It seems such a shame to throw away all of the water that your tumble dryer collects during a drying cycle.
A lot of people are unsure what they can do with the waste water that’s left in the water tank after their clothes have been through the washer and dryer.
We will be looking into if water from a tumble dryer is distilled and what you can do with it.
Water from a dryer is distilled
Yes, water from a tumble dryer is distilled. The water that your dryer collects is technically distilled although it hasn’t been through a proper distillation process.
This means that even though it has a lot of uses, it might not be great for some of the things distilled water can be used for.
For example, you can’t drink tumble dryer water because it still does contain impurities and that wouldn’t be found in water that’s been through the correct distillation process.
For water to be properly distilled, it needs to be boiled and then left to evaporate. This effectively kills any impurities and microorganisms.
Because your tumble dryer doesn’t bring the water to boiling point it’s not as sterile as water that has been boiled in a pan.
It’s a great alternative to buying deionised water that can be really expensive especially when you’re only buying small amounts.
What can you do with water from a tumble dryer?
So now you know that tumble water is distilled in some ways, what can you do with it?
Well, there are actually a lot of good uses for tumble dryer water instead of throwing it away or pouring it down the drain.
It’s worth noting that the cleaner you keep your tumble dryer, the cleaner the water will be that collects in the water tank. If you don’t regularly clean the lint filter, more fluff might be present in the water.
Here are 5 great uses for used tumble dryer water:
1. Distilled water for irons
If you own a steam iron, then you’re probably always looking for ways to get distilled ironing water.
Taking the water that you get from drying your clothes are using it for ironing is something that many people do and swear by.
Because normal water from the tap can leave gunk at the bottom of the iron on the metal, people prefer to use distilled water because it’s purer and doesn’t leave any mess.
If you are still concerned about the washing detergents that might be found in the water, you can always bring the water to the boil before using it. This saves you from having to use tap water and throwing away the dryer water.
2. Cleaning and mopping floors
Think about how much water you use mopping the floors in your home. Wouldn’t it be great to save some water whilst keeping your home clean?
Now you can by using old dryer water to clean the floors in your house. The water can be mixed into mop buckets with cleaning products to help save water while you’re mopping the floors.
Water from tumble dryers is also fantastic for steam mops and is recommended by a lot of tumble dryer manufacturers.
3. Watering plants in your garden
Watering plants in your garden consumes a lot of water, especially in the summer when it doesn’t rain as much.
You can take the water from the dryer tank and use it to water plants in the garden.
The information on using dryer water for plants is mixed and some people think that the detergents and chemicals in washing products can be bad for plants.
It’s best to use it on plants that aren’t potted so that the chemicals don’t stay in the soil that’s potted.
A lot of people use dryer water to feed their plants and have had some great results while saving water in the process.
4. Put it in the washing machine
This might seem strange, but you can actually put the water back into your washing machine.
It’s actually great for when you’re running a service wash and keeping on top of cleaning your washing machine.
You can open the drawer on your washing machine while it’s filling and empty the water into the detergent drawer.
The washing machine will detect that the drum is full of water, so you don’t have to worry about overfilling the machine. It’s best to do this while it’s first filling with water.
Because the water from a tumble dryer is technically distilled, it’s actually clean enough to wash your clothes in. Washing machines use a lot of water so it’s great to save some on your next wash.
5. Flushing a toilet
If the amount of water that your toilet uses is driving you crazy, it might be time to start recycling dryer water by using it in your toilet.
You can just empty out the water tank into the top of the toilet while it’s filling with water or you can pour it directly into the toilet bowl.
You can save a lot of water by filling your toilet with tumble dryer water. It’s a good idea to keep the water in a bottle or a bucket near the toilet if you’re going to try this out.
