Odd question about Holy Water

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We’re currently staying in my grandmother’s house while our house purchase completes, while we’re here we are sorting the house out to get it ready for sale (she’s been taken into care and the house will be sold to part fund it). While I was clearing out the garage i found a large amount (25 - 30 litres) of Holy Water which as an atheist I don’t need and I don’t know what to do with it.

It seems disrespectful to just pour it out and recycle the bottles, because of its religious significance, so is there a Church approved disposal method?
 
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OP, I agree with CajunJoy’s advice. But I also want to say “thank you’” for looking to be respectful of how the Holy Water is handled.
 
As a follow up question, why shouldn’t it be poured down the drain?
 
Another option would be to take it to the local Catholic Church so they can dispose of it appropriately.
 
This thread is interesting. I never sought to dispose of holy water. I have read that it is ok to cook with it. This got me wondering. Would it be ok to put it in a humidifier, to infuse, say, your sleeping quarters? You would be breathing it in. Is that a bad thing or a good thing? I’m thinking if your intentions were good and respectful, it would be ok.
 
Considering your lack of religion I just want to say that it is very respectful of you to be asking this question and making the effort. Thank you. 🙂
 
To pour it in a drain is to subject it to profane elements and use. If the water is sealed and appears fine, take it to your local parish. It can either be given away or disposed of properly.

And again, thank you for being considerate.
 
It’s hard to accept the premise that someone had so much blessed water. I can’t conceive of a reason for such a thing. Even if was labeled as such, it is indeterminate whether it was blessed by a clergyman.

In Paris, I don’t know if the debris from the fire at Notre Dame, contaminated with tons of lead, are going to be handled in any special way – probably more as toxic waste than anything else.

I’m going to stick my neck out and say that there’s too much fuss over blessed rosaries, water, and such which need disposal. We must not treat such things as idols.

When we say grace before meals (Bless us O Lord and these thy gifts which we are about to receive…") do we handle the leftovers and scraps in a special way, because they have been blessed? short answer, no.
 
My thoughts, too. We can pray over something but we can not place upon an object a priestly blessing. Only a priest can do that.

Holy water is one of the sacramentals, which is something made sacred by rites of the Church.
 
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Why not keep a little yourself as a momento, even if you are an athiest?
 
Big difference, too, in a blessed object intact (like the holy water) and one that’s been severely damaged or destroyed (the remnants of the cathedral). In the latter case, our thinking is that the sacred character no longer remains anyway due to destruction.
 
Deacons as members of the clergy can also bless water and other items such as rosaries, metals, homes, etc. Laity cannot confer such a blessing.

CCC on Sacramentals.
 
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I think this cane up fairly recently and the general consensus was that putting it in a humidifier would be a bad idea. If I can find the thread, I’ll link it.
 
c1949 said:
When we say grace before meals (Bless us O Lord and these thy gifts which we are about to receive…")
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We pray “Bless us O LORD and these thy gifts…” we are asking the Lord to bless us and the food we are about to receive. We ourselves are not blessing the food.
 
Inquisitor85 said:
As a follow up question, why shouldn’t it be poured down the drain?
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Blessed items in general always have to be burned or buried. You can’t burn water so it needs to be “buried” by being poured straight into the earth in an area where people don’t walk, for example a lawn, a flower bed, or the grounds of a Catholic church or Catholic cemetery.

Pouring the water down the drain would be akin to throwing a blessed item in the trash…it gets mixed up with everything else going down the drain and that’s not respectful.
 
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c1949 said:
It’s hard to accept the premise that someone had so much blessed water. I can’t conceive of a reason for such a thing. Even if was labeled as such, it is indeterminate whether it was blessed by a clergyman.
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Well, let’s take the OP at their word, first of all. Next, if for some reason the water is not blessed, the Priest can perform what might be called a ‘conditional blessing’ - think of conditional baptism - of the water before distributing or disposing of it.

That way, no doubts.
 
what is the effect then of this popular prayer? If there’s a “big difference” between a priest’s blessing and mine, then is this popular prayer meaningless? is there no blessing at all upon it? (Frankly, I think the food itself is a blessing, for which we should be thankful.) Should we even dare to invoke God’s blessing upon ourselves and the food? See? Look at the words.

We pray for God’s blessing on ourselves and on the food. In your words, "there’s a big difference " between a priest’s blessing and God’s blessing. Better find a better way to wash your dishes, so that blessed food particles don’t go down the drain pipes.
 
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