Orchids Love Air-Conditioner Water: Using Air-Conditioner Water to Irrigate Orchids Is More Suitable

Air-conditioner water, that is, the water discharged from the drain pipe after the hot and cold air exchange during the use of an air conditioner. After conducting experiments and consulting relevant experts, I reached a preliminary conclusion: this water has a higher nitrogen content than ordinary water and contains nutrients, so using it to waterorchidsworks very well, better than rain or snow water, and even better than ordinary tap water. This summer, after the household air conditioner was in use, the people living below me reported that the drain pipe originally connected to the building's sewer was broken and leaking, which affected their clothes drying. So I pulled the drain pipe indoors and caught the discharge in a bucket. When the water drained out, I discovered that this air-conditioner water was crystal clear, looking just like purified water. So I poured away half and kept half. When the water warmed up to the usual temperature for watering orchids, I selected 4 ordinary pots from my orchid collection - Cymbidium goeringii, Cymbidium faberi, Cymbidium ensifolium, and Cymbidium sinense -orchidsand did a trial watering. As of July 28, I had been trial watering for about 2 months, and the result was that these 4 pots oforchidsnot only had no problems at all, but grew even better than the others watered with tap water. Among them, theCymbidium goeringii, which originally tended to have black leaf tips, unexpectedly stopped having withered tips. Recently, still not quite at ease, I made a special trip to the city Environmental Protection Bureau to consult a water quality expert, Station Chief Qian of the bureau's monitoring station. Station Chief Qian said that he had been engaged in water quality and biological research for many years, and that using air-conditioner water to water flowers, including orchids, is absolutely no problem. It is water from cooled hot air, similar to rain or snow water, but air-cooled water under high temperature and sunlight sterilization is in some respects even better than rain or snow water for watering flowers. I told him that a test strip showed the water's pH value (that is, acidity and alkalinity) to be 6 to 7, which is weakly acidic. He said: "Correct, please use it with confidence, but pay attention to one point: the water just collected has a relatively low temperature, so it should be left at room temperature until it is close to the usual water temperature for watering flowers before use. Being slightly lower does not matter." At this point, I finally felt reassured, and I could no longer bear to throw away air-conditioner water. I thought, since that is the case, and more and more people are now using air conditioners, isn't this a great blessing for those of us who grow orchids? Even if you do not yet have the conditions to use an air conditioner, you can still get air-conditioner water by "living off the public supply" or benefiting from a neighbor's, and it will not take much effort to obtain. It is not only good for your beloved orchids, but also advisable for saving water and protecting the environment. Fellow orchid growers, you might as well give it a try. Telephone: 0554-6678274 (office) (Zhang Shanghua)