PSA: The condensate from your dryer is distilled water - SLRPNK
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It’s the first time I own a dryer. When I poured out the water it has collected (a few liters per run) I quickly tested the EC and pH and found out, that it is almost identical to the one made by my reverse osmosis filter! No wonder, since the dryer is basically just a big distillation machine. Thats super neat. It will save me a lot of work filtering tap water. I will collect it from now on and use it for watering my plants. ::: spoiler Why does it matter? Plants really don’t like tap water. Even in a country like mine, where no chlorine/ fluoride/ whatever is added, the dissolved minerals cause trouble. They will build up over time and make nutrients unavailable, even if you adjust the pH. The buildup and nutrient lockout will harm the plants a lot in the long term, and you will have way more trouble checking and correcting EC and pH. :::
    • whyNotSquirrel@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      3·
      2 days ago

      it’s when you breathe particules of it the problem, but still, there’s no point to drink this… water is the main source of minerals intake, so why would you drink this. And for the plants isn’t it the same?

      • WhiteOakBayou@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        2 days ago

        He has a hydroponic set up. The way that typically works is to start with distilled water and add nutes to that. If the pH is off you can have all the nutrients in there you want but the plant can’t take them in. By adjusting pH and measuring dissolved particles the grower can target certain nutrients for uptake at specific parts of the growing process and measure their uptake. Of course he could do all of this with tap water but it’s way easier to start with a blank slate and that is how most of the guides are written.

      • sam@piefed.caEnglish
        52·
        2 days ago

        Water is not the main source of mineral intake. You can drink distilled water with no problems.

        Not sure why I keep seeing this online or where people learn this misinformation.

        • despoticruin@lemmy.zipEnglish
          4·
          1 day ago

          It’s a misunderstanding of osmosis. It’s safe to drink distilled in small amounts, but if you are drinking it to hydrate you can quickly run into the issue where it pulls the salts out of your cells and really mess with muscle and organ function. It takes a fair bit to cause issues, a glass here and there is fine, but you can’t drink lots of it the same reason we use saline for IV drips instead of distilled water.

          • sam@piefed.caEnglish
            21·
            1 day ago

            If drinking distilled water causes issues, your diet is deficient. My parents drink distilled water and have for 30+ years with no negative consequences.

  • WhiteOakBayou@lemmy.worldEnglish
    30·
    2 days ago

    Wash your hands after handling that dirty water and more importantly try not to inhale it. No smoking if you’re spritzing the plants. Inhaling appliance condensate is a fast track to legionnaire’s disease.

  • bonenode@piefed.socialEnglish
    12·
    2 days ago

    Doesn’t it have some amounts of detergent in it still? Maybe not much but can be enough to kill your plants.

  • stray@pawb.socialEnglish
    1·
    1 day ago

    So you’re saying it’s safe to irrigate my sinuses with the water from my dryer tank.