A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 Misting and city water

Hi Gang, Guess y'all could tell my computer was down or something because I haven't been posting much lately but... Hi Honey, I'm home! QUESTION:I water and mist my plants on the porch(Boston Fern,Wandering Jew,Spider plant,Ivy)like I do the ones I keep inside;with water that has set out for 2 days or more. The other day I used the hose to rinse off dust and webs from the porch ceiling. I think the plants enjoyed the light spray it received but, will the city water hurt the leaves? I've read that it's not good to water them with city water so I don't mist them with it either. Not enough water got to them to penetrate the soil but moistened/rinsed the leaves nicely

Hi,
I once worked for a city water dept. The citys water is stongly regulated and tested regularly for the proper amounts of chlorine ( about 3 ppm parts per million) and ph balance to be neutral 7. Unless your hose goes through a water softner ( which you add salts to) your plants should not be affected. There may be some white spotting from the mineral content of the water, calcium, iron, etc. These can be wiped off easily, and your plants will be fine.
B.B.

I agree completely with B.B. I regularly mist my plants with city water and they are doing tons better than they were before. The mild amount of chlorine seems to have no effect.