Dehumidifier water for Plants?

[Thaniel]

For people with issues involving bad tap water, have you guys ever tried using water from your dehumidifier to water your plants? Shouldn't water that your dehumidifier pulls out of the air be very similar to that of rain water?

I am curious about this... Any comments?

-Thaniel

[MTF-Sandman]

Yeah, it's good stuff...but it's hard to get enough of it from a dehum to provide a garden with all it's watering needs.

I use the drain line from mine to help top off the res, but it can't keep up with the res drop since the plants in my setup drink about 5 gallons a day and the AC in the room removes some of the moisture.

[dre86]

By dehumidifier, do you mean an electrical one or such a little plastic one that works with tabs?

[MTF-Sandman]

Not really sure what a "plastic one that works with tabs" is, but we mean dehumidifier as in the coil based ones...

[dre86]

Not really sure what a "plastic one that works with tabs" is, but we mean dehumidifier as in the coil based ones...
it's a small plastic box, it exist of 2 parts. The lid has holes in it, then there's a big round white 'tab' that somehow attracts humidity and the underside there's a small reservoir for the caught water. This keeps rh at 40-50 %

here's a pic:
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/965/dehumidifiernb5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[MTF-Sandman]

Yeah, that's definitely NOT the ones we're talking about. This is what most people use to dehumidify a grow...

http://www.sylvane.com/images/productpages/whirlpool/dehumidifiers/medium-size.jpg

[Guest]

sometimes my old lady gets so dam mean and cold, i just throw her in the flower room, she brings down the humidity, and everything else around her=) bd

[ShroomDr]

My de-humidifer ppm (@.5) is 10-12. But i've read that those 10-12 are ALL copper. Copper condener coil. I have been hesitant to use this water because of just 10-12ppm.
Any others want to vouch for dehumidifier water?

[Thaniel]

Well, I started using it yesterday. I'll keep ya'll updated.

-Thaniel

PS: Thanks for all the replies!
http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/12419IMG_01791-thumb.jpg (http://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/12419IMG_01791.jpg)

[Guest]

It is much like distilled water. I mix my water from my dehumidifier with tap water so I still get some of the calcium from my tap. My dehumidifier puls out about 3 gallons a day while running in the basement. Saves on my water bill a bit too.

Cheers,
SH

[Cimis]

Dehumidifier water can be used for watering container plants and in hydroponic reservoirs. It reads 10ppm or less on a TDS meter. Water that sits stagnant can harbor mold and bacteria however, so you may want to oxygenate the water before using it. Oxygen levels are easily increased by shaking it in a jug or adding hydrogen peroxide. This will kill the harmful bacteria and your plants will benefit from the extra oxygen. The dehumidifier water is very soft water, since it has been recondensed from vapor which lost its mineral content when it evaporated. Many people use it to soften their tap water.

WARNING: Dehumidiers often employ copper tubing. If the resulting water is 10ppm its possibly 10ppm of copper. Adding this to your reservoir every time will start concentrating the metals-- since plants only need under 1ppm of copper, using this water could accumulate to the 100ppm toxicity level.

From the good old OG faq :badday:

[1TWISTEDTRUCKER]

Yeah, it's good stuff...but it's hard to get enough of it from a dehum to provide a garden with all it's watering needs.

I use the drain line from mine to help top off the res, but it can't keep up with the res drop since the plants in my setup drink about 5 gallons a day and the AC in the room removes some of the moisture.My dehumidifyer makes about 3 gal.a day,most days its awfull humid out here in the middle of the cornfield.I never checked tds but my p.h.runs 6.3

[TBug]

sometimes my old lady gets so dam mean and cold, i just throw her in the flower room, she brings down the humidity, and everything else around her=) bd
lol dog! Either way, the water is distilled. its great for plants. use it! Peace,tbug

[Elevator Man]

I use one of these Ruby Dry dehumidifiers (when I need to, which is not as much lately):
http://www.airandwatercentre.com/store/SEURLF/ASP/SFS/CID.4/PID.190/SFE/productdetails.htm

They use a rotating silica gel disc instead of refrigerant, so they're totally kosher for the environment (apart from the electricity!), and are very, very fast at reaching the set level. They're not cheap (around GB£200), but they are safe, sound, and add also heat if needed. I've no idea if the water would be usable, but I would imagine so, given the silica gel is neutral.

I can put this in my growroom when drying fresh-cut plants, and in 15 minutes it will shut itself down to idle, as it's already reached the ideal setting. I run it at 60% for the first two days drying, then 50% for another day, and then just leave them toair-dry with fans - takes about a week before they're ready for trimming and canning.

[Guest]

I have just started a small hydro grow, and was wondering the same thing, as my dehumidifier needs emptying once a day, and I hate to throw good clean water out.

I too was worried about mold spores, etc., but I think I'm gonna use to top up reservoir.

Very timely post - thanks :woohoo:

ws

[ShroomDr]

So, the 10ppm will kill the plants or not?
Thaniel any update? its been 2.5 weeks
MTF-Sandman do you know what ppm your dehumidifier puts out?

Im still getting 10ppm, but I don't think my coils are made of copper. They are grey in color, and look like stainless steel, but that's just a guess.

I might start watering one of my houseplants with this water, but would not be noticeable fast, unless it was really toxic.

[MTF-Sandman]

I wanna say the last time I checked it was around 9-10ppm...I wouldn't worry about it personally...10ppm isn't much at all.

[dbuzz]

i've been using my dehumifiers water on all of my indoor grows for a couple years(sometimes outdoor too) and have no noticed anything bad. i just keep my reservoir clean. i have completed about 7 excellent grows on dehumidfier water. my room is really humid and i got tired of dumping the water. it was more PH normal than my tap, so it will work fine

im gonna check my coils tomorrow and see if they are copper

[ShroomDr]

thanks both of you

[THCV]

i use the similar output from my ac, and it's great. very low PH which helps keep the res in line. check my sig.

THCV

[Litz_C]

isn't water from de-humifier contain powder mildew(elec one i m talkin about)...

even the instruction book say don;t drin kor use it...

correct me if i m wrong

[dbuzz]

i just searched google on this and there's ALOT of debate about it. i saw most everyone said it was okay, unless your room is really moldy and you have don't have a good filter.

dehumidifier water works, that's for sure. keep in mind theres no calcium or magnesium and you need to add that often.