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Old 01-25-2010, 01:52 PM   #1 (permalink)
 
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Default Misting plants indoors??

I would like to keep misting my banana's while I keep them indoors for the winter but the problem I have is that my water goes through a water softenter and it leaves "salt" spots on the leaves. Will this hurt them it does make it look bad and also how about watering them with that water since it goes through a softener it does have a bit of salt in it. If I bypass the softener and use the tap water it contains chlorine since I am in the city. Which is worse??
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Old 01-25-2010, 03:01 PM   #2 (permalink)
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Default Re: Misting plants indoors??

I'd say the softener is worse than city water. The slight salt buildup isnt a problem tho. If your really worried do what I do and buy your plants reverse osmosis water from the RO machine at walmart- $.42 a gallon.

The whole leaving water sit out overnight to dissapate Chlorine is a myth, Cl is actually a very unstable substance, it breaks down almost instantly once its in contact with air.

It's only job is to kill any contaminates that may get into the water system while its still under ground. By the time you can get the water from your faucet, or even the end of the hose, onto your plants it is gone already.
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Old 01-25-2010, 11:33 PM   #3 (permalink)
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Default Re: Misting plants indoors??

I'd definitely stick with the unsalted water. I wouldn't drink softened water....that's more for showers/bathroom sinks, etc. Drinking water shouldn't be softened from what I've been taught anyway. I'd stick with the non-softened water. Using water that contains high content of salt constitutes a 'hypertonic solution' and will act to actually draw water OUT of the cells of your plant rather than bring it in (hence the point of misting).
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Old 01-25-2010, 11:40 PM   #4 (permalink)
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Default Re: Misting plants indoors??

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The whole leaving water sit out overnight to dissapate Chlorine is a myth, Cl is actually a very unstable substance, it breaks down almost instantly once its in contact with air.
I don't know bout that. My chlorine is pretty high here.. I mean burn your eyes takinga shower sometimes.. I run mine though a filter in the office. Filtered Softened water would be better is my guess.. Catch some rain water or melt some snow... or ad a Liene's to its diet.. you know just a sip.. lol I know the brewery isn't that far off.. :^)
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Old 01-26-2010, 09:55 PM   #5 (permalink)
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Default Re: Misting plants indoors??

I'm glad you brought this up. I live in the city w/ chlorine in water from treatment plant. I always hear well water is better but it is treated w/ softener. I didn't know softened water was bad to drink. Mike has this & I do not like the taste of his tap water. He has filtered water on his fridge door & when that filter needs to be changed, it is full of bright orange crap.
Another question...is the water faucets outside - for the hose, softened water or straight from the well? I know strait well water is good for plants because of the iron in it. Thanks
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Old 01-26-2010, 10:16 PM   #6 (permalink)
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Default Re: Misting plants indoors??

I spent my first winter with my squirt bottle misting and fighting mites and moving a cheap humidifier around that you have to add salt to in order to get the steam out. That was the last time I messed with all that. I put most of my plants in one room and spent $60 on a good humidifier that runs on a thermostat. I don't have to add salt as a fan sucks it out. I have a cheap thermometer that tells me what the humidity level and temp. is in the room.

I don't know if the salty mist is bad or not for the plants but mine didn't have any adverse effects and seems like the air near coastlines would have salty, moist air wouldn't it?

PS... forgot to mention that with my humidity level kept at about 45 plus... I never have problems with the mites.
PSS.. I use my Britta faithfully for drinking water )
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Old 01-27-2010, 01:11 AM   #7 (permalink)
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Default Re: Misting plants indoors??

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Originally Posted by Patty in Wisc View Post
Another question...is the water faucets outside - for the hose, softened water or straight from the well? I know strait well water is good for plants because of the iron in it. Thanks
If the installer did it right the outside should not be softened. You should be able to taste the difference. Well water up there is alot better than anything around here.. Those guys digging all those wells and messing up the aquaculture down here.
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Old 01-27-2010, 12:49 PM   #8 (permalink)
 
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Default Re: Misting plants indoors??

The only problem with well water in parts of the country like here in Wis. is the amount of lime that is present. This will dry on the leaves and leave a lime buildup (definitly not for use watering the plants as it turms the soil into "concrete" after awhile). Like mentioned by someone earlier, rain or snowmelt is by far the best way to go if you can. I also wholeheartedly advocate a "sip of Leinies", the real breakfast of champions!
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Old 01-27-2010, 01:14 PM   #9 (permalink)
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Default Re: Misting plants indoors??

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The only problem with well water in parts of the country like here in Wis. is the amount of lime that is present. This will dry on the leaves and leave a lime buildup (definitly not for use watering the plants as it turms the soil into "concrete" after awhile). Like mentioned by someone earlier, rain or snowmelt is by far the best way to go if you can. I also wholeheartedly advocate a "sip of Leinies", the real breakfast of champions!
Lime helps fertilizer break down better according to many of farmers. so depending on the lime concentration it can get thick like throwing powder, but well water you might see some build up in pipes over several decades. I know this a misting thread, but Lime is also good for getting rid of crawfish in your yard :^)
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Old 01-27-2010, 01:29 PM   #10 (permalink)
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Default Re: Misting plants indoors??

If your softener is hooked up right, the outside taps shouldn't be softened. That also wastes a lot of money if it is. So double check that. If the outside faucet comes off the line after the water softener thats bad news.

You want to run a separate line to the sink for drinking water and put it through a charcoal filter. That's what we have here. It needs also to be tapped in before the softener. You don't want to drink softened water, just use for bathing and laundry. The sodium levels are supposed to be bad for you. That's what the dr told mom when she had high blood pressure. The ice maker on the refridge should also be hooked to that separate filter so that it doesn't clog up with rust or lime or calcium as fast. Hand misting can be done with that and it won't build up as fast.

You should water and mist plants with unsoftened well water. We have a LOT of lime and calcium and iron/rust in our water here and over time it will build up on the plants. However, if you're misting in your home it's probably not going to build up to the point where it bothers you. It only builds up here on plants over the course of the summer when misters are on 6x a day, and it can be wiped off easily. The salt is not good for plants, some are more sensitive than others. If you're just doing a mist bottle manually, you could use snowmelt water or buy r/o water or distilled cheaply too. It's your call. or if you're doing hand misting and have a charcoal drinking water filtered system, use it for misting. But you wouldn't have to use the charcoal filtered for watering.
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Old 01-27-2010, 01:32 PM   #11 (permalink)
 
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Default Re: Misting plants indoors??

I agree, some lime is excellent, but here it is so bad that if for some reason you get a slow leak in your plumbing, the lime buildup, once it comes in contact with the air, will actually "heal" it. About two or three feet down under the topsoil, we have solid limestone bedrock in some areas. The water coming out is incredibly "base" on the ph scale also. The lime will set up soil hard, so we pretty much have to use rain or lake water in the summer to water plants. As far as the crayfish in our yard, mother nature has other ideas for them... it's called frost that goes down 4 or 5 feet in the winter.
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Old 01-27-2010, 01:41 PM   #12 (permalink)
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Default Re: Misting plants indoors??

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Originally Posted by Abnshrek View Post
Lime is also good for getting rid of crawfish in your yard :^)
LMFAO! I've never heard of that being a problem! I'd probably just eat them...mmmmmm!
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Old 01-28-2010, 01:00 AM   #13 (permalink)
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Default Re: Misting plants indoors??

I want to grow crawfish LOL.
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Old 01-28-2010, 08:24 AM   #14 (permalink)
 
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Default Re: Misting plants indoors??

They're great with bananas and Leinies.. ( I guess we got a little off the misting track here ).
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Old 01-28-2010, 11:06 PM   #15 (permalink)
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Default Re: Misting plants indoors??

Quote:
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LMFAO! I've never heard of that being a problem! I'd probably just eat them...mmmmmm!
Yeah they taste like chicken.. lmao and go great with Lienes' :^)
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Last edited by Abnshrek : 01-28-2010 at 11:09 PM. Reason: Sorry Parid09 I couldn't help myself :^)
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