Is softened water safe for plants? Is a question we are often asked here at AQUABION UK and the answer is NO, according to the RHS!  Why? You might ask. You have to remember soft and softened water are two different types of water. Soft water is natural and is mostly fine for plants. Softened water was hard water and has been made soft by a process called Ion Exchange. This means certain Ions (the minerals that cause the hardness) are exchanged/swapped for sodium Ions. So now you have the sodium in the water instead.* This is why you need to be careful using softened water for plants, no matter what the a sales person may tell you.

Another thing you should be mindful of is salt prices have been increasing at an alarming rate (40+% in the last 12 months). In the Summer you can use huge quantities of water in the garden, this will of course increase salt used and wear out the water softener quicker. We are not sure if this has an impact of why salespeople say it is fine to use the softened water in the garden?

Lastly, you have the environment to think about. Mains water is a great drinking water standard that we in UK often take for granted. There is monumental effort and carbon going into making the water safe for us to drink. You are then adding more time and carbon in putting the water through another process to remove the hardness and add in the Sodium.

However, AQUABION is a water conditioner, not a water softener, so it doesn’t have the drawbacks of a standard water softener or produce softened water, so we are happy to say… Aquabion treated water is perfectly safe, you can water your plants with AQUABION treated water!

Is softened water safe for watering your plants and garden? It is advised that your outside tap, or whichever tap you use to water the garden/plants comes directly from the mains, and not from a softened water tap. Rainwater is always the best choice for watering your plants. You can find out more about this here.

The same is often asked for watering house plants with softened water, and the simple answer is NO! Even with normal tap water that hasn’t been softened, it is recommended that it is left for 24 hours before being used to water your plants, due to the Chlorine in the water.. You can find out more about houseplants and caring for them here.

*You may say “but the sales person told me the salt does not end up in the water I use”. This is not 100% correct as the Sodium has to be put in the water. You can use potassium instead but with Ion Exchange, you do have to exchange something to get the soft water. You can filter the lime out with a process called Ion exchange which is only practical for drinking water.