The Flint Water Crisis is still on and a desperate community is looking for quick temporary fixes, but seriously, do not think that dehumidifier water is safe to drink. It is not safe at all.

I was cruising Reddit today and I came across this posting from a user that seriously made me gasp in horror:

Short term answer to water crisis while we find a long term one -- Use a dehumidifier, and filter the water from that.

I exclaimed, "Honey, no!" after I read that post. I understand that everyone is trying to get by as much as they can through the Flint Water Crisis, but this is a very bad idea. Trying to use the filtration of your dehumidifier to pull water out of the air to drink will make things way worse for your health.

Before I could jump into the Reddit conversation, a user reminded us of an article from the Stanford Magazine that reminds us:

 

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, stagnant condensate can harbor biological contaminants, including mold, mildew and algae, especially if the collection bucket isn't cleaned regularly. Moreover, the condensate can contain lead and other metal residues from the component parts of the dehumidifier.

If you're not too sure what "stagnant condensate" is, it is that water in the tank you have to dispose of in your dehumidifier. As you can gather from the warning from the EPA, drinking this water would be very hazardous to your health and won't even accomplish what you are trying to do by making things way worse.

Please do not drink the water from your dehumidifier, it will not help you in any way.

More From US 103.1 FM