It’s the first time I own a dryer. When I poured out the water it has collected
(a few liters per run) I quickly tested the EC and pH and found out, that it is
almost identical to the one made by my reverse osmosis filter!
No wonder, since the dryer is basically just a big distillation machine. Thats
super neat. It will save me a lot of work filtering tap water. I will collect it
from now on and use it for watering my plants. ::: spoiler Why does it matter?
Plants really don’t like tap water. Even in a country like mine, where no
chlorine/ fluoride/ whatever is added, the dissolved minerals cause trouble.
They will build up over time and make nutrients unavailable, even if you adjust
the pH. The buildup and nutrient lockout will harm the plants a lot in the long
term, and you will have way more trouble checking and correcting EC and pH. :::
it’s when you breathe particules of it the problem, but still, there’s no point to drink this… water is the main source of minerals intake, so why would you drink this. And for the plants isn’t it the same?
He has a hydroponic set up. The way that typically works is to start with distilled water and add nutes to that. If the pH is off you can have all the nutrients in there you want but the plant can’t take them in. By adjusting pH and measuring dissolved particles the grower can target certain nutrients for uptake at specific parts of the growing process and measure their uptake. Of course he could do all of this with tap water but it’s way easier to start with a blank slate and that is how most of the guides are written.
It’s a misunderstanding of osmosis. It’s safe to drink distilled in small amounts, but if you are drinking it to hydrate you can quickly run into the issue where it pulls the salts out of your cells and really mess with muscle and organ function. It takes a fair bit to cause issues, a glass here and there is fine, but you can’t drink lots of it the same reason we use saline for IV drips instead of distilled water.
If drinking distilled water causes issues, your diet is deficient. My parents drink distilled water and have for 30+ years with no negative consequences.
it’s when you breathe particules of it the problem, but still, there’s no point to drink this… water is the main source of minerals intake, so why would you drink this. And for the plants isn’t it the same?
He has a hydroponic set up. The way that typically works is to start with distilled water and add nutes to that. If the pH is off you can have all the nutrients in there you want but the plant can’t take them in. By adjusting pH and measuring dissolved particles the grower can target certain nutrients for uptake at specific parts of the growing process and measure their uptake. Of course he could do all of this with tap water but it’s way easier to start with a blank slate and that is how most of the guides are written.
Water is not the main source of mineral intake. You can drink distilled water with no problems.
Not sure why I keep seeing this online or where people learn this misinformation.
It’s a misunderstanding of osmosis. It’s safe to drink distilled in small amounts, but if you are drinking it to hydrate you can quickly run into the issue where it pulls the salts out of your cells and really mess with muscle and organ function. It takes a fair bit to cause issues, a glass here and there is fine, but you can’t drink lots of it the same reason we use saline for IV drips instead of distilled water.
If drinking distilled water causes issues, your diet is deficient. My parents drink distilled water and have for 30+ years with no negative consequences.