Softened water on plants

Kurt Ullman · 2007-09-09T15:37:57+00:00

When our house was built, it was plumbed in such a way that we can't add a water softener w/o also putting softened water through the outside faucets. I am getting conflicting information on whether or not this is a good idea from the standpoint of watering flowers, etc. The main sprinklers for the grass are in-ground and between the meter and the house, so they aren't impacted. It would mainly be watering the flowers in the planters around the house and one small grassy area that the in-ground sprinklers don't get to. So, comments? Also, we would use the outside faucets (spigots, whatever) to put water in the pool when opening and occassionally during the rest of the season.

Sep 09, 2007 25 Replies

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justalurker 19 years ago

Bruce,

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

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Chris Lewis 19 years ago

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?

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justalurker 19 years ago

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

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Doug Miller 19 years ago

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.

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David Martel 19 years ago

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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