Hello, I live in Jacksonville Fl, The water quality is from my research not very good, Highly fluoridated and chlorinated. I have a high end alexapure carbon water filter that supposedly filters out these bad halogens and leaves the minerals and vitamins intact. My question is should I use this water and or would I be better off using store bought spring water? I’m new to this so any response would be appreciated. Thanks and happy holidays.
Hello!
High levels of fluoride and chloride are toxic to plant growth.
Carbon filters are effective at removing chlorine but are generally not very effective at removing fluoride from water.
To remove fluoride from water, other filtration methods such as reverse osmosis, distillation, or specific fluoride removal filters are recommended.
If you are not sure about the water quality in your neighbourhood then I’d try to find any reports or any documentation about it. Best way to find out is to try to grow plants with tap water at first, and if there are signs of toxication in plants then switch to other ways of watering.
High levels of chlorine can damage the roots and affect the overall health of the plant. It can also inhibit root growth, leading to nutrient absorption issues and ultimately impacting plant growth and development.
Fluoride can also be detrimental to plants. In high concentrations, it can cause fluoride toxicity, which leads to symptoms such as leaf tip burn, mottling, and even die-back in some cases. Sensitive plants may show negative effects even at lower concentrations.
Collecting and using rainwater can be a natural alternative, as it typically contains lower levels of both chlorine and fluoride.
It’s also fine to use store-bought water, it is usually filtered and safe to use for plants and drinking water.