Is Water from Dehumidier “Deionized”?

[hooked]

I had to get a dehumidifier this week and as I was dumping the water that it generated, it got me thinking is it deionized or distilled? There are warnings that you are not supposed to drink it or water fruits or vegetable plants, but can you use it for detailing?

 

[Karl_in_Chicago]

It's deionized but not distilled.

 

[Bill D]

This reminds me about distilled water and how one must always use that in a humidifier in a cigar humidor. I bought new ones and filled them with it,and I’m good to go 70F and 70% humidity is the ideal reading for humidors.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

It's deionized but not distilled.

I would argue that it's the other way around. They are different processes that do different things, but condensing water vapor into a liquid seems to me to be a lot closer to distillation than deionization.

To the OP, just beware that it will have dust and other things that are floating around in the air, so it's not "sterile" like distilled water would be (from the temperature), or freshly deionized water that recently had or still does have chlorine in it (although deionizer beds can have things growing in them).

 

[BLM1]

I have sometimes ( without wife’s knowledge) dumped it into the washing machine if I was washing rags or dish towels.

 

[PA DETAILER]

Is Water from a Dehumidifier Distilled.

 

[billyboymr2]

Dehumidifier water is neither deionized nor distilled. The water that is coming off of the evaporator coil will be severely contaminated with all types of airborne particles and molecules. If you want to see what's actually in that water just notice how much you have to clean the drain pan in the dehumidifier, or any refrigeration system for that matter.

Condensing water doesn't mean that it's clean, it's all a matter of how it is condensed. If you're adding heat, such as boiling and collecting the condensate, that will be almost as pure as you can get without some type of filtration because water molecules boil off before any of the other minerals in the water. When your A/C or dehumidifier coil collects water, it's actually removing heat energy so nothing ever boils off. All of the minerals stay in the water and collect on whatever medium they come in contact with.

If you like boring reads, search 'home AC dirty sock syndrome', you'll learn all about the airborne molecules that collect on an evaporator.

 

[briarpatch]

This is an interesting read. We have very hard water in my area, and I've been using the water from my (basement) dehumidifier for years to dilute my APCs.....never had an issue.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

When your A/C or dehumidifier coil collects water, it's actually removing heat energy so nothing ever boils off. All of the minerals stay in the water and collect on whatever medium they come in contact with.

I'm agreeing that dehumidifier or other condensate water isn't "clean" (see my remarks above), but it shouldn't have any minerals in it, as it was water vapor to begin with.

 

[DUBL0WS6]

I'd think the water would be fine to use for rinseless washing. It has to have less mineral content than hard water.