Our drinking water- hard or soft?

Sort of a rusty color? Ever noticed how many buildings and signs and fences around here have this same decoration? I have always assumed it was from the iron content in the water...

I'm concerned about watering my plants- possible issues that could be causing me to have a brown thumb aside from the impossibility of it just being ME. Does anyone know if we have a history of having 'hard' water here in South walton? Or if we have high Ca or Mg levels? I have ordered an analysis from regional utilities, but couldn't wait to get a general consensus from local green thumb so-wallers!

I also am perplexed at the metallic 'sheen' my pond water is sprinkling on all my plants through my pond water.

Do you know what causes this? :idontno: I sure don't.

I've lived here for 8 years and never had a problem until last year! I want GREEN plants, not bronze!! Help? Thanks for your input!

Water around here is like a Chevrolet tagline. "Like a Rock!" :lol:

I had to add a softener and filter to keep the clothes from coming out bronze. I run an additional filter at the kitchen tap for the water we drink as it just makes it taste better getting some of that salt back out of the supply.

It has been a while since I reviewed the details of our water test, but I recall that I was pleasantly surprised at how safe and healthy our water was. We are on city water, not on a well. If water is hard - like I had back home - there would be a white hard to remove scum. The orange we see is from shallow wells around here. That water is totally different and not what we use in our house. It has a higher salt level and more iron which stains. If you are concerned about your plants, you need to get water tested at a lab like Jack Peter or ask their cooperative extension agent for help on that matter.

Our plants are THRIVING! We have them on drip irrigation and again, no well water.

Gidget

City water is pretty neutral ph wise...My roses bushes in my balcony are over 8 foot tall now dnd thrive on the stuff! 😉

The sheen you see is, indeed, iron. That is why everything that gets watered turns brown like the sides of buildings, fence posts, etc. It's a ton better now that we're on city water, but if you're still on a well, it will be higher.

I remember back in our well days we would boil water for tea or something like spaghetti. The iron would come to the surface, and you could skim it off.
Lots of Sulphur, too. We had a shallow well so the water wasn't as good. You could say it was an aquired taste for sure!

Water around here is like a Chevrolet tagline. "Like a Rock!" :lol:

I had to add a softener and filter to keep the clothes from coming out bronze. I run an additional filter at the kitchen tap for the water we drink as it just makes it taste better getting some of that salt back out of the supply.

I should have noted that I'm on a well.

I thought it may be iron- thanks for the input! I have to decide whether to water the houseplants from the sink or from the pond water. I don't think I'll be getting an iron filter, but I sure wish it wasn't there!

Water from Regional Utilities is hard. Soft water will lather much more easily, but feel like the soap never washes off. (Regional Utilities buys its water from the City of Freeport, and marks it up by more than double.)

Not sure about well water in SoWal, whether or not it is hard or soft. I've never been used it in my home.

Yep, iron. If I haven't run the water in a while in my house, it comes out brown first.

Having said that, the water taste fine to me. I live right by the reservoir that feeds into NYC-- purported to have some of the best tap drinking water in the world-- and they do not taste much different to me. I drink the water in Sowal all the time.

Tap water is fine, but it will make your whites dingy.

Sounds like your pond water has some funk in it.