When my wife and I first moved into our newest old house, there is a central AC unit that on the most humid days discharges a steady stream of condensate.
Personal feelings and unfounded opinions aside, I have noticed the grass in the area of the drain was always nice and green. In my mind, a series of experiments were needed.
First, I placed a five-gallon bucket under the drain, and after a while I used the condensate to water a small bed of garlic and a pair of tomato plants. These just happened to be close to the drain — no other reason.
The first year I had high yields from both raised beds. Next I set a 60-gallon food-grade barrel with a spigot under the drain. The top was open, which also let dew and some rainfall collect in it. I then could fill a bucket from the drain while I dipped water from the top.
The second year, I used the abundance of condensate to water a half-dozen raised beds and used grass clippings for mulch and rabbit litter for side dressing. The results were spectacular!
This year, due to a small but painful injury, I have run a couple of old garden hoses to the spigot and I let gravity and pressure work to drain the barrel to various spots downhill from it. I lay the hoses where I want them, open the spigot and put about 50 gallons of water in the garden spot, where it slowly soaks into the ground. The barrel refills about every 48 hours — more often if a rain comes in.
A few details: The barrel is three cinder blocks high, so it is two feet off the ground. This enables a bucket to be placed under the spigot. Since the top is open, I drop a scrap of soap in regularly to deter mosquitoes from breeding in the water. The tiny bit of soap seems to have caused no harm to my plants.
The barrel was found on the property and pressed into service, the spigot was reused from another project and the hoses are repaired and made from sections that were to be disposed of. A few salvaged connectors and clamps, and there are no leaks!
The gain of this is I recycled and put to use a lot of rubbish that would have ended up in a landfill, and I save a small amount of money on water by directing condensate and rainwater to the garden as needed. The plants are thriving on this setup. The only expense so far is gaskets for the hoses so they don’t leak at the connections. A box of 10 was a $1.59 (on clearance).
I have found that this system will work with a window unit also. There are a variety of large containers that will work as well as the plastic barrels, just use your mind and let it run free and be willing to experiment with what you have.
Houston resident Keith Ford is a retired infantryman and an amateur writer whose work has appeared in publications around the world. Email kf4tap@yahoo.com.