You could buy a water softener, or leave the tap water to stand in
buckets/watering cans for a few days which reduces some of the shit in the
water we recieve.

--
Thanks Keith,Nottingham,England,UK.
"Matt Durkin" wrote in message
...
"Jim Scott" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 17 Jul 2005 17:56:53 +0200, Martin wrote:

On Sun, 17 Jul 2005 15:48:15 GMT, "Phil L"
wrote:

Martin wrote:
:: On Sun, 17 Jul 2005 15:35:38 GMT, "Phil L"

:: wrote:
::
::: Matt Durkin wrote:
::::: Hi All,
::::: I seem to have a number of plants that prefer pure water (as
opposed
::::: to our very hard tap water).
::::: I only have a very small garden and nowhere to easily catch
rainwater.
::::: Is there anything I can do to treat the tapwater so as to remove
the
::::: salts that my plants don't like.
:::
::: Use the rainwater from your house roof, you can get an adapter
which
::: fits onto your downspout and directs the rainwater into a water
::: butt....the ones I've seen don't allow the butt to overflow and
::: re-directs surplus water into your drains.
::
:: Rainwater isn't necessarily soft.

He mentioned collecting rainwater, so I assume his rainwater is softer
than
his tapwater

I wasn't sure if he realised just how acid rainwater can be in some
places.

I think you will find that rainwater is always soft, as hardness comes
from
the (calcium) rocks it may filter through. However acidity is another
thing
and you are correct to suggest that acidity (or lack of it) depends on
the
atmosphere that the rain has passed through. Tap water can be any
combination of these depending where your water comes from, what the
atmosphere was doing at the time the rain fell from the sky and how it
was
treated by the water company.
Hardness can be temporary or permanent. I used to keep tropical fish and
found acidity easy to determine with a ph kit, hardness on the other
hand
is a complicated beggar to test for.
Your water company will tell you if you ask.
--
Jim
Tyneside UK

Hi All,
I'm not sure how acid my rain / tapwater is, but I do know my tapwater is
very hard.
I don't have anywhere I can collect rainwater as there's no space to put a
water butt near my house (unfortunately).
just wondered what my optios are with the stuff coming out of the tap!
Cheers,
Matt