Can You Drink Water From a Typical Portable Room Dehumidifier?

Question

Assuming the unit is clean and has been disinfected with bleach periodically, is there anything inherent in the process by which a typical room dehumidifier works to preclude safely drinking the water it extracts from the air? Is the water essentially w/o additional minerals and chemicals found tap and well water? The only thing that comes to mind for me is that there might be some lead welds somewhere . . . sorta like the old problem of using car radiators in alcohol stills.

OK, I am getting contradictory answers . . . can anyone provide a third party reference or source to back up their opinion?

Answer 1

Bingo!!!
You got it correct. The water in the reservoir of a dehumidifier is not intended for human (or pet) consumption.
Water your plants with it if you want, but don't drink it.
The solder in the coils has lead in them. Besides, even if you bleach it on a regular basis, their are bacteria that thrive in that type of environment... like Legionnaire's disease, remember?
It grew in air conditioning units in those hotels.

Answer 2

I am sure you will see that your unit states the water is not potable.

The coils used for this are not made to drinking wuality standards and there is no good way to make it that way.

Now- if you we're dehydrated and it is that or nothing- you'll have to share it with me!

Generally though- it probably has ALL kinds of nasty bacteria in it and maybe some lead residue. I guess the bacteria could be cleaned with a few drops of Chlorine bleach.. but the lead.. Well, lets say it probably isn't like eating an old paint chip but why if you don't have to!

Answer 3

Yes you can safely drink it. It contains no dissolved minerals, so it is ideal for topping up car batteries. I'm fairly sure there aren't any lead welds in a dehumidifier, but even if there are, it wouldn't be a serious problem. With a still, the alcohol vapour contains some acidic impurities which react with lead, but until recently, your drinking water was delivered through lead pipes, and only in a few cases when the water supply was acidic was lead poisoning a problem. I distil my own vodka and I remove the foul-tasting impurities by passing the vapour through a wad of copper wire. After each batch has been distilled, the copper is black; the impurities have reacted with it to form copper sulphide. I have to wash it with vinegar before using it again. That's why traditional whisky and cognac stills are made of copper.

Answer 4

if you were down to this or dying... I would drink it... I mean come on people have even consumed their own pee and blood in desperate situations...

I would assume though that if you had electricity to run this you could take that water and run it through a good filter system before drinking it.

the process of getting the water out of the air actually is a good way to obtain drinking water it is just that the component parts cause contamination ( lead, bacteria)

a good survival way to get clean drinking water...set up a tarp, stake up each corner and the edges say a foot above the ground. place a rock on the top and in the center of the tarp so that it now has a slump in the middle. now place a clean catch bowl under the tarp directly under the rock slump. now place dirty water under the tarp at the four corner edges.... as the dirty water evaporates it will condense on the underside of the tarp and roll down the slump and drip into the catch bowl. this water will be clean. the process of evaporation/condensation makes really clean water. you can also catch morning dew this way on the top of the tarp... also clean to drink.

Answer 5

Have a chum or a chum deliver one in each of those Brita pitchers to you so that you'll clear out the water and drink organic really of crap. there is not any way i'd drink from a dehumidifier.

Answer 6

No you are way off, the dehumidifier grabs moisture from every source in the area or room its in, being bacteria, mold as such, they are used allot in water damage homes to pull moisture out of carpet walls whatever, even if you did it in a clean environment it would be dangerous to drink without being distilled.

Answer 7

Ewww, I wouldn't! That water always smells funny! Was your water turned off or something? Tap water is usually fairly drinkable, and bottled water is actually good!

Answer 8

there is many components in the drinking water same of it necessary and other we can't get red of it using cheep and successful method so using method not set for perfection of water it Not right

Answer 9

i personally would not think twice about drinking water from a germ free dehumidifier, its like rain water

it will probably be somewhat tasteless

Answer 10

Yeah, you can do anything you like, providing it is physically possible. You might not like the effects of some of the things you do, but then, it is your body that you are messing up.