Air conditioning water for use on plants.

[Gonzer]

I can't find any negative reviews regarding the use of water collected from window a/c units to water plants. I've used up many 5 gallon buckets the last few months from the drippings and have seen no adverse effects. Almost safe enough to drink I've heard and the copper concentration is too low to be of concern.

[The Silent Seed]

I don't believe there are any negative effects - it is more of an issue with pets - since any aerosols, or air-borne contaminants are going to end up in that water.

[Shirleypalmpaws]

Gonzer, we have a 100 gallon rain barrel collecting the runoff from our a/c unit. We also have a french-drain-type-semi-sorta-storage of rain water located directly beneath the rain barrel that's accessible via a portable pump---which is rarely in use since we do not often get the deluge from heavy-rains that other parts of Florida receives. Any overage of the rain barrel goes into the french drain.

Back in 2005 or 6, we moved the inside portion of the a/c unit up into the attic area located directly above the garage, so gravity is in our favor. The fellas who installed the unit---if I remember correctly---said the a/c runoff is just only pure H2o. They wished everyone would take advantage of the resource. Back in (I think) it was 2010 or so, we finally got the rain-barrel, and the same company also installed the runoff drain pipe thingy that leads to the rain barrel---I'm pretty sure they did the re-routing free of charge. Every now and again, I add the leftover plain non-flavored coffee directly from the percolator to the a/c rain barrel. As far as I know (which really is not a lot!!!---I did research the subject---but as a non-expert), there have been no issues with any of the a/c water with any of our landscaping.

[Neil C]

a/c water is exceedingly pure and is good for plants that require little or no salts and minerals such as carnivorous plants.

Regards Neil

[Pip]

I'm assuming this thread is about the condensation from refrigerated A/C units. That would pose no problem.

Evaporative A/C units are popular in my region due to the summer heat they usually work well. The water that is dumped from those units have a higher level of mineral salts compared to the town water supply because of the loss of water. Therefore it is not recommended for use on plants.

[sur4z]

Clearly there is disagreement on this subject...here is a quote from a site I visited

"Condensate water is distilled water that lacks minerals. Although you could drink condensate water, it would be filled with dust and not taste very good. Fortunately, your plants don't care if condensate water tastes bad. Watering your plants with condensate water not only recycles the water but can be a good way to irrigate your plants when cities have restricted water usage"

[DoomsDave]

If my memory serves A/C runoff is distilled water, which you can even put in your car battery.

Probably better than rainwater.

[Gonzer]

Thanks to all for the information and commentary. Interesting note about the carnivorous plants. I've been using the water for my bromeliads, especially Tillandsias, which benefit more from the purer source.

[Dmcdonald]

I have a banana that is under the output of my a/c and it seems to be doing fine. Gets full sun all day since it is on the south end of my house. I moved back in June to that location and have never seen it looking under watered. The one in my back yard sometimes looks a little dry if we haven't had much rain.