I didn't think the water would be ok- typical musty basement, if you
wouldn't drink it, don't put it on a plant or float a fish in it

Diane


"nanook" wrote in message
...
Dehumidifier water IS NOT DISTILLED. The water from a dehumidifier is
full of whatever is floating in the air in your basement! I have found
lots of bad things in that water. If you distill it after it comes out
of the dehumidifier then it is fine. For years I ran a distiller and
used dehumidifier water, rain water and tap. This year I switched to
RO and pump the waste water up to the distiller and reclaim as much of
it as I can. I have used dehumidifier water right out of the machine
on some house plants without any adverse problems,( sometimes I use a
drop or two of water purifier for fish tanks in it before I pour it on
the house plants). but I would never use it straight onto orchids.


On Wed, 20 Aug 2003 11:29:08 GMT, "Diane Mancino"
wrote:

what about distilled water from the dehumidifier in the basement?
"Ray" wrote in message
...
It is unlikely the water will be a problem for the plants. If the odor
gets
to be too much, a small dollop of liquid bleach in each barrel ought to
kill
the culprit organisms.

It is also unlikely that the water contains any appreciable nutritional
value, so some sort of fertilizer is in order.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!

. . . . . . . . . . .
"MLL" wrote in message
...
I have two rain barrels. The run off here in My area of the UK seems
to
be
more than I can use.

The question is tho, after a few days it starts to have an odor. I
know
this
is bacteria and
that it should be flushed. BUT
Is this type of water good for the orchids? With all the organic
matter
in
the water
it can only be good, right?
I have a very small budget so I have not purchased any orchid food as
of
yet.
Am I right in thinking the water will offer a bit of food for them?

MLL