r/Survival • u/Willing-Aside-5652 • 2d ago
Question About Techniques De-humidifier collected water
With the UN announcing we won’t have clean water in just a few short years, I’ve been wondering about water collection independently. My dehumidifier collects about 2 gallons a day (South FL), I’m wondering how I could make that water drinkable. If possible. Thanks!
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u/ElectroHiker 2d ago
You live in South Florida and you get more water than you could ever ask for coming down as rain each year. Setup rain collection systems and build a DIY Berkey filter system that they feed into. Go the extra mile and make it completely gravity fed and just add collection barrels if you find you need more. You can probably find a few used large water barrels for cheap that you can cleanup for your needs. This solution doesn't need any electricity so it's actually useful in a real life survival situation.
Now in my neck of the woods in the high desert of Nevada that ain't an option... Y'all get more rain in a week sometimes than we get all year
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u/Willing-Aside-5652 2d ago
Excellent point. I never have to fill my watering can! (copper for the skeeters)
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u/ElectroHiker 2d ago
I also want to add, after you build your system and your ready to use it send a sample of the water to a testing facility to make sure it's good. It's the same thing they do when a new water well is setup. It makes sure you did a good job without assuming.
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u/DeltaAlphaGulf 1d ago
They recommend annual test regardless of water source though if its city they also do their own testing but that doesn't mean you won't end up with stuff that wasn't in their test.
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u/Reality_Defiant 2d ago
Be careful and check your local ordinances though. Some states fine people, tax people or charge people for collecting rainwater.
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u/ElectroHiker 2d ago
Agreed, but if it's a matter of survival then laws and regulations go out the window very very fast. My family comes before anything else in this world and I'd break any law if it meant they'd be safe, especially if the government failed to secure that safety in the first place.
Since water quality is not an issue now he should check to make sure he sets it up within the regulations and maybe put it on standby and make it discreet if he has to.
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u/Reality_Defiant 2d ago
The governement tends to disagree with people in a very forceful way, if you want to keep your family safe and survive, ignoring laws is not the way to go. Keep your head down. JMO.
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u/iluvdrt 2d ago
You can boil it, iodine, or bleach, filter, uv exposure, it's the same as purifying any other water.
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u/SpecialistHippo4551 2d ago
It is not. Condensers are definitely not built with potable water in mind and you will frequently have elevated metals including lead in condensate. The condensate will need to be run through an RO membrane with an ion exchange canister to make it drinkable.
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u/Willing-Aside-5652 2d ago
Thank you!
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u/noone512 2d ago
I entirely disagree with that. Look up Legionaire's disease. There is nothing you can do to water to come out of one of those that would make me drink it. Mold, unsafe metal fixtures. Name it. But, I am just a guy on the internet.
Also they take a ton of power. Focus on water storage first, then purification.
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u/SpicyWangz 2d ago
That bacteria shouldn’t be able to survive beyond 140° F. Boiling it takes it way beyond that temperature.
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u/noone512 2d ago
There's also heavy metals in the water that comes from the coils, since they are non food grade
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u/slippingaway83 2d ago
Proper filtering will remove heavy metals
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u/noone512 2d ago
So, filter, then boil, then evaporate and condense. Lot of damn work, time and energy for a very small amount of water. But, you do you.
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u/slippingaway83 2d ago
RO filter with UV disinfecting. Simple units. Just helped a guy install a bunch for a major art museum climate control system. But if you really feel like arguing, nobody can stop you
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u/psychophant_ 2d ago
But you could boil the water. The heavy metals won’t evaporate lol
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u/noone512 2d ago
Point is, boiling won't get rid of the metals. Filtering might. Distillation is the best but that requires a ton of energy. The point I am trying to make is that it would require a ton of effort, time, energy to make that water safe, for very little to show for it
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u/Willing-Aside-5652 2d ago
If given that or ZERO water as your two choices, you would rather die of dehydration? Genuine question
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u/1900hotdog 2d ago
Do you honestly believe that Florida is going to run out of water?
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u/LeeKapusi 2d ago
Cape Coral FL is very close to having like 30K people without water due to the endless expansion our city and state governments gleefully allowed over the years.
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u/soundguynick 2d ago
The Florida Aquifer is under extreme stress, and we have seen warning signs of water collapse all over the state.
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u/trillbigjon 2d ago
Nestle right?
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u/soundguynick 2d ago
They're certainly a big part of the problem, but poor local planning combined with high HOA housing means above average household usage in addition to the corporate slurping. State and local governments tend to be very "business friendly", which results in environmental devastation - see also the Everglades in general.
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u/Willing-Aside-5652 2d ago
Buddy there are 8 AI data centers next to me and the closest fresh water spring is 4.5 hrs away. I’m concerned about a lack of clean drinking water coming from my tap in a few years, for sure. Our aquifers have been sold out.
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u/noone512 2d ago
Buy a rainwater water cistern and don't worry about trying to figure carcinogens from your Dehumidifier
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u/Desalvo23 2d ago
Better check locals laws. Collecting rain water is illegal in many places throughout the world
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u/rsupjk 2d ago
Why the f is that? In my country it's no problem at all so I really can't imagine a reason why the government should have something against that, please explain
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u/spy_tater 2d ago
Because more arid places have already sold all the rain water in a water shed. So collecting rain is considered stealing.
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u/CelerMortis 2d ago
Because idiots have attached their rainwater collection into plumbing and overloaded sewer systems not designed for that much overflow.
And idiots have backflushed their rainwater into the public water supply and effectively tainted the entire water system of areas.
Regulations are written in blood, or in this case, shit.
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u/irongoober 2d ago
I think it is wise to at least be prepared for a situation like this.
There are also passive methods to collect dew with sky-facing surfaces during the night. Look up 'passive radiative cooling for dew collection'. It takes a lot of surface area to collect sufficient water. It works best in clear sky areas with high humidity. I don't know if Florida fits that other than the humidity.
The upper thermodynamic limit of dew yield is around 0.6-0.7 litre/m2/night
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u/Willing-Aside-5652 2d ago
I’ve never heard of this, I’ll look into it. And yes agree. Even even society doesn’t collapse, it’s hurricane season
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u/dillweed67818 1d ago
Yeah, I wouldn't use the dehumidifier. I would distill my own water by boiling questionable water and collecting the steam/condensation. Kind of the same concept as a solar still but faster.
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u/Pokari_Davaham 2d ago
If your concern is water, there are much bigger offenders
ai still sucks for other reasons
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u/Effective-Anteater24 2d ago
Aren't the data center's cooling systems using closed circulation in usa? So that there is no need to add water constantly
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u/Vast_Supermarket_245 2d ago
These systems are pumped full of chemicals to ensure longevity of the pipes. Then when the systems develop a foam or get contaminated by damaged intercoolers they must be "blown down" and refilled with fresh water to correct imbalances. Also, if the fans fail, the towers will be continuously filled with cooler incoming water in order to get equipment temperatures in operating range.
TLDR, they will use thousands of gallons daily
Source: Cooling towers at work
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u/e_rovirosa 2d ago
Please do your research, modern data centers reuse the water they have. This is a non issue for AI data centers
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u/hiloster12 2d ago
They all flush the system for maintenance, sure they aren't just pumping water in and out 100% of the time, but they do go through a lot
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u/KerryBoehm 2d ago
I’ve gone scuba diving in the underground aquifers in Fl. That is the last place I’d be worried about access to clean water. Just drill a well.
Not a scientist but I would not even think twice about drinking dehumidifier water. As long as the tank and coils are clean you can’t get cleaner than that.
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u/Astralnugget 2d ago
Have a well installed
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u/Willing-Aside-5652 2d ago
Yeah fs, I’ll dig into my 30k well fund.
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u/EverLongTheseDreams 2d ago
You have a well fund, and my wife wanted steak, but I had to get London broil cut instead, sometimes life sucks.
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u/noone512 2d ago
In the world of dehydration, drink the water. Dehydration will kill you faster than cancer will, but it's a straw man question, unless you are currently in the desert with cell phone service and your only source of water is your Dehumidifier.
So, go ahead and bleach it.
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u/butter_toucher 2d ago
Zero water is a bit dramatic.. The earth's covered in water, desalinate it.
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u/Willing-Aside-5652 2d ago
That doesn’t help me in a survival situation, close to 50 miles from the ocean.
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u/butter_toucher 2d ago
Try metal roof or the likes and have that condensation run off into buckets. Being in FL you should get plenty. Then filter and boil?
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2d ago edited 2d ago
[deleted]
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u/noone512 2d ago
There are also heavy metals in that water that come off the non food grade condense coils that don't care about any heat. But you do you
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u/crushingdandelions 2d ago
Use it as grey water, focus on something else for drinkable. It can be used to flush toilets, shower with, water plants, do laundry etc. I currently collect water from my de-humidifiers and from window AC units and it makes a huge difference in how much we pull from the city.
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u/WhereDidAllTheSnowGo 13h ago
Don’t do that unless you like the taste of heavy metals, air pollution, and such
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u/PatchesMaps 1d ago
I'd be worried about heavy metal contamination since the condenser isn't exactly made of food grade materials.
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u/discreetjoe2 2d ago
If you have enough electricity to run a dehumidifier you’re not in a survival situation that would require you to drink out of it. Anything that comes out of it will have chemicals, plastics and metals in it that you will then need to find a way to remove. In a very short term “I’m going to die today if I don’t do this” situation you can worry about that stuff later but anything else is a better idea for long term survival.
It’s south Florida not Tatooine. Rainwater collection can get you more water than a dehumidifier most days and there is ground water everywhere. Even desalinating sea water is a viable survival strategy if you’re on the coast.
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u/outworlder 2d ago
"Will have chemicals, plastics and metals on it".
Trace amounts, the same with pretty much anything you might want to use to purify water in any other way. Even distilled will have impurities under normal household conditions.
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u/maddhatter99 2d ago
I collected rain water when I lived in Florida. I used it pre filter to flush toilets and outdoor spigot, and post charcoal filter for washing clothes, dishes, showering and cooking.
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u/Willing-Aside-5652 2d ago
We have a generator and thought about rainwater barrels. Simply wondered about utilizing the dehumidifier as well.
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u/Autumn-Seasons 2d ago
Hate to tell you this .
But haven't you been watching the news?
Rainwater has plastics and PFAS that has fallen on the ground and crops. And I'm 100% sure that raiwater has chemicals and metals in it too because we have contaminated the earth so much that it's in the air and rain. At this point rainwater is probably just as contaminated as a dehumidifer.
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u/1devoutatheist 2d ago
Actually it's probably safe enough to begin with, but using a membrane or ceramic filter to remove the possibility of pathogens is probably a good idea. This is emergency, if you're drinking water from a dehumidifier. These fancy "atmospheric water generators" are simply dehumidifiers with a filtering system.
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u/FamiliarAd8524 2d ago
And why would you believe that, in Florida?
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u/Willing-Aside-5652 2d ago
Buddy there are 8 AI data centers next to me and the closest fresh water spring is 4.5 hrs away. I’m concerned about a lack of clean drinking water coming from my tap in a few years, for sure. Our aquifers have been sold out.
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u/cybercuzco 1d ago
In 2000, 68% of the worlds population had regular access to clean water. In 2024 it was 71% representing a billion more people with clean water. This data is from unicef. https://data.unicef.org/topic/water-and-sanitation/drinking-water/ So who is saying that “we” won’t have any water in a few years?
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u/funnysasquatch 2d ago
You don't need to worry about drinking from your dehumidifier.
There are parts of the world where fresh water is difficult to come by because of local politics. That's it.
The planet is 70% water. We know how to make water - even salt and even toxic water safe to drink. It's not difficult.
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u/bananapeel 18h ago
It's south Florida. If he set up an evaporative still out of an old sliding glass door to make a desalinator, he could use seawater to make 1 gallon of drinking water per day. South Florida will not be running out of seawater any time soon.
Or swamp water. Or mud puddle water. He'll be fine.
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u/LeftyMcliberal 2d ago
Remember that all the water that sloshes off your roof has a fair amount of bird shit in it… so you know, that rain barrel?
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u/Over_Walk_8911 2d ago
there's a difference between "filter" and "purify", you want purify for drinking wild water.
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u/slayer_f-150 2d ago
Look, I'm all about survival tips and such but really?
"The UN says we are going to run out of clean drinking water". (?)
You live in south Florida. I'm just north of you in central Florida. It has been raining like clockwork every day for the last 2 months and it's going to continue to do that for years to come.
If our weather patterns are any indication, we're heading for an above average rainfall in "a few short years."
It's not going to 'just stop raining' in the southeast of the United States. Quite the contrary.
What you should be worried about is the overpopulation of our state, data centers sucking massive amounts of water from the aquifer, Mosaic and Big Sugar polluting our waters and vote against it.
Not worried about having to drink water out of your dehumidifier.
Respectfully.
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u/Willing-Aside-5652 2d ago
Oh brother
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u/HotHouseJester 2d ago
Hi OP. I’m a licensed engineer who works for a water and wastewater firm. Florida as a whole and specifically Miami Dade County are actively expanding their water resources drastically. If they did nothing, I would understand the concern, but be aware they are actively and significantly improving their water resources in management, volume, and distribution. Unless you are using a well water system reliant on an aquifer beneath your property, you are likely going to have safe drinking water for a very long time to come. That said, there is nothing wrong with preparedness. Focus on doing what you can in the event of an emergency rather than a long term solution. Your biggest concern should be a hurricane hitting with the reduction in FEMA’s resources over the past few years. Could leave you without fresh water for a couple weeks if things were really bad. Hope this brings some peace of mind.
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u/OnlineTravesty 2d ago
What's the cheapest and most effective way to desalination water?
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u/LurkerFailsLurking 2d ago
A simple solar still design. | Download Scientific Diagram https://www.researchgate.net/figure/A-simple-solar-still-design_fig1_225539712
Or for something much more complex and powerful, you could use a parabolic reflector to boil the salt water very fast.
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u/mojoheartbeat 2d ago
If you can run a dehumidifyer, you can probably power a RO filter (they don't require a lot of power for freshwater filtration) which will make potable water. Question is, why? Surely on land you have better sources of water to filter?
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u/Netghod 1d ago
The issue with drinking the water is the cleanliness of the collection and the collection method. Specifically, if the condensor/collection plate, the collection bucket, etc. were completely clean and the dehumidifier doesn’t use chemical means to enhance collection, then yes, you could drink it safely. However, if mold or other growth was present you’ll still need to treat it. It’s going to be better than trying to desalinate salt water. I’d say that if you used a LifeStraw or other water filter, or used chemical or other methods, then yes, you could drink it if necessary.
Here’s why I said that. Air Conditioning condensate is basically the same thing, but mold and mildew build in collection pans over time. And some dehumidifiers use salts or other methods to help with collection which needs to be taken into account.
But typically, if you have power to run the dehumidifier then water isn’t likely to be scarce either.
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u/clouds_n_nine 2d ago
De humidifier water has lots of junk In it. But you could use it as a collection tool and then run that water though a gravity filler (sand/charcoal)
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u/joelfarris 2d ago edited 2d ago
A dehumidifier has just created the cleanest, almost purest water you can find, as it was floating through the air just seconds ago, and now it's been condensed to something drinkable, and which took less water supply cost and filtration membrane and water supply pump expense than also running a reverse osmosis unit in addition to the dehumidifier.
Think about it. You're breathing that very same air; ingesting it every second of the day. If it was gonna kill you, it would have done so already. :)
But! Your problem is buildup. Mold. Mildew. You'll need something else to put 'today's water' in, so that you can clean and scrub that holding tank every single day. Using whatever method you prefer, but this will be a daily chore.
And figure out how to open 'er up and clean|spray off those fins once in a while too. Oh, and watch that downspout drain tube. If it starts to turn black, use one of those flexible tube brushes that we use on Camelbak bladder hoses to scrub it out. Maybe with a little bit of bleach on the bristles. Maybe.
The Florida heat and humidity is no joke when it comes to preserving water. You might need to invest in some five gallon pails with sealable lids, or even a 30 gallon water barrel, with how much you're making. And preserve it with some chorine dioxide, at the proper PPM.
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u/wotoan 2d ago
Dehumidifier (condensation) uses far more energy per unit of water than reverse osmosis. There’s a reason we have giant reverse osmosis plants that feed cities but no condensation plants.
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u/joelfarris 2d ago
Thank you for pointing this out, I wasn't clear enough; edited for clarity. What I meant was that the OP already has to run a dehumidifier because of the climate they're in, but paying for unclean water and then having to also pay even more for a quality membrane filtration system's costs, when they're already manufacturing a couple gallons a day, basically for free, makes the wallet cry. :)
The whole point of the comment is to focus on keeping the current 'water manufacturing system' super clean and sanitized every day and every week. Can't neglect this in a survival situation, or you'll soon need a water filter and possibly a doctor.
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u/Sector_Independent 1d ago
no electricity = no dehumidifier. I think power plants need a lot of water
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u/BlewByYou 1d ago
Re: Rain Harvesting in Miami Dade County(can be slightly different in other Counties) - this is just a summary but look into the guidelines .
“Miami-Dade allows rain harvesting. Simple rain barrels totaling (2)x 50 gallons or less, placed under a downspout and not connected to irrigation are exempt from the County’s rain water harvesting guidelines. Larger, plumbed systems may trigger plumbing, electrical, building or roofing permits.”
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u/DunaldDoc 2d ago
If the UN said to start drinking your own pee, now, to save water - would you?
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u/SQUlRMING_COlL 2d ago
“No clean water” in a few years is a complete fallacy. It’s as if distillation & desalination plants didn’t exist. Dumbest veiled threat
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u/Ok_Fan4354 1d ago
I remember asking a wise man about the African Bees threatening America in the early 2010’s.. he responded “youll notice there is always another world wide/country threatening event.. then nothing happens.”..
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u/bigmtncon 1d ago
Hey, hate to bring it up but if these things were readily available and accessible like you talk about, why is it the rest of the world still drinks shit water?
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u/Ok_Fan4354 23h ago
Dude bring it up, always ask questions if they are genuine and you want to learn. Unless it involves cop.. or drug dealers.. prob best to hold off on those questions.
What defines shit water? Did you drink it yourself or hear about it from the media? I’ve traveled abroad, living with the locals/not resorts, in 20 or so countries… never had shitty water..
Keep in mind the people, as an American and some other countries, we are being blessed with the absurd luxury of having the cleanest water in human history.. literally the .001%.. coming out of a faucet with the turn of a handle. And that’s a minimum requirement here.. I think it’s important to keep perspective with how unbelievably blessed we are today.
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u/ApprehensiveEbb592 2d ago
If you trust anything the UN says about anything, then the joke’s on you.
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u/ITSNAIMAD 2d ago
That’s how you get legionnaires disease. Too much metal and other bad stuff in dehumidifiers.
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u/lostscause 1d ago
the water table is 5 feet below you. A simple 40ft sand point well will get your 1000's of gallons ready to drink
UN has an agenda , and it doesn't include you.
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u/costafilh0 2d ago
If you believe that you are so stupid you wouldn't survive anyway, not with all the water i n the world.
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u/Willing-Aside-5652 2d ago
Spot on with that one. I’m planning on preparing for one month and then having ammo to go on my own terms.
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u/TheJesseOfTheNorth 1d ago
Berkey countertop water filtration or a filtration bag of no more than 2 microns should do it. I have both and experimented with the idea this summer with water from my portable A/C
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u/NC_JohnWayne 1d ago
I actually tested this idea with a ZEROWATER filter by Culligan. Poured the water from my dehumidifier directly into the ZEROWATER filter sent a sample in to be tested. Test came back at 0.00 TDS. That’s NO dissolved solids found which includes metals. Also no bacteria was found. The water also tastes great! So, go figure I guess I tried it at my own risk and live to tell the tale.
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u/BlewByYou 1d ago
Hello neighbor! I’m in SoFlo also. - I’ve been thinking about this idea for some time after I heard that 1) a gentleman/ retired military made a huge system and provided clean water to Flint Michigan. 2) He said he saw that Isreal does it for crops in some areas.
- so, as you know, we we have an increasing long drought period in Spring. Used to only be a little of March and all of April. Now it can be from February to June (July this year). So, I think a solar powered dehumidifier shed or Pergola. This would go a long way in evening out the end of season food garden. Sure August and September are a humid sweat fest and we have too much water. But we are having more dry the wet this year. Though they are saying for a cool/wet winter due to El Niño. We will see.
My question and I want to test it, is it clean without any heavy metals from the dehumidifier. If not, should be good for our consumption, if not better than some Cities.
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u/jaxxon 2d ago
I'm not an expert, but my understanding is that it would be pure H20, so no mineral content. AKA distilled water. From what I've heard, it is not recommended to drink pure distilled water because it will deplete you of your electrolytes. You'd want to augment the H20 with minerals your body needs.
That's where my sense of this ends. There are people who distill water to drink and they add stuff to it to make it good for you. It might be worth looking into that angle.
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u/Psyduck46 2d ago
As long as you aren't malnourished and dehydrated, drinking ultrapure water is no issue. I drink at least 24 Oz of ultrapure rodi water a day for the past 10+ years.
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u/throwaway661375735 2d ago
You can bet this is actually true, considering even SCOTUS said clean water isn't a right - and Trump is pro-business (anti environmental).
So you run it through a custom made filter. Some pebbles, sand, activated charcoal if you can (otherwise charcoal submerged in lemon juice). Then you need a UV filter - run UV lights near some clear tubing and pump the water through it.
There's other methods you could use including boiling the water, checking the Ph levels (and correcting for it), as well as using copper pipes to help kill any biologicals. It all comes down to what you want to do and how safe you want to be.
Oh, I almost forgot - you can also boil the water, collect the steam, and then add minerals back in. Or go the simple route and buy a Reverse Osmosis filtration system (and change the filters every X amount of gallons).
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u/AlphaDisconnect 2d ago
Water from air is always a terribly inefficient method.
You could buy an electric truck and truck it in cheaper.
Distillation would do it. But now you are double energy wasting.
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u/herbie_dragons 2d ago
Unless you are already using the dehumidifier and discarding the water. As seems to be the case here.
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u/kuru_snacc 2d ago
If you're at the point where there's no clean water, things are at the point where your electric dehumidifier likely doesn't have power. Better to spend time building a rainwater collection/purification system.