Using Condensated AC Water On Plants

1ofaKind

1ofaKind

Well-Known Member
Yes, I know condensated is not a real word.

Now then, it is up in the 90s already where I live. That's like 33 for you smart countries.

My AC went from needing to be emptied once a week to needing over 5 gallons removed per 24 hours.

Winter is over, but my grow is not :(

So now I'm thinking: I toss that water out, they draw 5 gallons from the tap to water my girls.

Does anyone use condensate water on their plants?

Does any oil or debris get in the water that would negatively affect the plant roots ability to get nutrients?

Just curious.

The AC condenser drips into an 18 Gal tote, they I use a pond pump to force it into a 5 gal bucket as needed.
 
Do you have a tds meter? I'd check the water for PPM and PH before using it. I would also likely only use it on one test plant until I knew for sure.
 
So I got curious about this question and googled it. Here is a quote from the page I read.

"Just tested th pH of the water with my trusty pH pen, it came out to be a little acidic pH6.7. My tap water here in Los Angeles is alkaline pH 8.0. In terms of pH its definitely better than water supply from the city."

There was also positive feed back about using it to water plants.

:tommy: on!
 
Water that drips from your Ac is essentially distilled water. If the outflow tubes are dirty, then it won't come out exactly right, but if they are clean, the ph of the water should be 7 and the tds should be near 0 (depends on your catch container too). If you have a sealed room, the water your ac catches should be only water that evaporates from any open water containers in the room or water that your plants are perspiring. I love using my ac water. it's good stuff. I'd drink it if I didn't use it for the ladies.
Cheers
 
"Sealed room" That concept is kinda impossible. The room is fairly secure, but the AC is sucking air in from the room and forcing heat out a window. An equal amount of air must be forced into the room (air averages itself out automatically), which, in my case, is sucked in from the rest of the house through the interior door's imperfect seal.

My increase in condensate was almost instantaneous with the humid air outside my house, even if my house AC is lowering the humidity somewhat. Perhaps air is leaking in through the window, too...

Thanks for your experience. I still have to get around to checking the PH of my condensate with drops.

Still not willing to risk its use at this point, but when I have some spare clones, for sure!

Fish tank water may be even better with the natural ferts, but certainly not the clarity of distilled water...
 
Whether your room is sealed or not won't change the fact that the water is distilled. All it changes is the source of the water. The physics of how an AC creates water insists that the water will be pure because it has gone through the process of evaporation before it was recondensed. Anything extra in the water coming out of your AC could only be coming through the plumbing that catches the water and drains it out of the unit or from the container that you catch the water in. Definitely give it a try when you have some extra plants. My AC pumps out water with lower PPM than my RO machine puts out.

Cheers!
 
If your AC does not have any extra additives like freon in it and TDS show it's safe, then why not.

The aquarium water would only be safe IF your not adding in man made nutrients, EI: Must be naturally accuring bacteria in your aquarium.

Whatever goes into your plants, will end up in your lungs. So make sure it's pure and clean as possible.
 
The water from the air conditioner or from a dehumidifier is distilled water and safe for plants. i would not drink it since most of us do not clean out the tubes, pipes or any holding tanks so bacteria can build up. Our stomachs might not like the water in that case but the plants will not notice.

I have used the water from the dehumidifier to water plants in summer when I run out of rain water. This can go on for a month or more. No problems that I noticed.

I use water from the aquariums for the houseplants upstairs but only on occasion for the weed plants in the basement. Gotta keep in mind that the fertilizer from the fish feces is minimal and the amount of ammonia and nitrates from the fish feces can be higher than we realize without testing the water with the kits for aquariums.

The amounts of aquarium water that I have used on the Marijuana plants is so small that I would not notice any effects on them. Maybe if I used just aquarium water for 4 to 6 weeks straight I would see a change in the plants. But, a couple of watering sessions a year did not seem to show any problems.

Rainwater has to be the best. Nature has been using it for plants for longer than mammals have been walking around on the planet.
 
SmokingWings said:
The water from the air conditioner or from a dehumidifier is distilled water and safe for plants. i would not drink it since most of us do not clean out the tubes, pipes or any holding tanks so bacteria can build up. Our stomachs might not like the water in that case but the plants will not notice.

I have used the water from the dehumidifier to water plants in summer when I run out of rain water. This can go on for a month or more. No problems that I noticed.

I use water from the aquariums for the houseplants upstairs but only on occasion for the weed plants in the basement. Gotta keep in mind that the fertilizer from the fish feces is minimal and the amount of ammonia and nitrates from the fish feces can be higher than we realize without testing the water with the kits for aquariums.

The amounts of aquarium water that I have used on the Marijuana plants is so small that I would not notice any effects on them. Maybe if I used just aquarium water for 4 to 6 weeks straight I would see a change in the plants. But, a couple of watering sessions a year did not seem to show any problems.

Rainwater has to be the best. Nature has been using it for plants for longer than mammals have been walking around on the planet.
Click to expand...
I grow outside so I agree, rain water is the best. I have a few 5 gallon buckets to catch it. It was raining yesterday so there all perked up and happy today. Thanks for the info @SmokingWings
 
I've always assumed that the amount of copper pipes and lead solder rendered that water useless... I've much to learn.
Yes most of our houses have copper pipes and lead solder however we are trying to replace them are we not. These things are built with a lot of copper, solder and aluminum. I would be cautious.
 
Bob Loblaw said:
I've always assumed that the amount of copper pipes and lead solder rendered that water useless... I've much to learn.
Yes most of our houses have copper pipes and lead solder however we are trying to replace them are we not. These things are built with a lot of copper, solder and aluminum. I would be cautious.
Click to expand...
I understand the worry about the old-fashioned lead solder but doubt that anyone is using it on water lines anymore. Some sort of lead-free solder seems to be all the rage these days. Enough houses have had the old iron water pipes replaced with copper and those have passed inspection. The only reason we do not have copper water lines in the basement is someone ripped them off between the time the bank took back possession of the house and the time we bid on it. Copper was way to expensive we went with the PEX or whatever it is called.

When I put in the new fridge/freezer the water line to the ice maker was a copper coil.

Bob, I saw that you are from the Timespace slowzone. Is that the Slow Zone that V. Vinge has written about?
 
SmokingWings said:
Bob, I saw that you are from the Timespace slowzone. Is that the Slow Zone that V. Vinge has written about?
Click to expand...
lol no sorry I don't know any V. Vinge books. I've always been a slow mover and I guess I just wanted to relay that somehow.

FWIW I don't consider that waste (from AC or a dehumidifier) to be true distilled water, it is condensed on the outside of the radiator therefore that water washes over the aluminum rad plus the cooper piping. As well as the environmental contaminants stuck to the rad. It's quite the opposite and I consider it dirty water and wouldn't use it at all. The copper pipes and lead were just a reference pointing out the fact that we are eliminating them for a reason.
 
1ofaKind said:
Yes, I know condensated is not a real word.

Now then, it is up in the 90s already where I live. That's like 33 for you smart countries.

My AC went from needing to be emptied once a week to needing over 5 gallons removed per 24 hours.

Winter is over, but my grow is not :(

So now I'm thinking: I toss that water out, they draw 5 gallons from the tap to water my girls.

Does anyone use condensate water on their plants?

Does any oil or debris get in the water that would negatively affect the plant roots ability to get nutrients?

Just curious.

The AC condenser drips into an 18 Gal tote, they I use a pond pump to force it into a 5 gal bucket as needed.
Click to expand...
I use the water out of my dehumidifier. Ph around 7.2
Plants seem to be fine. With it
 

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