Is it okay to use....

[chearyshe]

the water that comes out of the air conditioner's water pipe outside? It's condensation, so I guess it's pretty pure, right?
I may just have to fight my cat for the rights to that water. I used the a/c last night and put a 2 liter jug under the hose...this am the jug was tipped over and the cat was laying on the outside unit...the culprit?

[Goofproof]

the water that comes out of the air conditioner's water pipe outside? It's condensation, so I guess it's pretty pure, right?
I may just have to fight my cat for the rights to that water. I used the a/c last night and put a 2 liter jug under the hose...this am the jug was tipped over and the cat was laying on the outside unit...the culprit?

A lot of trouble to go to for 2l of dirty A/C water, it will have few minerals in it , but will have germs and solids taken out of the air stream, if you filter it and boil it you would be good and you will have saves a few cents for you retirement fund, minus the cost of the filter and heat to boil, time doesn't matter does it. Jim

[chearyshe]

gotcha! Jim...a waste of time....I'll leave the water for the cat!~ Too late! I'm already retired...sooooo, what waer do people use for their humidifiers?

[archangle]

Have you ever looked at the crap that collects on an air conditioner filter? Or cleaned off the crud that collects on the cooling fins on an air conditioner? I took an old one apart to clean it once and washed out a lot of what looked like mud. The water soaks in this crud growing germs.

[user from Singapore]

Like others said... The water is quite OK but you don't know where it was before you collect it.

You cannot guarantee there is no dust or dirt in the drains or tubes, a great environment for many types of harmful bacteria! I bet you have heard about the Legionnaires' disease ? The name comes from an outbreak caused by bacteria that spread out of the air conditioning system at an Hotel in Philadelphia during an American Legion convention.

Still want to give it to your cat? Maybe you can water your plants...

[Goofproof]

gotcha! Jim...a waste of time....I'll leave the water for the cat!~ Too late! I'm already retired...sooooo, what waer do people use for their humidifiers?

The drinking of de-mineralized water isn't good either, by not having minerals leaches them from your bones. Give the cat a break keep fresh clean water in a bowl, or maybe you just want to toughen it up. Jim

I'm a Dog person!!!!

[Pugsy]

..sooooo, what waer do people use for their humidifiers?

Most of us here in the states use distilled water. This lessens the build up of mineral scale in the plastic tank.
Just generally cleaner and nothing really in the water to promote growth of much.

Plain tap water that you drink can be used. If drinking water has a high mineral content the plastic tank gets yucky looking but really doesn't hurt anything. A quick cleaning with vinegar will dissolve the minerals.
If tap water is being used I would dump the tank each morning and let it air dry and refill at night. This would lessen the chance for mineral build up and/or potential breeding ground for anything that might be in the water. Mold spores and such.

[chunkyfrog]

We have to use distilled water.
Our municipal h2o supply has 12 grains of hardness.
We had a Bunn coffee maker that didn't even make it to a year--and that was de-liming the dang thing every month.

[ozze_dollar]

I just use the filtered water from the kitchen and clean once a week. No problems.

[torontoCPAPguy]

Use pharmaceutical grade distilled water. About $2 for a HUGE jug at any pharmacy that sells distilled water. It is processed in a clean environment and generally free from bacteria and germs picked up along with way. NEVER use tap water, well water, lake water, or whatever. You are better off using no humidification until your next trip to the pharmacy.

Air conditioner runoff? What are you, nuts?

[policebox]

I know these are hard times and while I don't wish to be insensitive to people's financial situations, but I'm not sure the cost of distilled water is something to worry so much about. I just purchased a gallon of distilled water for 88 cents. A gallon lasts me about a month. That's a cost of about $11 a year, which I'm sure I could probably figure out how to cut down by buying water in containers larger than one gallon at a time.

[chearyshe]

Okay! Okay! I get the point! for now I'm using filtered tap water that promises to be better than regular tap water...and when I get my very own cpap and humidifier I'll buy distilled water. I'm not THAT frugal!

[chunkyfrog]

The condensate off the AC is OK to use on plants.
We have some lovely hen and chicks growing below the drain.

[Maxie]

I used to hook a water hose up to my air conditioner to route the condensation to my garden but I read that water is probably not even good for the garden so I unhooked the hose. I don't think I would let me cat drink it either!

[tiredmama]

My cats are obsessed with all sorts of less conventional water sources, so I can see why your cat would be drawn to the AC water! Dishwater in the sink, puddles left in the bathtub, toilet bowl water, etc. All while having a clean and full water bowl.