Dehumidifier water safe?

[cbar]

I have a small dehumidifier in my basement that generates about a gallon of water a day. Is this okay to add to the compost? Thanks!

[farmerlon]

If somebody knows different, they can correct me; but I can't imagine why that water would not be safe to use.
Don't dehumidifers "collect" the water from the air by condensation? I think that the water from the dehumidifier, as well as air conditioner "run off" water, should be safe for the garden or compost.

If anyone knows a reason why it's not safe, please chime in.

[smokensqueal]

I'll chime in. Not only is that water safe I've heard it's even more pure and clean then the drinking water. So make sure you use it in some fashion be it compost or watering plants.

[2cents]

I'll second or triple those comments.
We use water from a basement dehumidifier for starting seeds.
We've a window A/C unit that drips into a garden spot, we get the best veggies from under there. Slow water drip all summer.

Of course MDW has noticed I am growing a third arm, I hope it isn't the water.

[cbar]

Wikipedia says...
Potability

General dehumidifier water is considered a rather clean kind of greywater: not suitable for drinking, but acceptable for watering plants, though not garden vegetables[2] The concerns are:[2]

* the water may contain trace metal from the solder, most significantly lead (which is quite damaging), but also copper, aluminium, and zinc;
* various pathogens accumulate in the water, particularly due to its stagnancy, including fungal spores; unlike in distilled water, the water is not boiled, which would kill pathogens (including bacteria);
* as with distilled water, minerals are largely absent, hence it is somewhat flat tasting.

The trace metal poses a danger if used on edible plants, as they can accumulate; however, the water is otherwise usable for irrigation.

One can make food-grade dehumidifiers (avoiding toxic metal and keeping the collection tank clean), which are called atmospheric water generators.

Also this...
https://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/07/can_I_water_my.php

[farmerlon]

Wikipedia says...
General dehumidifier water is considered a rather clean kind of greywater: not suitable for drinking, but acceptable for watering plants, though not garden vegetables[2] The concerns are:[2]

* the water may contain trace metal from the solder, most significantly lead (which is quite damaging), but also copper, aluminium, and zinc;
The trace metal poses a danger if used on edible plants, as they can accumulate; however, the water is otherwise usable for irrigation.

Well, there you have it.

I suppose that the Lead and Aluminium would be the primary reasons for concern, since veggie plants require "trace" supplies of Copper and Zinc.

[smokensqueal]

Well then I guess I shouldn't water from my house either since I have copper pipes or use my watering can which is aluminum or from my rain barrels which probably have BPA in them.

But what the heck water plants with water from the tap that have more un natural chemicals it it to kill all the bacteria and germs in it.

Heck don't water your plants with anything because there may be some sort of trace of something in it. LOL

[Darceyoh]

I'm not an expert but here's what I know/think:

If you have a compost, and you use enough material like grass, it creates a hot compost. Hot compost help kill and get rid of the bad things you don't want to go into the garden.

So, if you have a generally good compost with generally hot material, throwing in the water from the dehumidifier should be okay.

And while Wikipedia is helpful, it's not always truthful or correct (not saying what I just said is either). Since any internet user can edit the documents and info found on wikipedia, it should definately be placed against something that is legit.

[Alan in Vermont]

I can't imagine how anybody born from maybe 1930 to the present ever lived long enough to reach maturity, much less retirement. Most of our lives our house plumbing was put together with lead solder. We need to thank our bloated governmental bureaucracy for so much paranoia in our lives. I wonder if anybody could even drink enough lead solder contaminated water in a lifetime to be realistically at risk.

[SOB]

The Wiki article (which is not an acceptable reference in educational writings) says it MAY include trace materials of "this". It also states that "various pathogens accumulate in the water, particularly due to its stagnancy". So can a pond, lake, a cup of water on your table, etc if you leave it there long enough. Empty once a day or even a couple times a week I would have no worries.

Water from a dehumidifier isn't much worse than the air you breathe in your house, IMO...

[toxcrusadr]

Soil has on the order of 10^8 microbes (that would be 100,000,000) per GRAM. I wouldn't worry too much about a few fungal spores in dehumidifier water.

Metals? I believe aluminum is the most abundant metal in the earth's crust. It would be at percent levels in most soils. There is not enough lead and copper in a dehumidifier to significantly affect the soil levels of these either - and they are already present in virtually all soils! Besides the fact that distilled water is pH neutral, so its ability to dissolve those metals from the dehumidifier is vanishingly small. Particularly in light of the amount of time the droplet is actually in contact with the coil, which is only a few seconds or a minute before it drops into the plastic bucket.

The Wiki writeup is well meaning, but this is a non-issue as far as the garden or compost. And I *am* an expert.