# Could I drink the water from this dehumidifier? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 27, 2002, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-drink-the-water-from-this-dehumidifier/129848 "2002-09-27T10:09:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![flapcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@flapcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flapcats)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-drink-the-water-from-this-dehumidifier/129848/1 "2002-09-27T10:09:08Z")
So the container may be filthy, but if it wasn’t… Theoretically the water is pure no? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-drink-the-water-from-this-dehumidifier/129848/2 "2002-09-27T10:24:28Z")
I would think it is only as clean as the room that it’s in. Any airborne microbes, dust, mites, pet fur etc etc etc…Will also be pulled through the dehumidifier coils and stick to any condensation and eventually end up in the drip pan. ---
**Author:** ![flapcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@flapcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flapcats)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-drink-the-water-from-this-dehumidifier/129848/3 "2002-09-27T10:40:39Z")
Ewwww ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-drink-the-water-from-this-dehumidifier/129848/4 "2002-09-27T10:51:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by flapcats \* > \*\*Ewwww \*\* yea, I wouldn’t drink from it either. Unless it was at least boiled and probably even distilled (or put through a good filter) to get all the “solids” out of it. Still though I’d probably use the tap. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-drink-the-water-from-this-dehumidifier/129848/5 "2002-09-27T11:08:56Z")
A dehumidifier works by blowing air through a cool surface of a heat exchanger. I expect the dust and microbes in the air get stuck on the wet surface and end up in the water. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-drink-the-water-from-this-dehumidifier/129848/6 "2002-09-27T14:42:03Z")
Why would you want to? They seem to be a breeeding ground for microbacteria. My guess would be that you’d soon be in some dire gastronomic distress. ---
**Author:** ![flapcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@flapcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flapcats)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-drink-the-water-from-this-dehumidifier/129848/7 "2002-09-27T15:39:33Z")
Lieu, The Dehumidifier is closer than the water cooler… (Though I wouldn’t have tried it - I was only curious.) ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-drink-the-water-from-this-dehumidifier/129848/8 "2002-09-27T16:14:00Z")
> [@](#): > > yea, I wouldn’t drink from it either. Unless it was at least boiled and probably even distilled Isn’t “distilling” what the dehumidifier has done, in essence? I.e., condensed it back out of vapour form. But I agree with the others that it’s a bad idea, as the surfaces could be pretty grubby. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-drink-the-water-from-this-dehumidifier/129848/9 "2002-09-27T16:31:15Z")
Only a slight hijack but when I was working at Biosphere II the crew sealed inside got most of their drinking water from condensate collected on the glass of the enclosure. As for the dehumidifier water I’ll vote to not drink it. The water would be distlled if it was not mixed with airborne dust. ---
**Author:** ![ZooMetropolis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e480ec/32.png) [@ZooMetropolis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZooMetropolis)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-drink-the-water-from-this-dehumidifier/129848/10 "2002-09-27T16:37:02Z")
You could drink it, but would you? ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-drink-the-water-from-this-dehumidifier/129848/11 "2002-09-27T20:54:30Z")
Go over there, and take a good whiff, then decide if you really still want to drink it. I had condensation leaking from my air conditioner that I caught in a bucket and after a few hours would have to empty the bucket. No way in hell was that pure water… p.u. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2002, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-drink-the-water-from-this-dehumidifier/129848/12 "2002-09-27T23:13:45Z")
‘legionnaires disease’ were the words that sprang to my mind when I saw the thread title. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2002, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-drink-the-water-from-this-dehumidifier/129848/13 "2002-09-28T00:07:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by r\_k \* > \*\* > > Isn’t “distilling” what the dehumidifier has done, in essence? I.e., condensed it back out of vapour form. But I agree with the others that it’s a bad idea, as the surfaces could be pretty grubby. \*\* No, distilling uses evaporation not condensation. When you distill you catch all the water that evaporates, which leaves behind all the minerals, dust etc…