------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
theorge's observation notwithstanding, the A/C condensate is distilled water, contaminated with dust, mold, etc. It has far lower levels of dissolved solids (lime, etc.) than most tap water. Surprisingly, in summer a typical central A/C will produce as much as 10 gallons of water a day. If you run it through a couple of coffee filters to remove the particulate contaminants you can safely use it for most things in place of commercial distilled or de-ionized water. If you want to use it for cooking, drinking, or food preparation though, you should heat it to boiling before using it; heating will kill any remaining microorganisms.
Thanks, I knew it wouldn't be potable but was just wondering. Seems like a waste of distilled water. We have well water here, it's hard but we have a softener. just wondering if I could use this in my radiator.
[This message has been edited by Mytime (edited 06-21-2014).]
I'm about as frugal as they come , but at about a dollar a gallon, I think I'd just buy some nice clean distilled water if needed for the car rather than mess around with contaminated stuff.
just wondering if I could use this in my radiator.
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Originally posted by Patrick:
... at about a dollar a gallon, I think I'd just buy some nice clean distilled water if needed for the car rather than mess around with contaminated stuff.
Paper coffee filters are cheap and effective. But for convenience I invested about $120 in a small reverse-osmosis unit 16 years ago and ran a 1/4-inch line the length of the house. We use the clinically pure de-ionized water in our ice maker, for making coffee, for drinking, for ironing clothing, in automotive coolant, for topping up flooded-cell lead/acid car batteries, etc.
[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 06-21-2014).]
I have always considered true distilled as water that you had to boil to a vapor first. Not squeeze existing water out of the atmosphere. I know its almost the same but not 100%....
True. Distilled water goes through a process of changing to a gaseous state, then condensing to a liquid. I guess that technically AC condensate is like Ogre said, but it is fraught with foreign organisms it picks up from the condenser coils and the drain line. A friend of ours uses his condensate to water his flowers and little garden.
It may be less saturated with minerals than the bottled water we buy, though. We use distilled water in my wife's BiPap machine and in the humidifier on her oxygen concentrator. Both will show a white mineral residue in the water container after about a week's time.
I can almost guarantee the evaporator coils were soldered with leaded solder.... Unless you like heavy metal poisoning I would not drink it, even after boiling, etc. Is it okay to use in a radiator? Maybe. I don't think it's a good idea though.
...for convenience I invested about $120 in a small reverse-osmosis unit 16 years ago and ran a 1/4-inch line the length of the house. We use the clinically pure de-ionized water in our ice maker, for making coffee, for drinking, for ironing clothing, in automotive coolant, for topping up flooded-cell lead/acid car batteries, etc.
Fortunately, the water here is quite soft with very little mineral content. For the tiny amount of distilled water that I require over the years, buying a gallon now and then is far more cost effective. However, if I needed to rely on well-water for example, a small reverse-osmosis unit would be a great idea.
Marvin, what is your opinion on distilled water possibly leaching minerals from the body?
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 06-22-2014).]
Paper coffee filters are cheap and effective. But for convenience I invested about $120 in a small reverse-osmosis unit 16 years ago and ran a 1/4-inch line the length of the house. We use the clinically pure de-ionized water in our ice maker, for making coffee, for drinking, for ironing clothing, in automotive coolant, for topping up flooded-cell lead/acid car batteries, etc.
Do these take minerals out of the water that your body needs?
Marvin, what is your opinion on distilled water possibly leaching minerals from the body?
My opinion is that it's a non-issue. Once water diffuses through the intestinal wall, there's no qualitative difference ... whether it originally contained dissolved solids or not. Drinking a lot of water, deionized or straight from the tap, may eventually result in some mineral depletion due to high urine volume. Overall, the human body does a pretty good job of regulating serum mineral levels despite a widely varying diet.
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Originally posted by 2.5:
Do these take minerals out of the water that your body needs?
See above. A reverse osmosis filter will remove virtually all dissolved solids (i.e. minerals and their salts). The primary dissolved solids in most drinking water are calcium (in the form of lime) and magnesium (as magnesium hydroxide), which a normal diet will provide plenty of. But reverse osmosis also removes any heavy metals (lead, mercury, arsenic, antimony, etc., usually present in the form of soluble salts), which is definitely a good thing.
If it's important to you, please don't take my word for it ... ask a doctor or dietitician.
[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 06-23-2014).]
"For proper adsorption of minerals we need to get our minerals from a plant source. A simple rule to remember is; plants use inorganic minerals such as rocks and soil; animals (humans included) use organic minerals, which comes from plant sources, or from animals that have consumed plants. In fact, inorganic minerals such as is found in water, can be considered to be contaminants, because your body has to eliminate them from the body."
, but at about a dollar a gallon, I think I'd just buy some nice clean distilled water if needed for the car rather than mess around with contaminated stuff.
