Lets Talk Condensate

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jumpincactus

jumpincactus

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Tadaaaaaaa

What About Lead, Arsenic or Chromium 6?
Even though these toxic metals are charged when dissolved in water, a TDS meter does not give meaningful information about their presence or concentration in water. There are two main reasons for this:

  • A TDS meter is a nonselective measurement and cannot differentiate among different ions. A more sophisticated piece of equipment is needed to perform those types of measurements. The value of 184 that was measured using a TDS meter in a prominent Huffington Post Article was not the lead concentration… it was the water's natural TDS level (which is dominated by minerals like calcium, magnesium, and sodium).
  • A TDS meter is not sensitive enough to measure toxic levels of lead, chromium-6, or arsenic, even if they are present in a sample. This is because the reading displayed on an inexpensive TDS meter is in parts per million, while things like lead, chromium-6, and arsenic are toxic at part per billion concentrations (1000 times lower). Using a TDS meter to measure ppb lead concentrations in tap water is like trying to use a car’s odometer to measure a child's height…. It's the wrong tool. For example, the water sample shown on the right hand side of this article's header image has lead levels that are 100x the EPA limit, and the TDS reading teetered between 000 and 001.
To reiterate: Meaningful lead and arsenic measurements cannot be made using a TDS meter (or any other handheld device). They must be measured by trained staff in analytical laboratories that use much more sophisticated scientific equipment.

What Does a TDS Meter Not Measure?
Because TDS is an aggregate measure of charged compounds in water, uncharged things like motor oil, gasoline, many pharmaceuticals, and pesticides do not contribute to a TDS measurement. For example, the glass on the left in this article's header image contains deionized water with Malathion (an organophosphate pesticide) dissolved into it at 100 times higher concentration than allowed by the EPA for drinking water, and the TDS probe reads 000.
 
Dbear180

Dbear180

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I used to use my dh water for babies because I was too lazy to walk it up stairs & dump it. Now my dh has a built in pump that'll push water 16 ft straight up so I just ran a 1/4" line into some bushes.
My sensei used to water the babies with the dh water too but he also told me that was because he didnt wanna get up & go dump it outside.
I never saw any negative effects. But my dh is pretty clean inside. I personally wouldn't use my ac water tho. I know theres a bunch of dirt & shit trapped in it I'll never get out so I just spray bleach water all over & inside to kill anything that gets a chance.
 
G gnome

G gnome

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Heres what i know....

I use exactly 32 gal of water a day.
Of which approx 15% is run off and is collected and discarded. I use it elseqhere for watering my flowers outside. 15% of 32 gal is 4.8 gal. Now that its summer, its the warmest and most humid part of the year. I am collecting 30gal of condensate a day. So on avg im using about 2 gal of ro per day. Thats about 6% of my total water used. When u consider the runoff im actually collecting more water than im using.

This will taper off as the weather starts to become cooler and drier.

I will also add that i have experienced no problems whatsoever with usin condensate.
 
Last edited:
G gnome

G gnome

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jumpincactus said:
Tadaaaaaaa

What About Lead, Arsenic or Chromium 6?
Even though these toxic metals are charged when dissolved in water, a TDS meter does not give meaningful information about their presence or concentration in water. There are two main reasons for this:

  • A TDS meter is a nonselective measurement and cannot differentiate among different ions. A more sophisticated piece of equipment is needed to perform those types of measurements. The value of 184 that was measured using a TDS meter in a prominent Huffington Post Article was not the lead concentration… it was the water's natural TDS level (which is dominated by minerals like calcium, magnesium, and sodium).
  • A TDS meter is not sensitive enough to measure toxic levels of lead, chromium-6, or arsenic, even if they are present in a sample. This is because the reading displayed on an inexpensive TDS meter is in parts per million, while things like lead, chromium-6, and arsenic are toxic at part per billion concentrations (1000 times lower). Using a TDS meter to measure ppb lead concentrations in tap water is like trying to use a car’s odometer to measure a child's height…. It's the wrong tool. For example, the water sample shown on the right hand side of this article's header image has lead levels that are 100x the EPA limit, and the TDS reading teetered between 000 and 001.
To reiterate: Meaningful lead and arsenic measurements cannot be made using a TDS meter (or any other handheld device). They must be measured by trained staff in analytical laboratories that use much more sophisticated scientific equipment.

What Does a TDS Meter Not Measure?
Because TDS is an aggregate measure of charged compounds in water, uncharged things like motor oil, gasoline, many pharmaceuticals, and pesticides do not contribute to a TDS measurement. For example, the glass on the left in this article's header image contains deionized water with Malathion (an organophosphate pesticide) dissolved into it at 100 times higher concentration than allowed by the EPA for drinking water, and the TDS probe reads 000.
Click to expand...

Is there any reason why there wud b lead, arsenic or chromium in condenste?
 
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