Home - Garden
Avoid
Making This
Mistake When Watering Your Indoor Plants
By CHRISTY RAE AMMONS
While watering your indoor plants from the tap is sometimes the best option, it can be detrimental if your home is equipped with a water-softening system.
Hard water presents many problems, including leaving residue on showers and toilets, but the magnesium and calcium it contains are vital nutrients for plants.
When the minerals in hard water are chemically removed by a water-softening system, they are replaced with sodium. For indoor plants, sodium can be particularly toxic.
The sodium will build up in the soil of the plants with time, which occurs quickly with potted houseplants, affecting their ability to determine how much water they need.
The increased sodium will then cause the indoor houseplant to not absorb enough water, and the plant will eventually die because it hasn’t soaked up sufficient amounts of water.