Neutralizing Chlorine/chloramine In Tap Water

[Drip Curl Magic]

Hi all!

 

I've just started planting seeds in our big backyard garden. I decided that this year, I'd like to brew some compost tea. I know tap water has enough chlorine to kill the beneficial microorganisms in my compost. I have been researching ways to neutralize the chlorine and it seems that the easiest and cheapest way is to simply let the water sit in the sun for an entire day or two. I've got a big bucket of tap water sitting in the sun today, but I've continued researching and found that a lot of areas now use chloramine instead of chlorine, which is supposed to be a much more stable chemical. Now I'm questioning whether or not setting the water in the sun will actually get the job done.

 

I've read that a small amount of vitamin C can immediately neutralize both chlorine and chloramine. I do not have any pure vitamin C powder, but I'm sure I have some old (possibly expired) vitamin C tablets tucked away somewhere that are surely not pure vitamin C. My concern is that using crushed up vitamin C tablets might contain something that, when introduced to the compost, might harm the beneficial microorganisms.

 

I was told by a friend that air bubbles help release fluoride and chlorine. I don't know whether or not this is true and if it also applies to chloramine. If it is, I could easily rig up an aquarium filter to just blow bubbles into my bucket of water for however long is needed. I'm not convinced that this is actually an effective way to do this.

 

So, short of buying some expensive water filter, I am unsure about how to make sure this water safe for my compost tea mixture. Does anybody have any suggestions or insight on this topic? Are vitamin C tablets going to harm anything if I use them? Would boiling my water or blowing air bubbles into the water do any good? I'm on a tight budget at the moment, and would like to try to solve this without spending anymore money than necessary. If anyone could give me a little insight, it'd be greatly appreciated. Thanks =)

[JMJones0424]

If it's chlorine, then letting the water sit for 24 hours will suffice; bubbling the water will speed up the process. If it's chloramine, then you'll have to use a dechlorinator. You can find this anywhere aquarium products are sold and they're relatively cheap. I have a well, but my city friends use chlorinated water for compost tea without pre-treatment and have no problems, likely because they bubble the brew to maintain an aerobic environment. I've never played with anaerobic compost tea.

 

For basic water chemistry issues in both aqauriums and gardening, I recommend The Krib as a reasonably comprehensive but easy to understand source.

[Deepwater6]

Hi DCM, Most water companies send out their water with a Cl2 residual of 1.5ppm to 2.5ppm. I'm not sure where you live, but in the state of PA it is a DEP regulation that no product can leave our plants with less than a .20ppm. The state monitors the plants very closely with this rule and justifiable so.

 

This residual can change from factors such as, water temp, water quality, etc. Sometimes water comes into the plant relatively clear. Then again sometimes after a heavy rain the it's looks like chocolate milk. With the latter having an increased Cl2 demand on the treatment.

 

There are several ways to de-chlor the water before it re-enters the streams that the plant draws from (treatment by-product). The most heavily used is So2 gas. A another way is to send it through a UV system. The crews on the street will place a large nylon sock over the hydrant they are flushing and throw a few de-chlor tabs. These tabs resemble hockey pucks in size. These tabs can probably be purchased at a pool supply store.

 

The problem with this is I don't know what effect these tabs will have on your garden plants. The Water companies dose the water on the high side to make sure the there is enough Cl2 out in the system for the farthest customers in that area. If not these areas could incur some contamination issues and grow stagnant. To make matters worse there also many dead end mains in the system. These mains could be on a cul de sac development with very little of the water get flushed.

 

Ammonium Hydroxide is added to the treatment near the end of process. This Ammonia helps carry the Cl2 residual to the outer system. Some companies do not use Ammonia yet, but it is a good treatment. I'm not sure if your system uses a "total Cl2" or "free Cl2" process.

 

Unless you have a Cl2 titrator (and most people don't.) You could pick up indication strips at a pool supplier to get a rough idea of how much Cl2 your water has. I have never heard of the vitamin C method, but leaving your bucket out in the sun and open air will work. It's just may take a few days.

 

Cl2 is an oxidizer and one of many chemicals added to public water for purity. The following are also used.

 

Lime- Ph.-alkalinity control.

Carbon- taste and odor control.

Alum- a drying agent for sedimentation.

Polymer- to catch finer material that doesn't settle during the flocculation and sedimentation process (pre-filter)

Poly Aluminum Chloride- a settling agent.

Various Phosphates- for corrosion control.

Ammonia- carries Cl2 residuals.

Fluoride- to help prevent cavities in children.

 

With the worst of these products in my opinion being Fluoride. One of our systems has a mandate from the city counsel to add it. If people could see what that chemical does to everything it comes in contact with they would demand it be removed, very nasty stuff. Again depending on your system there may be many different chemicals added. How they all work to help/hurt plant growth would have to be determined by a horticulturist. I think your best bet would just let mother nature handle it, which also happens to be the cheapest way. :)

Edited April 17, 2013 by Deepwater6

[Rade]

First, as just mentioned by Deepwater, call your water department to see if they add chloramine, many do not. Chloramine has ammonia and it is not released by evaporation or aeration of the water. As JMJones said, if you know it is present you can either add chemicals to remove it or filter. I might be concerned about adding chemicals to a compost tea, so perhaps use carbon filtration..see this link for information. You can add the carbon filter system to a hose.

http://www.thefilterguys.biz/chloramine_filters.htm

 

Edit: unnecessary comments deleted

Edited April 18, 2013 by Rade

[Moontanman]

This will not be the problem you suggest, organic material neutralizes chlorine in water, the organic material in your compost will overwhelm the chlorine completely. I keep aquariums and aquariums with a high organic content will neutralize the chlorine before it can hurt the fish which are sensitive to the chlorine. But if you want to do it anyway most pet stores carry the chemical to neutralize chlorine and chloramine

[Turtle]

Hi all!

 

I've just started planting seeds in our big backyard garden. I decided that this year, I'd like to brew some compost tea. I know tap water has enough chlorine to kill the beneficial microorganisms in my compost. I have been researching ways to neutralize the chlorine and it seems that the easiest and cheapest way is to simply let the water sit in the sun for an entire day or two. I've got a big bucket of tap water sitting in the sun today, but I've continued researching and found that a lot of areas now use chloramine instead of chlorine, which is supposed to be a much more stable chemical. Now I'm questioning whether or not setting the water in the sun will actually get the job done.

 

I've read that a small amount of vitamin C can immediately neutralize both chlorine and chloramine. I do not have any pure vitamin C powder, but I'm sure I have some old (possibly expired) vitamin C tablets tucked away somewhere that are surely not pure vitamin C. My concern is that using crushed up vitamin C tablets might contain something that, when introduced to the compost, might harm the beneficial microorganisms.

 

I was told by a friend that air bubbles help release fluoride and chlorine. I don't know whether or not this is true and if it also applies to chloramine. If it is, I could easily rig up an aquarium filter to just blow bubbles into my bucket of water for however long is needed. I'm not convinced that this is actually an effective way to do this.

 

So, short of buying some expensive water filter, I am unsure about how to make sure this water safe for my compost tea mixture. Does anybody have any suggestions or insight on this topic? Are vitamin C tablets going to harm anything if I use them? Would boiling my water or blowing air bubbles into the water do any good? I'm on a tight budget at the moment, and would like to try to solve this without spending anymore money than necessary. If anyone could give me a little insight, it'd be greatly appreciated. Thanks =)

 

frankly i wouldn't worry about it. folks have been watering their gardens with municipal water for decades and i don't recall ever hearing of ill effects. the environmental costs of manufacturing chloramine neutralizers may offset any greening in your garden. i don't make tea, but i do water my compost pile with the hose and it composts. i water the garden from the hose & it grows.

 

you could experiment with a couple tea batches; one treated water & one not and see if you can divine any difference.

 

and hey! whatcha growing mr curl? :ip:

[Drip Curl Magic]

I appreciate all of the responses, everyone. I think I'm going to get in contact with the water operations division in my area to inquire about whether or not chlorine or chloramine is in my tap. Either way, I think I'm going to try my first batch with the water after sitting out for two days and see how that works out. Since I'm planning on making compost tea a lot this year, I may invest in a filter, like the ones you posted, Rade, if I feel it's necessary. Those things look really neat.

 

and hey! whatcha growing mr curl? :ip:

 

I planted lots of tomatoes, some bell pepper, butternut squash and some potted basil. I've got some strawberries that are blossoming already. There is some celery that I'm "regrowing" from the bases of store bought celery stalks.

 

I still have another decent sized area by the shed where I haven't planted anything yet. I'm not sure what I'm going to plant, but I have a lot of seeds stashed away to choose from; I have cucumber, galia melon, honey dew, canteloupe, crenshaw, italian beans and a couple other types of seeds that I'm drawing a blank on right now.

 

Oh, and I've also just started a little outdoor Jade bonsai from a clipping I got from one of my Mother's potted Jades! :D

Edited April 18, 2013 by Drip Curl Magic

[Deepwater6]

That's great DCM, what all goes into your tea recipe? I put my tomatoes, cukes, and bell peppers in last night. Its a little early for my area, but it was such a long gray dismal winter around here and I could no longer wait to get my hands in the soil.

 

I had very good luck with a squash crop last year. This year I'm looking for something out of the ordinary to try. Maybe some different kinds of melon or an exotic hot pepper, any ideas?

[jesusdidit]

Hi,

 

Im also dubious on the chlorine etc., on tap water, i live in mexico so im double...triple dubious of the city water oper standards for use of chemicals for disenfection, since i started my own backyard garden in late winter, the plants where watered with rain water and they where beautiful...made me think i have agreen thumb and the man of the house...but after harvesting those babes...kale, spinach, brocoli and napas...i quickly started my second stage from seedlings...well the difference was huuuge, and being i that i was still driving my self esteem from the last pickings, i started looking for what changed...at the end i came up with the water!!

 

So i did some empirical stuff, invested 30 bucks for this staged fountain where i added charcoal..straight charcoal, added oak chips, fill it with tap water and let it recirculate for a full day. The water pump is .22 amps so its not a biggie, although i just ordered online a solar one for 40 bucks...in any case i wanted to share this with you guys to see what you guys think...

 

Im on my 3 rd day, so im not seeing results yet, but my greenthumb self esteem is holding on so this is great..hha!

 

Aj

Ensenada, mexico

 

 

 

Charcoal, oak chip fountain