Use AC condensate to wash hands?

[The One]

Use HVAC condensate to wash hands?

I am adding HVAC + dehumidifier to my garage/workshop and I do not have running water. I was thinking though that I could gravity feed a small sink using condensate into a holding tank above the sink. The sink would then drain back through the wall into a buried bucket. My home dehumidifier makes a few gallons a day when it's humid so I think it might be enough water if I use a 5 gallon bucket as a holding tank.

Has anyone done this and found a good pump setup?

How would I best seal up the piping to avoid heat loss in the winter and AC loss in the summer?

My walls aren't yet insulated so it seems like the perfect time to get this pumped in.

 

[Showkey]

Better choices.........Goop or Tub o towels

 

[The One]

Better choices.........Goop or Tub o towels

What about for a urinal? Seems like it'd be slick.

 

[astroracer]

Most of the time the window type A/C units use that condensate as a coolant. I know mine does as it says in the instructions to not drain it and to expect the water to make noise as it is cooling the unit... Just sayin', read your book before draining the condensate tray.
Mark

 

[fourjeepin]

Clever idea. For the pump, you could use a condensate pump. Run the humidifier water and the HVAC condensate water to the condensate pump. Pump the water to the bucket and be sure to have an overflow.

You might need a chlorine tablet or something. Condensate water tends to get a bit murky.

 

[jsaw]

Lots of mold spores and pollens& dust particles in condensate. I have to clean the condensate pump every now and then on my a/c.
Dehumidifier iss cleaner than the a/c

 

[The One]

I'm installing the furnace, ac, and dehumidifier on the 11' ceiling, from there it can gravity feed to a 5 gallon bucket with lid to collect condensate and install a valve under it to a sink or urinal and those would gravity feed out to a redneck septic.

Overflow on the 5 gallon bucket could be handled by a drain hole on the side near the top with a hose going down to a condensate pump (so water would purge all at once to reduce the risk of freezing) leading to the pipe to the redneck septic.

On the condensate pump I could put in a T so that I could unplug it in the summer and it'd just drain outside and not have to pump. For the winter I could put a T after the pump onto the floor or another bucket to indicate if it freezes up.

 

[HMCFab9]

There was a similar post recently about the same subject & they were talking about getting legionairres disease from that standing water.
I think they said it was also very acidic.
Do a search & it should come up.

 

[Old Man Roger]

There was a similar post recently about the same subject & they were talking about getting legionairres disease from that water.
I think they said it was also very acidic.
Do a search & it should come up.

Not to mentioned that white slimy stuff that grows in the drain tube.

 

[The One]

There was a similar post recently about the same subject & they were talking about getting legionairres disease from that water.
I think they said it was also very acidic.
Do a search & it should come up.

It sounds like it's from breathing mist?

Unfortunately I can't find that thread.

 

[HMCFab9]

I don't remember the exact details.... But from what I remember reading in that post... using that water is a BAD idea

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Condensate water is technically distilled, but it is not filtered. I wouldn't use it for washing my hands. Definitely do not drink it. It's fine for a steam iron. You do not get Legionnaire's from condensate. You get it from standing water exposed to warm temperatures, like a swamp cooler...

Tommy

 

[Bobhdus]

But still if you had cuts on your hands I’d rather wash them in clean fresh water. Not something that may or should probably be treated.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[3rdgendslmech]

If your house isn't too far from your shed could you Tee off of a spigot and run a hose to a fixture? That's what I'm planning on doing temporarily until I feel like digging a trench.

 

[The One]

If your house isn't too far from your shed could you Tee off of a spigot and run a hose to a fixture? That's what I'm planning on doing temporarily until I feel like digging a trench.

The problem is during the winter.

 

[nh_yota]

Get a water cooler.

 

[3rdgendslmech]

Would a HVAC system make that much water in the winter. The air tends to be more dry than summer so would you get enough out of a dehu unit?
You could get one of those universal block heaters that circulates and warms water and tap it into a 15 gallon plastic tote?

 

[tcianci]

Don't confuse AC condensate with the condensate from a heating appliance. The AC condensate is essentially distilled water but the water is condensing on the fins of the evaporator of the AC unit and you have no control over the cleanliness of the evaporator. So, it's quality is questionable at best. A heating appliance tends to have a pretty corrosive ph and all the newer units I have seen lately pass the condensate through a plastic tube filled with some sort of mineral to neutralize the condensate

 

[wssix99]

This is a really really bad idea because it would create prime conditions for Legionnaires Disease, even if things are kept visually "clean."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legionnaires'_disease


If you need water, then you'd be best off to put in a proper cistern, manually fill it with sterile water, and then treat it with the appropriate chemicals to ward off any funk or diseases.

 

[bad_idea]

Stored water needs to be treated or it gets bad quick. The effort to properly treat it far outweighs the benefit from the easy water source. This is a 'no free lunch' deal.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

This is a really really bad idea because it would create prime conditions for Legionnaires Disease, even if things are kept visually "clean."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legionnaires'_disease


If you need water, then you'd be best off to put in a proper cistern, manually fill it with sterile water, and then treat it with the appropriate chemicals to ward off any funk or diseases.

Once again, refrigeration condensate does NOT cause Legionnaire's. It forms in warm, standing water.

Tommy

 

[SALIV8]

Ac condensate gums up and is full of germs/bacteria that actually slimes up the drain line. It causes its own clogs so it is not anywhere near clean water.

I wouldn't think washing something, let alone hands, with bacteria laden, germ water is any sort of good idea.

 

[Old Man Roger]

I am adding HVAC + dehumidifier to my garage/workshop and I do not have running water. I was thinking though that I could gravity feed a small sink using condensate into a holding tank above the sink. The sink would then drain back through the wall into a buried bucket. My home dehumidifier makes a few gallons a day when it's humid so I think it might be enough water if I use a 5 gallon bucket as a holding tank.

Has anyone done this and found a good pump setup?

How would I best seal up the piping to avoid heat loss in the winter and AC loss in the summer?

My walls aren't yet insulated so it seems like the perfect time to get this pumped in.

Once again, refrigeration condensate does NOT cause Legionnaire's. It forms in warm, standing water.

Tommy

His 5 gallon bucket may serve as ''the warm standing water'' on those hot humid days? Just sayin

 

[LS6 Tommy]

His 5 gallon bucket may serve as ''the warm standing water'' on those hot humid days? Just sayin

That's a good thought, but it would have to be REALLY warm. Room temperature water in a conditioned space is probably safe.

Tommy

 

[bad_idea]

With zero treatment? For possibly weeks at a time with zero use? Some of the water remaining in the tank for a total of months if not years, if the tank is not routinely emptied and cleaned?

 

[kbs2244]

tcianci has the idea.

AC water is OK
Heater water is a no go.

 

[wssix99]

Once again, refrigeration condensate does NOT cause Legionnaire's. It forms in warm, standing water.

Tommy

If one were to lick the condensate directly off the fins, then no. But in this application, where it would be sitting in a cistern, located in an unconditioned space - that would be prime habitat for this sort of pathogen.

 

[Brian_WK]

"Most people become infected when they inhale microscopic water droplets containing legionella bacteria." Quote from MAYO website

Washing hands you will be fine. If you are going to try to use it to cool the air like a swap cooler or make it disperse in a fine mist you will need to treat it with a biocide like bleach or peroxide.

Brian

 

[frankthezapper]

Where I live many people have rain water tanks as their only water supply,no one ever treats water with chemicals (they try to keep chemicals out), and those hippies are healthy as hell. Legionella needs warm water, above 25c (78f) and below 51c (124f)

 

[gordo9742000]

If this condensate is so poisonous and deadly why do we have it in our homes?

 

[Old Man Roger]

If this condensate is so poisonous and deadly why do we have it in our homes?

Don't most drain it outside?

 

[bad_idea]

If this condensate is so poisonous and deadly why do we have it in our homes?

We don’t have it in our homes. It drips out the condensate drain to the exterior of the home to be absorbed into the soil. In small, semi-continuous supply.

 

[gordo9742000]

Don't most drain it outside?

We don’t have it in our homes. It drips out the condensate drain to the exterior of the home to be absorbed into the soil. In small, semi-continuous supply.

What about the fridge? It just drips into a pan.

 

[Old Man Roger]

What about the fridge? It just drips into a pan.

I don't know anything about refrigerators, but since it's cooling such a small, well insulated area, it probably doesn't create much? I assume it evaporates? I know I've moved mine a ton of times while it's plugged in and never spilled any water.

 

[mike93lx]

If this condensate is so poisonous and deadly why do we have it in our homes?

Ridiculous comparison. The stuff under your kitchen sink is way more dangerous and we leave that where kids can get to it.

 

[bad_idea]

If this condensate is so poisonous and deadly why do we have it in our homes?

What about the fridge? It just drips into a pan.

The fridge condensate evaporates. It is not collected and used.

It’s your life. Live it. Hope you the best.

 

[gordo9742000]

I don't know anything about refrigerators, but since it's cooling such a small, well insulated area, it probably doesn't create much? I assume it evaporates? I know I've moved mine a ton of times while it's plugged in and never spilled any water.

Strange. Whenever I move mine it makes a horrible mess.

 

[bad_idea]

Strange. Whenever I move mine it makes a horrible mess.

If your fridge is dropping a bunch of water when you move it then you have a problem. It should generate a minimal amount of water that will evaporate fairly quickly, if it generates a lot then folks either need to shut the door or the seals are bad on the doors. OR, the humidity level in your house is high and the water isn't evaporating efficiently. Either way, I wouldn't suggest washing your hands with the water that spills out.

 

[gordo9742000]

If your fridge is dropping a bunch of water when you move it then you have a problem. It should generate a minimal amount of water that will evaporate fairly quickly, if it generates a lot then folks either need to shut the door or the seals are bad on the doors. OR, the humidity level in your house is high and the water isn't evaporating efficiently. Either way, I wouldn't suggest washing your hands with the water that spills out.

Never said I was washing my hands with it.

Every fridge I have ever had has been full of water in the pan. Since brand new. Maybe they are all defective.

 

[bad_idea]

Same fridge operators? Tell them to decide on items before opening the fridge door. Leaving the door open a lot will cause the fridge to produce too much condensate.

Same house? Sounds like the humidity level in you house is too high. It should evaporate damn near as fast as it is produced. I would get a humidity gauge and track indoor humidity levels. If north of 45% or so in the summer, then your ac is likely oversized (not removing enough humidity before shutting down) or your windows/doors leak by allowing in too much humidity for the ac to handle.

And the argument in this thread has been the hazard of collecting ac condensate, storing it, and using it to wash hands. So I assumed your fridge argument was intended to support this.