Water quality

[Jonatan]

I was just wondering if the water from my dehumidifier in my basement could be used to water my orchids. So far I've been using tap water that I leave out for a week so that the chlorine will evaporate. My orchids seam to be doing great.

[Ray]

Sure it can. It's basically distilled water, after all, but instead of applying heat for evaporation and waiting for condensation, you're waiting for evaporation and applying the condensation!

A caveat: As it is pure water with no dissolved solids, its buffering capacity is nil. If you add an ordinary fertilizer to it, it is very likely to be extremely acidic, far lower of a pH than the plants will like, and it can be damaging.

Get yourself some fertilizer intended for pure water like the MSU "RO" formula, or get something to adjust the pH back to the low sixes.