People usually have confused about that, Is filtered water good for watering plants? We’ll make it clear what sort of water is ideal for plants. Providing filtered water mainly depends on the plants, outdoor or indoor.
Filtered water means water that contains low mineral content and low impurities. In one way, filtered water is good as it has no harmful contaminant that affects the plant’s life. But water filters also remove essential nutrients vital to a plant’s life.
More detail is given below. Go and grasp the knowledge.
Is filtered water good for houseplants?
- Filtered water is good for plants kept at homes or indoor plants. Indoor plants create an aesthetic environment, adding to the house’s beauty. We must know how to care for our plants best not to become brittle and die.
- In search of the best methods of keeping plants healthy and thriving, it is better not to use unfiltered tap water, which may contain complex chemicals that ultimately damage plants.
- The best water to use is filtered tap water, or any filtered water, depending upon the type of water indoor plants you have.
- The fundamental reason for using filtered water to water houseplants is the presence of chlorine in tap water which may cause damage to the plants. The best way to avoid that damage is to use filters ideal for your plants.
- Indoor plants or outdoor plants can use Brita-filtered water. But Brita filtered water has excess removal of content present in the water, which is unsuitable for the plant’s health.
No such evidence can claim that filtered water is bad for plants. Still, in some cases, it also depends if you use additional fertilizers for your plants because tap water contains minerals that can act as fertilizers for your plants. Still, it all depends upon the type of water in your home, so you best know what your plant needs. There are various contents whose presence is not safe for plants like;
- Chlorine is used in fertilizers whose excess damages the soil’s microorganisms, which are essential for the development of plants.
- Fluoride can damage plants. According to Gardenoligist, fluoride damages or burns the leaves if they are fluoride-sensitive plants. Some of the plants that are sensitive to fluoride found in tap water:
- Bamboo
- Dracaenas
- Spider plants
- Peace Lily
- Spineless Yucca
Best Way To Filter Water for watering plants
Various treatment technologies are used today to filter water, and they all serve the same purpose: to remove contaminants from water. There are many ways of doing that: here are a few.
ION EXCHANGE:
- The ion exchange method is used to soften the water.
- The ion exchange method is best used for water with high mineral content. It prepares hard water for RO treatment.
- Beds made up of zeolite are used, which contain sodium ions. The ion exchange filter splits are compounds that come in contact with it, and these beads attract the impurities of water with high mineral content, primarily magnesium, and calcium.
As for plants, water undergone through ion exchange methods has a relatively poor mineral content and acidic ph levels, which are harmful to plants. There is also a chance that high sodium content in the water can make the soil insufficient for the growth of plants, resulting in stunted growth.
REVERSE OSMOSIS:
Many doctors recommend this filtration method, which uses carbon and tight membranes to filter the tap water at its molecular level. This method removes harmful toxins, bacteria, viruses, and common contaminants, making it the best-filtered tap water.
- Reverse osmosis consists of a semi-permeable membrane
- Water passes through the membrane, so the larger particles are left behind
- This process makes the water less concentrated, meaning the hard water turns into soft water due to the removal of chemicals; hence can also be known as soft water reverse osmosis.
- Soft water reverse osmosis is widely used in various places where water filtration is concerned.
- These filtration systems often come with carbon filters.
Reverse osmosis filtration systems water is not ideal for plants because it removes all the healthy chemicals needed for the plants’ growth and some microorganisms, which are beneficial for the development and overall health of the plants. The intrications of this method make the water up to 99% pure, which is not ideal for indoor plants.
DISTILLATION:
- Distilled water plants work on the principle of evaporation to purify water.
- Distilled water plants require an apparatus in which distilled water is converted into steam and then condensed back into liquid in a separate container; this method is also effective, but to an extent, the bacteria can re-grow when the water is being cooled off.
- Distilled water plants usually make water dead. This means everything, like the chemicals and heavy metals, has been removed, as are the healthy minerals.
Distilled water can give the plants, but the good minerals that help keep the plant healthy and growing have been removed. It is not very necessary to give plants distilled water. On the other hand, giving plants distilled water helps to avoid any toxic buildup in the soil.
What Type Of Water is Good For Watering Houseplants?
Here are some examples of the various types of water and their effect on house plants or indoor water plants.
Video Source: Clatterans Filters
Filtered Water For Plants:
- Filtered water is best for house plants. We must remember that filtered water only removes debris and other particles from the water.
- Filtering doesn’t constitute removing toxic chemicals like lead and arsenic from the water, which can be extremely dangerous for plants.
- Filtered water is the safest water that water can use for plants.
- This use of water contains minerals that are beneficial for the growth and development of plants.
- Water has high mineral content, which means hard water from the taps contains chemicals such as chlorine that need to be filtered before watering the plants to protect them from the harshness of these chemicals.
- If water is not adequately filtered and has more fluoride content than plants can bear, it will damage plants, especially when we water indoor plants.
Softened Water For Plants:
- The addition of sodium carbonate primarily softens softened water. Sodium carbonate is a salt that cannot be bearable for many indoor plants; hence this type of water is unsafe for plants.
- Soft water reverse osmosis can disturb the ph level of water, which is unsafe for the plant.
- Soft water reverse osmosis has many benefits, such as water purification by adding sodium or potassium, but if this water is given to plants, they will likely die of thirst.
- Soft water can also make soil salty, hindering other plants’ growth.
- If the plants are accidentally watered with soft water, you can correct this mistake by adding additional water. This process is called leaching.
Is Tap Water Safe For Plants?
The main thing to remember while using tap water is that water quality differs in various ways.
Some tap water has chlorine, so eventually, giving that to the plants adversely affects the plant’s health.
Similarly, tap water could have many toxins, such as arsenic or lead, damaging the plants.
If the tap water has the wrong ph, which is not suitable for the plant can also lead to plant damage.
Is my tap water safe depending upon the quality of your tap water and the nature of your plants? The best way to avoid plant damage is to let the tap water sit in the container for about 24 hours to dissipate chlorine.
Aquarium Water For Watering Plants
- Aquarium water is one of the healthiest water given to plants because of its additional mineral content.
- This water is a source of natural elements, which can greatly aid your plants’ health.
- This water contains many valuable nutrients, such as phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen, which act as natural fertilizers for plants.
Bottled Water For Watering Plants
- Bottled spring water is a great alternative to use instead of tap water.
- Bottled spring water can conveniently water your plants if it is the easiest method for you.
- This method can be a bit costly for everyday use and less eco-friendly.
Rain Water For Watering Plants
- Rainwater is naturally clean and a covenant water source with many natural minerals good for plant health.
- Rainwater can be easily collected in retention ponds and buckets and can water plants later on.
Conclusion
Are the people concerned with gardening aware that filtered water is good for plants? Ultimately, we concluded that filtering water for plants is good overall. But some plants require high mineral content for their growth and nourishment, so they don’t need filtration. But some plants, like indoor plants, can grow better with filtered water.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Some others question’ and answers for our readers might be helpful for reading.
Is Brita-filtered water good for plants?
The Brita water pitcher filter is good for plants because it contains activated carbon to remove impurities like lead, chlorine, asbestos, benzene, and other content.
These harmful impurities are trapped by the Brita water pitcher filter, which can harm the beneficial microorganisms in the soil that can easily use Brita-filtered water at room temperature.
Is filtered water good for outdoor plant watering?
Yes, Brita Filtered water is good for any plant, outdoors or indoors.
The most effective way is to use a Brita water pitcher, a great tool for filtering your water.
Brita-filtered water has helped many people access filtered water, which is eventually suitable for plants.
Is tap water good for plants?
Some safe water plants are not concerned about the type of water they get, whereas filtered tap water is good for plants as filtration removes unwanted debris and harmful chemicals, such as chlorine which may damage the plant.
Is purified water good for watering plants?
Purified water means bottled spring water, suitable & good for plants because it has magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus.
But, it is a little cost-effective and not so eco-friendly.
If your water is highly purified, it has less mineral content, resulting in stunted growth of the plants.
Is purified water good for watering weed plants?
Using the correct water is essential for growing weeds in the garden, as weed plants need the proper pH and temperature to grow and thrive.
Purified water has the correct ph, but less mineral content is usually needed for the weed plant to grow, so it is not ideal to water it with purified water.
