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Ok Water Source?

  • Thread starter Vbkid
  • Start date

Vbkid

Getting There...
So my mom commented that the air conditioner drains water from a spout on the side of our house and recommended I might collect it for my plants. She says she thinks it is just the condensation from the air conditioner. Can anyone verify that that this would be ok to use? I'm not too familiar with how air conditioners work myself.
 
I get upwards to three gallons in 24 hours from mine, depending on how much the AC is working. More common though is about a gallon a day. it comes in at about 12 PPM for me and I've used it on my cps and orchids for the last three years without any issues that I could see.

The only thing is that I treat it like distilled or RO water and cut it half and half with well water or rainwater when using it for fertilizing. The low PPM can actually contibute to wide Ph shifts when used with ferts. I don't know about cps but orchids are susceptable to being affected by that.
 
it should be ok unless you live in a very polluted place or near the ocean with a lot of salt in the air,I would clean the coils on the air conditioner

it would be best to check with a tds meter to see if less than 50ppm
also depends on the type of plants you are watering
 
I bet it's fine to use. the only potential problems i can think of are fungi and metal contamination. check the coils or fins to make sure they are not growing mildew or visible fungus. while you're there see if you can spot any signs of corrosion. The metal parts used for heat exchange will be aluminum or copper. aluminum corrosion will have dark grey to black appearance and may look like a cloudy gel. copper corrosion will look green or aquamarine.
if you spot corrosion i would avoid using the stuff unless you can get it tested. you can call your local water department to see if they will test the water for free.
 
Yeah, I'd be concerned about what metals migh be dissolved in it. About all you can do is to set up a bunch of D. capensis plants, as an experiment, and see what happens.
 
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