Living in hot, sunny and VERY humid Georgia, central air conditioning is a standard feature of most homes.
Part of the air conditioning system is a condensate line that drips water away from the house / foundation and onto the soil. I have clay loam soil, which can't quite drain away /absorb the discharging condensate water. It leaves a muddy mess! What to do??
I looked up online whether that discharge water is safe for plants. Short answer: Yes! It contains no minerals to speak of. So, why not kill two birds with one stone? My plot is down slope of the condensate discharge.
All I needed was:
(1) a small tray to catch the drip (easy, small plastic food tub rescued from our household recycling)
(2) a hose to connect into the tray, to divert the water down hill toward the plot (again, easy, I had some old hose with broken connectors, perfect for the purpose, and free! Plus some leftover caulk from a household plumbing fix)
(3) I needed one or more containers at the downhill end of the hose to catch the reclaimed water. Again, I had a couple on hand, two cheap 2 gallon tubs, used when I re-pot small plants. I arranged them so that one dumps into the other if there is an overflow. No problem if both overflow, the water just goes into the woods.
With this setup, I capture several gallons of water each day that otherwise would just be causing a drainage problem for me. I fill my 2-gallon watering can with the water, it is perfect to use when mixing a little fertilizer for the plants, or just to provide a little water for herbs in containers, or for a dry spot in the ground here and there. I am also using less mains water on the plot.