gotcher Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 Simple question . Does anyone knows how long it takes to kill plants useing tap water . As anyone tryed this . Thank You . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ada Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 Hi Rob, I suppose it depends where you live. I have been watering my cephs and some pings on the window cill for years- yes years,with water straight out of the bathroom tap. So far i haven't lost a single one.I even had a heli once for a couple of years,until i swapped it,now its a brocchinia in the bathroom. In a dry spell the sarras in the greenhouse have been known to have tap water for a week or so with no ill effects. ONLY TRY THIS IF YOU HAVE SOME SPARE PLANTS YOU CAN AFFORD TO LOSE! be warned it won't work for everyone. ada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petr D. Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 I've been watering part of my collection with tap water for some while. And plants that are outside( vft, sarras and hardy droseras) are getting tap water only apart from raining. However our tap water is pretty soft i think, so i wouldn't recommend depending on it for a long while. Then, when you eventually lose a plant, you will know; Oh well, it wasn't the water that killed it. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan P Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 I got a plant recently, Sarracenia flava hybrid of sorts, which had been watered with tap water for all of winter, none of the pitchers were opening, and dormancy had been skipped, it still looks a bit dodgy, but it's recovering well :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotcher Posted May 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 I am testing tap water on spare plants . The water should be ok but it will depend what treatment the waterworks add in my area It's a question how long before I will know if the water is safe . Would testing to end of summer early autumn be long enough to say the water will be fine . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimfoxy Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 (edited) If your water is anything like my grandma's in Slaithwaite, then it is very soft and should be good (brown, peaty colour on the inside of the kettle surface and no scale whatsoever). I would leave it to stand for a while in case it has added chlorine/flourine. Sorry, never done any destructive tests myself, though. Good luck with it! Edited May 11, 2009 by jimfoxy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexis Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 Bad tap water takes about a week to have an effect. Expect parts of the foliage to turn brown and the plant to take on a sickly green hue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallsg7 Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 I agree with you alexis.I was once told i could use my tapwater.Within a week or two all my plants were looking very sickly.So i changed back to rainwater straight away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manders Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 (edited) You should test the water for Hardness and Ph, the TDS 'total dissolved solids' should give you a reasonable idea if its safe or not, 2000ppm = very bad 200ppm might be ok for example. You can probably get this info of your water company, or use a fish water testing kit. You should still test it though whatever the reading. If you happen to have united utilities as your supplier you can check the quality here, anything that comes out soft or very soft should be ok, luckily turned out my tapwater is softer than the rainwater I collect of my roof!! Water Quality Edited May 11, 2009 by manders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesse Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 Simple question . Does anyone knows how long it takes to kill plants useing tap water . As anyone tryed this . It may take some time. Duration depends on health status of the plants, species and on the amount of dissolved minerals in the tap water. Mexican pinguicula may do well with tap water all the time, Sarracenia may do well several months, and delicate sundews may suffer damage within two weeks. If you are concerned that it might take you too long time killing your plants with tap water, just use http://www.amazon.co.uk/WEED-WIZARD-190N-I.../dp/B001412DZE/ Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantrid Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 I think to generalize. If your water supply is from ground water then its got lots of dissolved substances in that its picked up from the rocks and soil. I think this type of water is common in S England. I used to live in Reading and furring of kettles etc was a big problem. In N England and Wales I think most of the water is from reservoirs that collect water that has run fairly quickly off the hills and so will have had less time to pick up dissolved substances. There are probably exeptions to this, but you can also boil some in a pan until dry and see how much residue is left. This will give a good indication of how safe it is to use if your water co cant/wont supply answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotcher Posted May 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 Tap Water in uk comes from reservoirs , boreholes and rivers . Testing your water you can't because it can comes from many places on your suppler network . I get mine from rivers boreholes and reservoirs it can come from anywhere within 50 miles of Huddersfield . Their will be over 100+ places where it's collected picking up allsorts of thing plus what's in the pipes . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manders Posted May 11, 2009 Report Share Posted May 11, 2009 Tap Water in uk comes from reservoirs , boreholes and rivers . Testing your water you can't because it can comes from many places on your suppler network . I get mine from rivers boreholes and reservoirs it can come from anywhere within 50 miles of Huddersfield . Their will be over 100+ places where it's collected picking up allsorts of thing plus what's in the pipes . I guess that may be true in some places, in my area though the water comes form a single known source and you can check the quality based on your postcode. Myself and my parents are supplied by the same company but the water comes from a different source, in my case Lake Vyrnwy in wales (very soft) and my parents from the River Dee (medium hard). I have tested both waters with a uSiemens meter and the meter reading matches the water companies figures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotcher Posted May 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 After thinking about it more I think I will wait until late next year before getting rid of my water butts . By this time it should be 100% safe . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallsg7 Posted May 12, 2009 Report Share Posted May 12, 2009 If your relying on a tds meter to evaluate how suitable the tapwater is then remember to keep checking it.I found my tapwater is ok to use one day but not the next.It varied quite substantialy each day i took a reading.Not sure why that is?Also chlorine,fluoride and pipe cleaning chemicals are present in tapwater which are not present in rainwater.I used my tapwater when its ppm was 100 or less and the plants still didnt like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotcher Posted May 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 If your relying on a tds meter to evaluate how suitable the tapwater is then remember to keep checking it.I found my tapwater is ok to use one day but not the next.It varied quite substantialy each day i took a reading.Not sure why that is?Also chlorine,fluoride and pipe cleaning chemicals are present in tapwater which are not present in rainwater.I used my tapwater when its ppm was 100 or less and the plants still didnt like it. What you have said is common sense . Nobody gets the same quality of water at all . All water companies knock on their customers doors and take water samples every day and test them . It's a complete waste of time checking your water with a meter when you will get better results in the same time test the water on any spare plants . The quality your water that your water company will publish will be the average over a lenth of time not wwhat you are looking for . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantrid Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 If your relying on a tds meter to evaluate how suitable the tapwater is then remember to keep checking it.I found my tapwater is ok to use one day but not the next.It varied quite substantialy each day i took a reading.Not sure why that is?Also chlorine,fluoride and pipe cleaning chemicals are present in tapwater which are not present in rainwater.I used my tapwater when its ppm was 100 or less and the plants still didnt like it. this is probably due to your water co using different sources and not the same one all the time as someone previously mentioned. The only thing you can do in this case is fill a large container when the water is suitable to last through times it isnt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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