Softened water on plants

Sep 09, 2007 25 Replies

My experience is that using NaCl softend water will eventually kill practically all vegetation, at least here in Minnesota.

We moved into our home in the winter of 2001. The previous owner came by in the spring to pick up a few things and I asked him about an area in the front yard adjacent to the tree line. It was an area that just looked dead. Black dirt, nothing at all growing, no weeds, no grass, nothing. He said he thought it was related to the trees. He said he had planted and fertilized and watered, grass would start and after a couple of months die.

That summer I tried the same. planted, fertilized, watered..and the spot grew! By the end of the summer the spot had grown to over half the front yard, about 3,000 sq. ft.

That fall, my water softner failed and after much research on softners, replaced it. The installer asked if I know of any problems with the split outside water. Huh??? The outside faucet in the front of the house is softened water, the outside faucet in the back is hard water. A whole Christmas tree of lightbulbs when off. Apparently in the neighborhood I am in it is common to have a softend water outstide faucet for cleaning windows and the car.

The following spring I reseeded, mixed in poatassium into the soil, and watered (from the back this time). Almost the same results, except the spot began to shrink. It has taken three years to mostly get the lawn back to normal.

By the way, I now have a brass tag on the front faucet that says "Softened water, not for use on plants."

I am not saying other things can't harm your plants and lawn, I just say that consistently using NaCl softened water on plants is harmful.

Bruce,

Water treatment professionals, gardeners, and chemistry are in total agteement with that statement... and it's true.

According to :

What if you're on a sodium, or worse, potassium reduced diet? ;-)

Why on earth would you deliberately soften water to the exterior hose bibs if you can avoid it?

In new construction the plumbing options are only limited by available money and the plumber's skills. Any configuration can be done and often is.

For the millions and millions who have homes built on a slab or the plumbing is not accessible (for a variety of reasons) changing the plumbing configuration is (at least) not cost effective. If one lives where there is considerable hardness in the water and a softener is desired (for whatever reasons) then the choice is...

a) soften the entire house

b) soften the cold water supply to the water heater

c) do nothing and live with the water you have

Some people can't stand the taste of soft water.

Some people are on sodium-restricted diets, and shouldn't drink it.

Plants should not be watered with sodium-softened water.

And there are two schools of thought regarding soft water in toilets: one says it's a waste of money, the other says it makes it easier to clean the toilets.

Doug,

Yeah, I said less hard but still hard in my post. Not sure what you thought I meant.

Whether you

My water is hard, about 35 gpg. So using your plan of softening only the water heater will accomplish what? Let's run the shower. Mostly hot water, sure but I do like to run a bit of cold. So what's the hardness of the water running through the cold pipes and faucet (35 gpg), and what's the hardness of the water running through the shower head (I'm guessing 3 gpg)? Still pretty hard so the cold pipes, cold faucet and shower head will all begin to clog due to deposits. And the soap won't suds. So what advantage is gained by only softening the hot water? Every sink in my house has an aerator screen. With your plan I'd be replacing them often. The washing machine cold water valve would clog and the soap would not suds. Your plan would fail to do anything for more than half the plumbing and fixtures in a house. The plan is to reduce the hardness of the water to the point where the soap suds well, and there are't clogging deposits.

Dave M.

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