Does it make sense to water the garden with soft water?

Table of Contents

• Rainwater is also soft
• Separate garden pipe may need to be converted first
• Slightly increased salt consumption is worthwhile

When installing a softening system, the question often arises as to whether the garden water should be softened or not. We are sometimes asked whether soft water might even be harmful to plants.

Rainwater is also soft

If soft water was actually bad for plants, then rain would also be bad, because rainwater is also soft water. From this point of view, there is nothing to be said against using soft water for garden irrigation. We have even received feedback that the plants grow better since they are watered with soft water. You also have to remember that limescale stains will remain in the garden if you water with hard water. If you have underground irrigation, you should use soft water for watering anyway, otherwise the pipes and sprinklers will become calcified.

Separate garden pipe may need to be converted first

Another argument for simply softening the garden water is that otherwise additional modifications might be necessary. The garden water branch is often located too far after the water meter. A new branch would then have to be made. In our opinion, you can save these costs. This is usually around €100 to €200.

Slightly increased salt consumption is worthwhile

The only “disadvantage” you have to accept with soft garden water is a slightly increased salt consumption. Depending on watering behavior, we are talking about 1 to 2 bags of salt per year. That's the equivalent of around €6 to €12 per year. If you now compare the up to €200 conversion costs, it becomes clear that the conversion would only pay off after around 30 years.