Date: Fri, 06 Jun 97 16:31 EDT From: dave evans <T442119@RUTADMIN.RUTGERS.EDU> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg2218$foo@default> Subject: Re: Reverse Osmosis unit
> From: Paul Burkhardt <burkhard@ARIES.SCS.UIUC.EDU>
>
> I am considering purchasing a RO unit to be installed in my kitchen. At
> Lowes, a 5-stage unit costs $197. I would appreciate some advice from
> members who have used such units in their homes. I would like to know if
> it is worthwhile or not. Some water filter competitors claim that RO
> wastes water, about 2 gallons for every gallon it produces. I am getting
> tired of buying distilled water for my CPs, and our tap is not to be
> trusted. Thanks in advance for any help.
Hello Paul,
Perhaps you doesn't need so much distilled water. I have been
using a carbon filter (Brita) on my hard water for over a year and
have not seen any plants die. This type of filter cannot remove
most of what makes water hard, but it does take out the Cl, Pb and
a bunch of other stuff that's not very good for livings things to
drink/imbibe, if they are present. Occasionally, I put the trays
out in the rain, let them fill up, drain out the water that has
come through the pots and filled the tray, and let it fill back up
with rain again and take them back in. If there is enough rain and
it's not too rough, I'll let them fill up a couple times and drain.
Yes, my soil doesn't last as long as it could, but the difference
is a year instead of 1.5 years. I put them out in the rain a couple
times a year. Most Drosera and temperate, but not hardy plants, grow
outside in the later spring, summer and early fall. They can handle
being inside with filtered tap water for later fall, winter and early
spring. I do buy a bunch of distilled water early the spring (this
time of year if it's raining, it is way too cold for growing plants),
on a warm day, to drain through the soils of the plants that have been
growing all that time without rain/distilled water.
I have heard reports of tap water killing plants within a week
or two... I don't beleive it was the Ca, ect that did them in.
Hard water kills plants by ruining the soil, and this takes a lot
longer than two weeks. The Cl, might be the problem in cases like
these. Salty water would also kill, but then again if there is
enough salt in the water to kill these plants in two weeks, there
is too much salt in the tap water in the first place and I would
suggest a RO unit for not only the plants, but yourself too.
Dave Evans
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