Distilled Water - Brew Your Own

[circus2000]

I need to get some distilled water to mix up cleaning fluid and realised the water condensed out of the air by the Dehumidifier in my Dad's damp old mountain home might be just the thing. It condenses onto a cooling element and then drops into a plastic container. If I clean 'em and make sure its fresh is there any reason not to use this stuff?

[archie2]

Yes, it's not distilled. It's condensed. Close but no cigar. I'm sure it's usable for cleaning records.

[stuwee]

What about if the unit/condensers are allowed to dry and the stuff in the air, and or oxidation mixes with the water and drops into the tank, when it's turned back on? I would think that's not something I'd want to use.
Craig

[brucered]

i thought about making my own too from a dehumidifer, but it's not the same and not worth it when you can buy a 4L jug for $1.50 at safeway.

[Strawman]

I always wondered about that water. I have a 1 gallon capacity dehumidifier in my basement to try and keep the relative humidity around 50%. I usually use that water to water my plants. :scratch2:

[thilaseen]

Strawman, I'm certainly no green thumb, but wouldn't you be better off using normal water with all the minerals etc. that your plants probably need. Have you ever drunk distilled or condensed water? :yuck:

[thilaseen]

Strawman, I'm certainly no green thumb, but wouldn't you be better off using normal water with all the minerals etc. that your plants probably need. Have you ever drunk distilled or condensed water? :yuck:

Then again I'm not a plant :banana: and I drink the stuff that comes out of my still. :D

[Quest]

It is free, why waste it? I think it is not popular with many simply because it has not been thought of. Condensed water, without minerals, is available as a byproduct of an air conditioner. Normally, it is channeled outside or in my case, a central air conditioner, it is dumped below my house where it evaporates, a wasted resource. I think you’ll find the condensed water a dependable source and smart conservation. I’ve been using it since 2003 and no one has suffered.

In fact, I’ve probably saved energy. A company doesn’t have to make it, no extra plastic bottles to produce, and no special trips to the store so I save gas. You don’t know the quality of the store-bought water. The home-condensed water tests more pure then store-bought and my records, even my steam iron, are happy.

I simply let the central air conditioner run about 15 minutes in case there are impurities then pop off the water-waste pipe and let the water drop into a bucket or a bottle with a big funnel. You’ll get a lot for little effort.

Circus, here is a picture of my supply from two days in October, 2007. Give it a try. If you don’t like it then go water the plants.

[sauuuuuce]

Make a still. It's perfectly legal in the US to have one. In it's down time you can use it illegally and make homebrew Gin, Vodka, Whiskey.....

[sauuuuuce]

It is free, why waste it? I think it is not popular with many simply because it has not been thought of. Condensed water, without minerals, is available as a byproduct of an air conditioner. Normally, it is channeled outside or in my case, a central air conditioner, it is dumped below my house where it evaporates, a wasted resource. I think you’ll find the condensed water a dependable source and smart conservation. I’ve been using it since 2003 and no one has suffered.

In fact, I’ve probably saved energy. A company doesn’t have to make it, no extra plastic bottles to produce, and no special trips to the store so I save gas. You don’t know the quality of the store-bought water. The home-condensed water tests more pure then store-bought and my records, even my steam iron, are happy.

I simply let the central air conditioner run about 15 minutes in case there are impurities then pop off the water-waste pipe and let the water drop into a bucket or a bottle with a big funnel. You’ll get a lot for little effort.

Circus, here is a picture of my supply from two days in October, 2007. Give it a try. If you don’t like it then go water the plants.

Whoa! Smart. I was impressed when I decided to get a Reel Mower (Gasless) That's about as green as I can get right now.

[botrytis]

Sorry condensers have tons of fungi on them and the water coming from them will too. I would NOT use that to clean vinyl!!

You have been warned.

[jcmjrt]

Sorry condensers have tons of fungi on them and the water coming from them will too. I would NOT use that to clean vinyl!!

You have been warned.

I agree with you. Distilled water at the grocery store is easy to get and cheap.

[cruisaire]

I found one of these at the thrifty. Makes nice distilled water.

[Strawman]

Strawman, I'm certainly no green thumb, but wouldn't you be better off using normal water with all the minerals etc. that your plants probably need. Have you ever drunk distilled or condensed water? :yuck:

Then again I'm not a plant :banana: and I drink the stuff that comes out of my still. :D
I was trying to recycle. I suppose I could just go back pouring battery acid into the stream (Lou Reed reference). :D
Most of my house plants have a southern exposure window and seem to be thriving, I'll take Botyris' word against using it for record cleaning though. He's a chemist of some sort, working on his phd for lsd last I heard...

[gm87423]

Distilled water is steam that is collected after it is condensed (usually from a glass or non-reactive material still) the condenser coils of an AC unit or dehumidifier are usually copper which is reactive. Water comming off the coils acutally contains minerals from the coils, making it only slightly purer than tap water. So don't use it inplace of distilled water.

[Doctordirt]

Water condensed from the atmosphere in a dehumidifier cans still carry many of the things that is undesirable in washing records. Minerals and microbes in particular. then the air used to cool the water vapor in the air will introduce all the pollutants in the air that flows through the unit. Now, distilled water is different that deionized water and is different than Reverse osmosis water, and then you can follow the latter two with a polisher. Distilled is merely heated to kill bacteria and then condensed. D.I. water uses a water softener and a resin or acid to remove the ions for conductivity purposes. RO water utilizes DI water and adds clorine and a UV source to kill microbes, a string filter for particulates and an activated charcoal filters for clean water. A polisher can then produce ultra pure water with resin and paper filters. So for the joes at home just use a purifier unit for household use and you should be fine.

[circus2000]

Umm - doesn't sound ideal does it? Well its worth asking I suppose.

[Sansui Louie]

I was thinking of getting one of these for our off-grid cabin. I collect rainwater out there and can also use water from a nearby river. I never thought about it's properties as far as record-cleaning goes:

http://www.lehmans.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=5330&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=681&iSubCat=952&iProductID=5330