De humidifier

[Alder]

I regularly empty a de humidifier on someones behalf and I am surprised how clear and clean ithe content looks, are there any hidden impurities ,
Thank you,
Russell

 

[novocaine]

what sort of dehumidifier is it?

but in effect, no, it's condensed vapour, any impurities it carries are from the unit or those dragged out of suspension as the vapour condenses.

I still wouldn't advise you drink it, mainly because it could have been sat there for a while, but I wouldn't advise drinking water in general, fish wee in it. :lol:

bscene-drinkingcheers:

 

[Woodster]

There are several types of dehumidifiers and I read somewhere the waste water from one type could contain tiny amounts of heavy metals. I wouldn’t even water the plants with the output from ours. :lol:

 

[novocaine]

There are several types of dehumidifiers and I read somewhere the waste water from one type could contain tiny amounts of heavy metals.

tiny little ozzy Osbournes? :eusa-dance:

 

[9fingers]

I use the condensate from our fridge for the steam iron
Works for me. Our tap water is as hard as nails.
Bob

 

[spb]

I wouldn’t even water the plants with the output from ours. :lol:

Dehumidifier water is ideal for feeding to venus fly traps and other carnivorous plants, as it has none of the calcium content or other additives in tap water, which they don't like.

Other impurities will depend on what else is inside your particular machine, and probably the age and condition it's in as well. In theory it's pure, but the machines aren't built for sterile or food handling, so in practice who knows. In general, though, it's about as good as de-ionised water you'd buy in a bottle, for all the purposes you'd usually use that for.

 

[Dr.Al]

As others have said, the water should be very pure, give or take any bits and bobs coming from the internals of the machine. It's great for things like irons (we have one inside that feeds the steam iron; the one in the garage dumps its contents via a pipe onto a flower bed, which seems to thrive, so it can't be that bad).

I've read that it's not the best thing to drink (at least exclusively) though (usual caveats regarding internet-based knowledge and me not knowing the first thing about biology, although it seems to be largely backed up by the WHO if I understand it all correctly :eusa-shifty: ). The water you normally drink includes calcium and magnesium and probably other minerals that your body needs; distilled water won't have those minerals present.

 

[Cabinetman]

I buy water in 5ltr containers which I then fill from the dehumidifier and they use no end of it at my local charity shop when steaming clothes, I use the machine to dry firewood.

 

[Woodster]

Our tap water is quite hard (TDS about 275) so I collect rainwater (TDS about 50) for my Aquarium. I do sometimes though do top ups with a mix of tap and Zero* water. We don’t actually drink any Zero water as it has literally nothing in it. It was bought as a “just in case” purchase at the start of the first lockdown. Looking at the mould that needs to be removed from our dehumidifier reservoir from time to time the best place for the water is down the drain, I wouldn’t even use it in an Iron.

* https://zerowater.co.uk/

 

[Doug]

The GLW has used dehumidifier water for years in her steam generator iron, the first one she had was filled with tap water & even though she used all the recommended filters etc it packed up fortunately within the warranty period.
The manufacturer was good enough to replace the iron & she has used dehumidifier water ever since which is a few years now with no side effects.

That said she doesn’t used the water from my workshop dehumidifier as for some reason this can have a mild aroma :eusa-think:

 

[Alder]

Thank you for your interesting and varied responses which were merely a curiosity on my part. Russell

 

[Woodbloke]

Our tap water is quite hard (TDS about 275) so I collect rainwater (TDS about 50) for my Aquarium. I do sometimes though do top ups with a mix of tap and Zero* water. We don’t actually drink any Zero water as it has literally nothing in it. It was bought as a “just in case” purchase at the start of the first lockdown. Looking at the mould that needs to be removed from our dehumidifier reservoir from time to time the best place for the water is down the drain, I wouldn’t even use it in an Iron.

* https://zerowater.co.uk/

When No1 recently moved house to Bromley, where the water is very hard, we bought him and his partner a Gaggia coffee maker. They recommended a Brita water filter which they duly purchased. We have the same coffee maker but have used a water softener for decades now and that’s also fine it it - Rob

 

[Woodster]

There was a discussion on an aquarium forum some time ago and folks were saying not to use the water from softeners for a planted aquariums. I can’t remember why. Some also said it was better to drink unsoftened water as well. Apparently at least one tap is normally left on the domestic supply for this. One guy replied that the company that installed his unit hadn’t done this so following the conversation he had a pipe that bypassed his softener for cooking and drinking purposes. We used a commercial softener where I used to work and it used massive amounts of salt. Carrying up the delivery of salt a flight of stairs every few months wasn’t funny!

 

[Woodbloke]

Some also said it was better to drink unsoftened water as well. Apparently at least one tap is normally left on the domestic supply for this. One guy replied that the company that installed his unit hadn’t done this so following the conversation he had a pipe that bypassed his softener for cooking and drinking purposes.

Another urban myth I fancy. We’ve been drinking and cooking with softened water for over three decades and we’re still here to tell the tale :lol: and we’re actually on our second Kinetico softener, having worn out the first one. The reason we started to use softened water originally was that SWIMBO had an unpleasant skin condition which has been helped enormously by the absence of hard, chalky water. In over thirty years, I’ve never had to de-scale a kettle or shower head, a wet shave is a pleasure rather than something to be endured and my ‘builders’ in the morning never has a layer of scum floating on the top.

I know how heavy block salt is :lol: - Rob

 

[AndyP]

Softened water certainly does not taste any different. We have regularly done taste tests for those who reckon they could taste the difference....they couldn’t.

 

[spb]

There was a discussion on an aquarium forum some time ago and folks were saying not to use the water from softeners for a planted aquariums. I can’t remember why. Some also said it was better to drink unsoftened water as well. Apparently at least one tap is normally left on the domestic supply for this.

Most softeners work by (long story short) replacing the calcium ions with sodium ones. In most cases the added sodium has negligible effect on drinkability, but depending on the exact method the softener uses and how hard your water is to begin with, it's possible for the output to exceed the legal limit on sodium in a drinkable water supply. A decent installer should test for this and, if it's the case, fit a bypass tap and tell you to use it for drinking/cooking.

I can imagine some types of aquarium fish being more sensitive than humans, seeing how they have to breathe it as well as drink it. The same principle will apply about depending on the initial hardness and exact method, plus also the particular species of fish you have, so in that situation the conservative advice will always be don't do it unless you know it's going to be OK.

 

[Woodster]

Most softeners work by (long story short) replacing the calcium ions with sodium ones. In most cases the added sodium has negligible effect on drinkability, but depending on the exact method the softener uses and how hard your water is to begin with, it's possible for the output to exceed the legal limit on sodium in a drinkable water supply. A decent installer should test for this and, if it's the case, fit a bypass tap and tell you to use it for drinking/cooking.

I can imagine some types of aquarium fish being more sensitive than humans, seeing how they have to breathe it as well as drink it. The same principle will apply about depending on the initial hardness and exact method, plus also the particular species of fish you have, so in that situation the conservative advice will always be don't do it unless you know it's going to be OK.

Ah ok, I figured there was a reason why companies fit a bypass for drinking and cooking.

We’ve been drinking and cooking with softened water for over three decades and we’re still here to tell the tale :lol:

I read an article many years ago, unrelated to water softeners that said people who live in hard water areas suffer fewer heart attacks. A quick Google threw up this.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/200 ... blichealth

Just because doing something potentially unhealthy doesn’t kill you straight away doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. Some things take a several decades to become apparent.

https://www.reynoldswater.com/blog/how- ... ch-sodium/

 

[Woodbloke]

Just because doing something potentially unhealthy doesn’t kill you straight away doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. Some things take a several decades to become apparent.

I shall heed your excellent advice and be super careful over the next couple of decades with my water consumption, by which time I’ll be 90 :lol:

https://www.kinetico.co.uk/customer-support/faqs

It is safe to drink though, as the snippet from the Kinetico website mentions that there’s more sodium in a glass of milk that the equivalent glass of softened water…and I drink a lot of milk - Rob

 

[Woodster]

Our last Dehumidifier suffered a catastrophic failure, the switch panel broke. So I’ve just bought a new Meaco 25L model and it seems pretty good. The manufacturers do say not to use the waste water on edible plants.

 

[Lurker]

45 years ago, I worked in a university physiology department, my boss had a major grant from the British heart foundation as it had been noticed that areas with high levels of calcium in the water ( hard water) had a significantly lower level of heart failure than soft water areas (little calcium in the water).
Doesn't seem to be mainstream thinking now so I'm not sure if a positive link was established.

 

[Lurker]

There was a discussion on an aquarium forum some time ago and folks were saying not to use the water from softeners for a planted aquariums. I can’t remember why. Some also said it was better to drink unsoftened water as well. Apparently at least one tap is normally left on the domestic supply for this.

Most softeners work by (long story short) replacing the calcium ions with sodium ones. In most cases the added sodium has negligible effect on drinkability, but depending on the exact method the softener uses and how hard your water is to begin with, it's possible for the output to exceed the legal limit on sodium in a drinkable water supply. A decent installer should test for this and, if it's the case, fit a bypass tap and tell you to use it for drinking/cooking.

I can imagine some types of aquarium fish being more sensitive than humans, seeing how they have to breathe it as well as drink it. The same principle will apply about depending on the initial hardness and exact method, plus also the particular species of fish you have, so in that situation the conservative advice will always be don't do it unless you know it's going to be OK.

:text-goodpost:
Water softeners are not water purifiers, they are water modifiers .