Is softened water bad for houseplants? Yes. Here is what to use instead.
A water softener trades the calcium and magnesium in hard water for sodium. People do not notice. Plants do: sodium accumulates in potting soil, and there is nowhere for it to go.
- Removes chlorine, chloramine and fluoride
- Adds back 20+ minerals
- 30-day money-back guarantee
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Is softened water your problem?
Your home has a water softener and you fill the watering can at an indoor tap.
Plants decline slowly across the whole house, not just one pot.
Leaf edges brown and growth stalls even though your watering is right.
Two of three and it is:
What sodium does in a pot
In the ground, rain washes sodium down and away. In a pot it stays. As it builds up it makes it harder for roots to take in water at all, so the plant shows drought stress in damp soil, and the leaf edges burn.
An honest note about our product: the Pearl Roots watering can filters water, it does not soften or desalt it. It removes chlorine, chloramine, fluoride and lead and adds minerals back. It does not remove the sodium a softener puts in. So the first fix is the tap you use.
Watering Can With Filter and Remineralizer for House Plants
Filters chlorine, chloramine, fluoride and lead as you pour, then adds back 20+ minerals
$69 · Free shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
plus sales tax where applicable
Less than a season of distilled water jugs, and nothing to carry.
Three steps to fix it
Fill from an unsoftened tap. Most softeners leave the kitchen cold tap and the outdoor spigots unsoftened; check by asking your installer or looking for the bypass line.
Flush every pot thoroughly with unsoftened water to wash the sodium out. Repot badly affected plants into fresh mix.
Then filter that unsoftened water at the can to take out the chlorine, chloramine and fluoride that city water still carries.
Watering Can With Filter and Remineralizer for House Plants
Filters chlorine, chloramine, fluoride and lead as you pour, then adds back 20+ minerals
$69 · Free shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
plus sales tax where applicable
Less than a season of distilled water jugs, and nothing to carry.
If every tap in the house is softened
Use rainwater or distilled water for your plants, or ask a plumber about adding an unsoftened line. A potassium-based softener salt is gentler than sodium but still builds up.
The Tap Water Plant Guide
Which 12 houseplants react to tap water, how to tell water damage from overwatering, and four ways to fix it — including the free ones.
Frequently asked questions.
Better water, tonight's watering.
- $69 · Free shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
- Free shipping
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Replaceable filter packs