adding water to system new way or no?(Dehumidifier

[Wil Miles]

I have an older dehumidifier and my wife suggested i just let it run outside in the pond area and let it drain in to pond what if any problems do you see with this as both are outside so basically dehumidifier would catch water evaporating to put back in pool?seem kid of ridiculous but would it work?it collects quite a bit of water in just a few hours ...any info would be great thanks

[Ellen Roelofs]

Dehumidifiers can get pretty gross and you have to power the thing... for these reasons, it probably wouldn't be my first choice.  Have you thought about a rain barrel?

[Wil Miles]

yes but they would dry out in between uses that would cut down on bacteria i was just curious it creates so much water and really is there much difference in rain water and water it collects air is full of crap it all ends up in the water right ?

[Ellen Roelofs]

It's totally your call on the dehumidifier.  I've heard they can be good breeding grounds for bacteria and mold, but drying it out between uses and cleaning regularly may be all it needs. Hey, it might work great, as is!  It's just something to keep in mind if you run into problems...

[Wil Miles]

ij three hours i can create 4 to 5 gallons of free water out of the air its just running into a smaller pool but i beleive on a timer i would set it up and never have to top of  my pond with my water from house which is 7.8 on ph

[Jonathan Kadish NYC AA Chair]

In another thread dehumidifier water was frowned upon by TCLynx - she is a resident expert to this forum so I would take her advise.

[Wil Miles]

thanks

[Ellen Roelofs]

In a mature system the pH will trend downward, so, theoretically, topping off with higher pH water could be a good thing, right?

[Wil Miles]

i dont know try to keep my ph below 7 , i would feel like i was fighting myself

[Ellen Roelofs]

gotcha.

[TCLynx]

Do a bit of extra research before you go using dehumidifier or air conditioner condensate in a food system.

Legionella has been linked to cooling towers and other such things.

Now technically the water condensing on the coils of a dehumidifier are distilled water, however, most dehumidifiers do not allow you to thoroughly clean the coils to make sure the water condensing on them will be clean when it drips into the bucket.  Also there is probably no guarantee that the materials in the coils are all food safe since most dehumidifiers specifically say don't drink the water!!!!!  So I would be a bit suspect about the solder used.

If you really must use dehumidifier water in an emergency, you should probably treat it in some way to kill off any pathogens/mold that might get into it from the dust and an activated carbon filter will probably take care of metals.