Water quality
 

So I was thinking a little about water quality, and specifically, how good tap water is. Here's a report I found on my local water: Chicago Water Quality 2004

So, it actually seems relatively "clean," although certainly nowhere near as clean as reverse osmosis or double-distilled/deionized.

But...it tastes a little funny by the time it reaches my tap, which leads me to believe that if I don't drink it, maybe the plants shouldn't either. For the water I drink, I actually have both a Brita pitcher and a Pur sink filter, although typically I don't double filter, I just use one or the other. The plants have been getting tap water, plus once-weekly fertilizer 15-5-5 @ 175-200 ppm.

So the question, amidst all this rambling: would using filtered water make any difference over municipal water? And for the rainwater fans out there, assuming I had a means of collecting rainwater, which I don't, would Chicago rainwater be any cleaner than the tap water?

We have lousy water here on the West coast of Florida...I certainly wouldn't drink it. With that in mind, I decided to use my RO water on my 'chids, although I use regular water on all the other plants. I recently went to a friend's house, he's got about 500 'chids in his pool screened cage and they're gorgeous! I asked what he uses to water and he said he uses the regular tap water and that is what his misting system also uses. It made me feel a little maniacal about using my RO but I still can't bring myself to use the tap stuff...yucchh!

Municipal water has all kinds of stuff in it (sorry to be so technical!) that orchids would never be exposed to in nature.

In the cloud forests there is no water hardness, chlorine, chloramine, Aldehydes,
Bromodichloromethane, Chloral Hydrate, Chlorodibromoacetic acid, Chloroform, Dichloroacetic Acid, Dichloroacetonitrile, Dichloro-2-propanone, Haloacetic Acids, Haloacetonitriles,Haloketones, Tribromoacetic acid, Trichloroacetic Acid, Trichloro-2-propanone-1,1,1 :shock:

These are a few of the components that my municipal water is tested for!!

I guess if you want optimal performance from your plants, you would want optimal water quality.

I am switching to R/O!

:shock: OMG, thats what I've been giving my Phals!!!! Thats what I have been drinking!!!!!!!!!:shock:
Its a good thing most of my 'chids get distilled water.