’ll gently feed them every time you water your garden.

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Figuringitoutlive@reddit

Ok, I'm curious where does everyone get this idea that de-humidifiers are a source for heavy metals?

Mechanistically a de-humidifier is just the condensation half of a distillation apparatus; and you're condensing unboiled steam from the air, there's going to be some bacteria (naturally found in the air), some fungi (naturally found in the air), and some pollen/dust mites (still naturally found in the air.)

Where does the heavy metal concern come from?! The condenser tube is most likely made from Copper which isn't exactly a heavy metal, and is biologically compatible in most circumstance. It will naturally be diluted and spread across your entire garden anyway. Personally I'd be curious how the pH has changed, but since you aren't drinking the condensate, I fail to see the problem since soil composition is going to balance it out anyway.

"doesn't contain anything nutritious for your plants of soil" : Neither does rain water, what are you trying to get at here?

The biggest problem with Dehumidifier water in my opinion and educated guess is going to be long term bacterial contamination possibly spreading Legionnaires' disease; it won't be safe for humans to drink without processing, but you're going to be pretty desperate, and do that anyway via chemical, filtration, or both mechanisms.

You can use 'grey water' from human hygiene processes to water your garden, why is dehumidifier water somehow more dangerous?!?

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Hot-Adhesiveness-438@reddit (OP)

Thank you for your thoughts and the link.

I didnt realize so many people were against using it. More controversial as a first post then I expected.

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Hayfork-or-Bust@reddit

If you get under testing Please update this post with your test results and dehumidifier make/model info. I have (2) small $20 closet dehumidifier’s that have been running strong for over 10 years and they happen to be 12v (but run on a small wall-plug ac power supply). A surprisingly reliable source of water that could be easily connected to a hot amount of solar, but as others have said questionable safety regarding consumption.

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Hot-Adhesiveness-438@reddit (OP)

Good Options thanks for sharing. Any ideas on how to test for legionella and bacteria?

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Figuringitoutlive@reddit

Filter, and chemical disinfectant.

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DanoPinyon@reddit

As a horticulturalist...um...no.

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siciliansmile@reddit

Heavy metals from where?

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siciliansmile@reddit

Heavy metals from where?

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Virtual-Feature-9747@reddit

If you are running a dehumidifier anyway then, sure use the collected water for non-potable purposes. Do NOT drink it without serious treatment.

If you want to run a dehumidifier ONLY to collect water then there are other, better options.

I have no idea what kind of dehumidifier you have... does not sound like the smaller home use ones I can familiar with.

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amishducky@reddit

What constitutes as serious treatment?

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Virtual-Feature-9747@reddit

Both decontamination (such as boiling) AND filtration (such as ceramic filters with activated charcoal).

OR something like reverse osmosis/distillation.

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Hot-Adhesiveness-438@reddit (OP)

Thanks

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TwoFarNorth@reddit

In the summer, I empty the dehumidifer in my basement into a watering can daily and use it to water ornamental flowers. I could rig up some more automated system, but the additional steps up and down my stairs with a heavy watering can is good for my physical health.

I woudn't use the dehumidifer water on veggies or edibles, just ornamentals.

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nauurthankyou@reddit

Any particular reason on not using it for veggies?

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Hot-Adhesiveness-438@reddit (OP)

Thanks

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WhereDidAllTheSnowGo@reddit

a simple search here will reveal how wrong this is, but for now two words

Heavy metals

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therealtimwarren@reddit

https://www.questclimate.com/laboratory-test-condensate/

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Paranormal_Lemon@reddit

One test from one device... don't the copper coils use lead solder sometimes?

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therealtimwarren@reddit

Not since RoHS (2003) and REACH (2007) were introduced.

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WhereDidAllTheSnowGo@reddit

Good find but …

https://deye.com/is-the-water-from-a-dehumidifier-safe-to-drink/

So OP has a choice…

$200 per test for one device vs. $6 for 1000 gallons city water tested ~hourly

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PristineSKS@reddit

Hi I did a simple search and found that there is no concern of heavy metal contamination in condensate. I think you're uhh... wrong.

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irisblues@reddit

The link you provided below specifically says you can use it for irrigation. I think the exact words they used were "it's great" for plants.

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siciliansmile@reddit

How?

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IdealDesperate2732@reddit

I don't think that water is any good for plants. My dad does this and I don't agree with his methods. That water collects an incredible amount of debris and particles from the air and basically concentrates them down into what you collect. Knowing how bad most particles in the air are I can't believe the water is good to introduce to your food stream.

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Hot-Adhesiveness-438@reddit (OP)

Thanks, I appreciate that.

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silasmoeckel@reddit

Dont. Others allreayd covered why.

Grey water to flush with.

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Hot-Adhesiveness-438@reddit (OP)

Thanks

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gilbert2gilbert@reddit

Put your dehumidifier up high and let it drain down

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Tinman5278@reddit

Don't over complicate things. You can buy a condensate pump like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Little-Giant-554405-Condensate-Horsepower/dp/B000AHT78O

You hook that up to the drain hose connection on your dehumidifier. When it fills up it automatically turns itself on an pumps water to wherever to want it. You can run a tube from the output directly to your top bucket. Or directly to your garden plants if you prefer...