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Gurb
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Registered: 01/16/15
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Using Soft Water to treat WBS
#21281997 - 02/16/15 10:27 AM (9 years, 3 months ago) |
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So I am going to be preparing some wild bird seed and unfortunately the water in my house is treated with softener. I know water softener is bad news for cultivation but the idea of using bottled water for my initial rinses of the WBS seems excessive. So the plan right now is to use my house water to do the first few rinses then do the last rinses, soak, and simmer with distilled water from the store. I was wondering if any of you out there have had experience with doing something similar or had any other words of wisdom.
Thank you much, -Gurb
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Mr. Alien
I will abduct andprobe your anus



Registered: 01/14/14
Posts: 6,290
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Re: Using Soft Water to treat WBS [Re: Gurb]
#21282060 - 02/16/15 10:43 AM (9 years, 3 months ago) |
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Do not soak them with distilled water, distilled water is a solvent.
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d0urd3n
Just call me "D"


Registered: 09/15/10
Posts: 5,237
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Re: Using Soft Water to treat WBS [Re: Mr. Alien]
#21282115 - 02/16/15 10:55 AM (9 years, 3 months ago) |
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You should have a bypass right near your water softener.
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Gurb
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Re: Using Soft Water to treat WBS [Re: d0urd3n]
#21285222 - 02/16/15 07:55 PM (9 years, 2 months ago) |
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Alright I found the bypass so that was an easy fix haha. I don't see how there could be a problem with using distilled water for the soak. I've used it for my BRF cakes, casings, and misting and never had a problem.
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Inocuole
Scalpel of Evil's Bane



Registered: 11/21/11
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Re: Using Soft Water to treat WBS [Re: Gurb]
#21285364 - 02/16/15 08:31 PM (9 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
Gurb said: Alright I found the bypass so that was an easy fix haha. I don't see how there could be a problem with using distilled water for the soak. I've used it for my BRF cakes, casings, and misting and never had a problem.
You shouldn't be using it for ANY of those things. It absorbs nutrients from anything it touches because water is a polar solvent. Misting and BRF cakes, those are the worst places to use them.
You want the water to already be saturated with minerals so that it doesn't draw any out of your substrate.
And unless you're distilling the water yourself that's awfully expensive and wasteful.
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Quexl


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Re: Using Soft Water to treat WBS [Re: Inocuole]
#21287112 - 02/17/15 09:55 AM (9 years, 2 months ago) |
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I think you might be confusing distilled water for deionized water. DI water will exchange (suck up) free ions and minerals because its left with a net charge. Distilled water can too sort of, but not really much more than normal water. I've used softened water and hard tap water, both did fine for me.
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Gurb
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Re: Using Soft Water to treat WBS [Re: Quexl]
#21292472 - 02/18/15 08:36 AM (9 years, 2 months ago) |
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Really? I was never able to get anything to grow on softened water. Do you know how the water was softened? I'm pretty sure that there are water softeners that don't use salt so I guess that would be ok even though most say harder water if preferable. As far as the discussion on using distilled water I could see how the polar charge of the molecules could cause certain minerals to dissolve into the water but it is not like the water is destroying those nutrients. It all goes into the substrate so even though the nutrients have been dissolved into the water they should still be available to the mycelium to grow. But I could be wrong. RR said on another thread that even though distilled water can work it's not ideal.
Edited by Gurb (02/18/15 08:40 AM)
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Psilicon
Really Nice Guy


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Re: Using Soft Water to treat WBS [Re: Quexl] 1
#21292909 - 02/18/15 10:35 AM (9 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
Quexl said: I think you might be confusing distilled water for deionized water. DI water will exchange (suck up) free ions and minerals because its left with a net charge. Distilled water can too sort of, but not really much more than normal water. I've used softened water and hard tap water, both did fine for me. 
I thought distilled water is deionized, but could have volatile organics associated.
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Inocuole
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Re: Using Soft Water to treat WBS [Re: Quexl] 1
#21295745 - 02/18/15 09:00 PM (9 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
Quexl said: I think you might be confusing distilled water for deionized water. DI water will exchange (suck up) free ions and minerals because its left with a net charge. Distilled water can too sort of, but not really much more than normal water. I've used softened water and hard tap water, both did fine for me. 
The only facet of physics I was even thinking of was simple diffusion/osmosis. It just seems logical that distilled water is a bad call with microorganisms like these. Could cause lysis in some cells perhaps by letting more water through the cell membranes than they can hold.
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Quexl


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Re: Using Soft Water to treat WBS [Re: Psilicon]
#21305820 - 02/20/15 08:11 PM (9 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
Inocuole said: The only facet of physics I was even thinking of was simple diffusion/osmosis. It just seems logical that distilled water is a bad call with microorganisms like these. Could cause lysis in some cells perhaps by letting more water through the cell membranes than they can hold. 
You have a good point there Inocuole, I don't know microbiology as well as water chem. Just the part about leaching nutrients pinged me.
Quote:
Gurb said: Really? I was never able to get anything to grow on softened water. Do you know how the water was softened?
The water flows over little charged beads covered in sodium or potassium ions, and as it does all the hardness (calcium, magnesium, manganese) trade places with sodium or potassium. Every once in a while it washes the beads off with strong salt water and 'reloads' them. So the harder the water, the more Na or K you get in your softened water which could easily mess up growing (depends on hardness of the source water).
Quote:
van der griegen said: I thought distilled water is deionized, but could have volatile organics associated.
Deionized is a different process than distilled, it's purified by using a kind of resin that rips ions out of it. Neither should have any VOCs (but groundwater easily could).
I've heard stories of powerlifter health nuts who go on a "pure" DI water diet and end up pissing out all their electrolytes and nutrients and ending up in the hospital. It's really good for washing lab gear and sampling equipment though.
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Psilicon
Really Nice Guy


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Re: Using Soft Water to treat WBS [Re: Quexl]
#21305965 - 02/20/15 08:41 PM (9 years, 2 months ago) |
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Yeah, DI is RO, right? But I'm pretty extremely sure distilled water can have VOCs, due to azeotropic relationships.
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cronicr



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Re: Using Soft Water to treat WBS [Re: Psilicon]
#21306649 - 02/21/15 12:56 AM (9 years, 2 months ago) |
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fuck water softeners!
--------------------
  It doesn't matter what i think of you...all that matters is clean spawn I'm tired do me a favor
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Mandarinfish

Registered: 01/27/15
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Re: Using Soft Water to treat WBS [Re: Gurb]
#21306704 - 02/21/15 01:53 AM (9 years, 2 months ago) |
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.
Edited by Mandarinfish (07/15/20 02:17 AM)
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Quexl


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Re: Using Soft Water to treat WBS [Re: Psilicon]
#21312176 - 02/22/15 09:51 AM (9 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
van der griegen said: Yeah, DI is RO, right? But I'm pretty extremely sure distilled water can have VOCs, due to azeotropic relationships.
Deionized water is not purified the same way as reverse osmosis water, RO is purified by passing water through a semi-permeable membrane. True, VOCs will pass distillation if they're already present in the distilland and they're not just boiled off first, but VOCs in potable water of any kind is strictly regulated. I could see a contaminated private well with one of those automated home distillation units doing that though, totally.
(sorry for going so much off mushcult topic lol)
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Psilicon
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Re: Using Soft Water to treat WBS [Re: Quexl] 1
#21312181 - 02/22/15 09:53 AM (9 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
Quexl said: True, VOCs will pass distillation if they're already present in the distilland and they're not just boiled off first, but VOCs in potable water of any kind is strictly regulated. I could see a contaminated private well with one of those automated home distillation units doing that though, totally.
I used to do environmental chemistry work and I've seen stuff that would chill your blood.
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