Friend of mine, in TX. Got a couple puppies. They like to drink the water that drips from the window AC. She asked me if that's dangerous for the dogs.
I have an opinion, but I'm curious what the folks on this list think.
Since it (condensate) is just distilled water with some household dust (mainly shed skin) thrown in it should be just fine, assuming it isn't growing any algae.
The bigger question is why is it dripping in the first place? Most window shakers have a slinger ring on the condenser fan that throws the condensate up on the condenser coil to give some evaporative cooling and help drop the head pressure. I am in Iowa and the only time one here drips is when it is really humid inside and the evaporator is producing more than the slinger and condenser can handle. That or there is something wrong like a dirty condenser coil will make it spit water out of the side louvers on the chassis or it will drip if the window sill isn't level left to right and the unit is tipped away from the side with the fan. I have this problem with a
1988 GE branded Trane unit. The fan is on the left and the overflow is on the right (looking at the front) and the window sill is lower on the right so the water just drips instead of being picked up if I don't put a shim under the unit.The woman who asked is in Texas, where the humidity is very high. I havn't been there, nor seen any picctures of the set up. She says someone maintained dthe units a couple year ago and said they were "just fine" but I don't know if he cleaned the coils or just give em an wink and a nod. It could also be that the unit is slanted. Who knows?
My sense is the water is fine, except for possible microbe buildup in the pan. I suggested she could pour some diluted Clorox into the evaporator, which would help hold down the microbes.
Myself being in NYS, I've also seen a lot of drippy window units. My one unit, I finally drilled a hole in the floor pan, and run the condensate out the bottom. I'm not convinced the slinger ring does a lot of good. Well, it makes the condensor pick up more dust. A year or two, I was coughing a lot in the living room. I took the window AC out, and cleaned it thoroughly. And some clorox after the cleaning. My coughing went away.
'Slanted' ?
Was it made in China?
So you suggested that she poison her puppy dog?
Good for you Stormy.
You win the Michael Vick dog lover award.
Retard.
That's cause YOU are an idiot.
Tell your friend in Texas you think it may not be safe, but to make sure, you will drink the water from yours for a few weeks. If you don't call her after a few weeks, it it because you are moaning in pain on the floor, dying. Putz! Why would your friend even consider letting the puppies drink other than clean fresh water? Is she your sister from another mother?
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maybe it is better then moon shine ha ha
replying to Daniel who wants to know, Sterling wrote: Lol Iowa HVAC sounds alot easier then Louisiana
Just finding post now so I have 11 years after you wrote this got a portable a/c unit on wheels which has a few buckets per day of condensation with mostly my old dog age 13 not my younger one age 4 wanting to drink the extra cold water so I toss it into the toilet. I read, "Water collected from an air conditioner is condensation pulled from the air inside your home. It should never be ingested, and is not safe to drink, as it contains traces of impurities found in the air in your home, including chemicals and heavy metals." So not risking it. Fill up the water dish a few times with cold water from the fridge and I highly doubt the lady in Texas her dogs would as tempted to drink the other a/c tainted water then throw it in the toilet or outside but never let a dog drink it for the above reasons.
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