Is this water safe?

Question

My AC drips allot of water each day, Since it is just water vapor from the air, condensed into liquid, is it safe to collect and use for drinking, cooking, and my steamer, or is there chemicals in it from the AC?

Right now it drips into a old litter box, and the animals drink it and the ducks "swim" in it, but is it safe to use the dripping water for human use?

Answer 1

hold up why would u want to drink it and use it in ya food, especially if ur wonderin if it is safe, but u shouldn't it's nasty , but i bet u drunk a lil bit huh??? lolz, any who, just use it for ya plants and wut not, not for human use, and u wiil proabbly see if it is bad, if u use it in plants, cause they may die

Answer 2

Use that water to water your plants my friend! It's the best of both worlds, you don't waste, but you don't drink possibly dirty water. Good for you, doing your part!

Answer 3

GR8 idea!!!! BRAVO for that one!!!! I wouldn't chance drinking it until you call your local water district or someone who'd know more as you don't want to get sick. I have that leak and you just gave me the idea to collect it & use it for the outside trees. I live in an apartment & have no plants as of now, but the trees can always use it. I bow my head in shame as I went green a long time ago, but never to late to make changes, big or small.

Answer 4

I would say boil it before drinking it definitely.  Also, to be careful, you may want to get the water tested.  Actually, the other day in my ap environmental science class, we tested water that came out of a dripping AC.  We tested for things like nitrogen, alkalinity, hardness, and carbon dioxide, but I don't know how different it was from normal water because I don't know the normal levels of that sort of stuff.

Answer 5

The condensate starts out as distilled water. However, it picks up contaminants as it travels from the coils to the drip pan. Use it in your garden.

Answer 6

it should be okay to use.  good for you that's one way of saving the earth.

Answer 7

This may not be a good idea,  evaporator coil is of then coated with paint or it may be made of aluminum the evaporator is also collecting a ton of dust from you house that will end up in the water.  This water could be just fine but I personally would take a pass on it.

Answer 8

You are right that the water that condenses on the coils should pretty much just be water.   The problem, as I see it, is more about what could be on those coils.

It's quite common for mold, or other stuff, to grow on wet surfaces - like your condenser coils.   Also, dust, pollen, and other "dirt" from the air will pass over those coils and stick to the wet surfaces.  

While animals can swim and drink out of puddles and ponds, I'm not sure that I would want to drink that water.  I think that its a fine idea to find other uses for it - like putting it into your mop bucket, or using it to water your plants.   I don't think that it would kill you, and it probably wouldn't make you sick, but it is almost certainly significantly more "dirty" than whatever comes out of your faucet.

Good question.

Answer 9

yuck

Answer 10

Of course it is.  Just make sure you collect it in a clean container.  It,s fine

Answer 11

that is totally discusting and dangerous!