ive mentioned this before but collecting AC condenser water gives me about 15 gallons per day. It has been more than enough to water my potted plants and even some inground ones.

One thing that drives me crazy is to see people water the lawn in the heat of the day. I know it helps cool the grass and roots but so much is being lost by evaporation.

We catch about 10 gallons of AC condensation daily and use it to water our peppers. We wash our greens in a salad spinner and dump that water in a bigger bowl. We also dump our sprout water in there and use it to water our arugula. We keep two pitchers for watering indoor plants on the counter and any left over water goes in them too.

Still plenty goes down the drain, but we are trying to be better.

Good suggestions, you guys! So I've got this monster A/C unit sitting on a pad outside my house. How do I go about collecting the water from the condenser? I'm clueless.

Boy, am I ever with you on the folks who water in the afternoon! They just don't realize how much is being wasted, or how it can simply burn things even more, particularly if they are using a big overhead sprinkler instead of a little one or a drip/soaker system that gets the water down to the roots where it's needed.

If I could set mine up on automatic timers, I'd be watering around 3 a.m.
And how often have you seen some fool washing his car during a drought warning or highly restricted use? There will always be someone who does it.

Pat

I don't collect the water from the AC condenser because I planted water-guzzling plants there to suck it up. If they didn't need it, I'd collect it and use it though.

Are people still watering their lawns? I gave up on ours, so all I am watering now is the foundation and shrubs and fruit trees, using soaker hoses.

When we boil rice or pasta or veggies, I save that water and let it cool and pour it on the ground around a thirsty-looking plant.

If we come home with sodas in paper cups from a fast food place and the drink is gone but there's ice left, I pour the ice on the ground around a thirsty-looking plant.

I have 40 5-gallon buckets that I put out to catch rainfall as it cascades off the sloping roof of the barn. Of course, it isn't raining, so those buckets are just sitting there right now, but even a small rain shower can produce a lot of water for those buckets. My big rain barrel is full and I am 'saving' that for a bad day...like if our rural water co-op's well fails or a pump breaks down or whatever.

All over southern Oklahoma small (and some not-so-small) towns and their water systems are experiencing all kinds of water failures, so I've got 15 gallons of water stored in the garage in case we lose our water pressure for a while.

With each successive drought, I weed out 'water guzzlers' so by this point there really isn't anything left in our landscape that needs a lot of water. Even the natives, though, are suffereing. It has been too dry too long.

Hang around car washes and run in after the car goes in, jump out before the wax cycle. Tell kids they can only go to public bathrooms. Sneak over and do laundry in a neighbors hot tub. Stuff sponges into your bathing suit.

This is the second time you have mentioned the "size" of your "unit". Is this a guy thing? So how BIG is it?

Pat, if you have a large outside unit it will have a drain tube there at the unit, this type of unit is a package, or self contained unit. Most systems are split systems, meaning it has an evaporator inside and the condenser is outside. The moister collects on the evaporator coils and runs into a drain pan. The drain then runs to the outside or sometimes just to the tunnel where the refrigeration tubes run if your house is on a slab floor. If you have a horizontal unit, it is most likely in the attic.

All systems have a drain line, but it will be hard to tell you exactly where your drain tube is. The best way is to look at your unit and see which way your drain tube runs, or go outside and look for a wet spot or a tube dripping water.

Larry

Hey, Punkin, that ain't no joke. I saw folks in the river with bars of soap during one of the bad droughts out west. The rivers were down, but luckily still running. We couldn't drink any of it, but who would want to.

Dawn, that's a good tip about the ice cubes. I'd never thought of it. Like you, we always have water stored away. I was used to the power going out for extended periods if time, so it just became a habit to keep water jugs on hand.

We don't have any gutters on our metal roof, but there's a valley where the rain pours down whenever we get any. I have 5-gallon buckets sitting all along under it. Can't really put a big storage bucket there, but I catch all I can.

The first time I visited a farmer friend on his old place in IL, I was shocked at how they used water. They only had a big cistern, so washing the dishes meant putting about 2 inches of soapy water in a pan and then rinsing them in another pan with the same amount in it. He about had a fit when I began filling a dishpan. To take a bath, they only ran a maximum of 4" in the tub. They didn't even own a garden hose, because they didn't water anything at all. Everything was natural rainfall or no water. These were not special circumstances. They lived that way all the time, and had owned that farm for over 80 years.

Pat

The condensation will be happening inside where the fan unit is. Look around it, and or inside for where it is collected. All to often, they are tied to the drain and just flow out with the waste. What a waste. If you can find where it's collected, maybe you can route a hose out to a bucket, or put one inside and just remember to take it out as need.

Condensation is a great source of "free" water.

Mine drains directly into a garden. Simple solution. No hassle. No watering. Its a good spot to put one in. I planned mine years ago.

PHJ has me cracking up.

He forgot this one though:

Pee in the shower. You'll save a flush :)

Jo

These are some great ideas. I need to start using some of them.

Our AC condensation is where all the birds hang out. They are completely ignoring the bird bath, maybe because the water is HOT.

When I stayed at a retreat center in Santa Fe once, they had buckets in the shower to collect extra water, which we were then asked to pour on the garden. AFter looking at that october drought forecast, I need to get some buckets.

Back in the 60's I remember hearing "conserve water, shower with a friend". The few times I tried it, it seemed create a lot of steam.

i have cardinal flowers planted by my drain, and I guess they can't handle the excess moisture because they are looking pretty ragged. Another project is an irrigation system for all my flower and veggie beds. James

I remember many things about the summer of 1980. I was living in Wapanucka in southeastern Oklahoma. The well was dry and we had to cart in water to drink. We used an outhouse and bathed in Blue River. If we stirred up the bottom of the river, we'd get leaches.

For several years I've kept two five gallon buckets in my shower. I can't tolerate the cold water that first comes out, so I catch it until the water is hot, then take two half full buckets to container plants afterward. Drives my spousal unit crazy.

Bricks in the toilet tank will leach hard water minerals into your plumbing. A better choice is to fill a half gallon milk jug with water and set it in the back of the tank.

That idea of buckets in the shower is a great one. I cant stand cold water either.

I have used the buckets in the shower almost all my life..., well, since I started living where there were showers.

My extra conserving is water from hand washables. The soapy water gets used to flush the toilet, and the rinse water gets used to water the potted plants on my balcony (used to be I watered plants in the yard, when I had one).

I also keep a gallon jug by the kitchen sink, to catch water before it starts running hot.

Lets not forget dish water. I hand wash mine. Here, I also use the soapy water to flush, but really don't save any rinse water. I just rinse very sparingly.

Like Dawn, ice and melted ice water also goes to the plants. I grew up without wasting anything, which comes in pretty handy for saving!

Moni

Those are really good ideas. It has always bothered me that water is running down the drain while I'm waiting for it to heat up, but it never occurred to me to catch it in a bucket. Duh! It isn't easy for me to lug heavy buckets around, but I always have a supply of gallon jugs on hand. I use them to water the potted plants anyway, so they may as well be filled with water that would be wasted.

Moni, I know exactly what you mean. I remember one drought year when we were in a cabin and the rainwater storage tanks dried up. We also had an outhouse, and it was a good thing we did. We had to pack water jugs 1/2 mile to the car and then drive about 15 miles into town to fill them. Believe me, not one single drop was wasted!

My mail carrier stopped by with a package yesterday and we were comparing notes. She said they burned up their pump, trying to keep things watered. $400 later, they have a new one, but she's really worried about the well itself. Me, too.

Pat

The weight issue is why I use two, and fill each partially. Much easier to carry.

I also keep pitchers next to the kitchen sink for getting the hot water primed in the morning. That water gets used for cooking, drinking and kitchen plants.

Seedmama

Good thought. Somehow I have a feeling that we'll soon be having buckets and containers all over the place, just like preparing for an extended power outage.

I remember one year in the west when it rained for months without end. Not one single clear day that didn't have some sort of precipitation. My DH, who was used to MO and NE weather, finally asked me "Doesn't it ever quit raining here?" I was also beginning to wonder when it would stop, if ever. We were considering plans for an ark. The total for the year was a whopping 120 inches! I would never choose to go back to that, but I must admit that a day or two of it right now would not hurt my feelings any.

Pat

We have our bathroom sink, shower and other sink drain routed out into the garden. Our grey water system. The only plant that is doing well is in my "bog garden. They love it when my son visits. He is cleaner than us.

I'm awful at water conservation. I grew up in a house with a deep well and plenty of water. But, I do keep huge containers on my house drip lines and use the water to fertilize and water with. I get a surprising amount of water from even a small rain.
We have cheap flood irrigation here in Mesa, AZ, remnants of all the huge citrus farms. For $65 a year, I get irrigation every two weeks in summer, every month in winter. Now that my gardens are raised, it works great and the trees, of course, love it. I wish I could figure out a way to channel and store the excess but I can't seem to come up with anything.

These are great ideas!I have a small child so here are a few kid specific, and general conservation strategies we are using during the drought. I let my daughter go commando to cut down on diaper washing. It's time to potty train anyway and cleaning up accidents uses a lot less water than washing diapers. We are also taking splash baths at night; instead of filling the tub. I put about a couple of inches in there, splash her clean and use a cup or two to rinse her hair. I turn off the shower while soaping and shaving, and I collect hand washing water and reuse it for plants too. We installed drip irrigation in the veggie garden this year and if I have to wash the dog or something big that happens in the orchard.

Over the years I've taken a lot of 'baths' out of a portable basin and been none the less clean for it, without running gallons and gallons or water down the drain. I hate to try to wash my hair that way, but if I use the kitchen sink with the spray attachment, I can wet it down and lather it and shut the faucet off in between. If I catch the original water I use to wet it, I can re-use it for the rinse. Whatever is left when I'm done can be poured on a thirsty plant. I have washed my hair completely from a basin when absolutely necessary, but I'm not fond of it. When you simply haven't got any water, need to go miles to get it and certainly have none to waste, then you do what you need to do to utilize every drop you can get.

As gross as it may sound, for those of us on wells, flushing only when it's necessary (once or twice a day is recommended during a drought) can save a huge amount of water. As long as it's only liquid, just close the lid and try to ignore it. I try to think of it as helping my aging septic tank.

Pat

jamesy40 - I planted cardinal flower next to our AC drain, and decided to dig it up two weeks ago, because it was really struggling. It may have been just too wet, and it wasn't able to get enough oxygen; I hope to keep it alive till cooler weather when I can replant it in a bit dryer spot. Really thought it would be a great plant for the area, and I may put it back there, just a bit removed from the runoff.
Carol