What kind of water do you use?

[Vanessa]

So distilled water doesn't have minerals, should I use bottled water with added minerals instead? What kind of minerals do they actually need and why would you say that distilled water with no minerals is dangerous to use? It's been working for me for a long time now.

What's 'a long time'? Ten years? Twenty years? We have no clue what the long term effects of any animal drinking only distilled water is. However, we are very much up to speed on how mineralized water effects the many organisms who rely on it.

Can you drink distilled water safely?

Does it matter what type of water you drink? Learn about distilled water, including its risks and possible benefits, in this article.

www.medicalnewstoday.com

https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/nutrientschap12.pdf

What Is Distilled Water?

You’ve probably seen jugs of distilled water in stores. Find out what makes it different from other types of water, and what to use it for.

www.webmd.com

Risks of Using Distilled Water
Distilled water lacks even electrolytes like potassium and other minerals your body needs. So you may miss out on a bit of these micronutrients if you drink only the distilled stuff.
Some studies have found a link between drinking water low in calcium and magnesium and tiredness, muscle cramps, weakness, and heart disease. Also, distilled water may not help you stay hydrated as well as other kinds of water.
If you use distilled water for your fish tank, be sure to add a sea minerals supplement to the aquarium. Some coffee fans think that distilled water makes for a purer-tasting cup. But the Specialty Coffee Association of America says that a certain level of minerals is ideal in order to extract the best brew.

 

[mellow]

Correct. Tap water, spring water.

Ok

Correct. Tap water, spring water.

Is spring water the best option because it doesn't have chlorine but still has the minerals?

 

[Flashback]

I just use bottled water.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Ok

Is spring water the best option because it doesn't have chlorine but still has the minerals?

If you can find actual spring water, that's fine to use. Most bottled water comes from taps though, at least in North America.
Tap water in most places in North America is perfectly safe. If you worry about chlorine, pour the water into an open container ahead of time and let it sit overnight. The trace chlorine in the water will break down completely when exposed to air.

I spent the better part of a year living just south of you in Tempe, and yes, the tap water there, while technically safe for human consumption, tasted and smelled like stanky chemical swamp water. Gross.

 

[fried rice]

When you use tap water do you immediately use it or do you wait 24 hours?

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

When you use tap water do you immediately use it or do you wait 24 hours?

I've noticed the chlorine smell increases in our tap water in summer (which makes sense), so I'll usually let it sit overnight and water the next evening. In winter they seem to use less treatment, so I don't typically bother.

 

[Poonjab]

I exclusively use Acqua di Cristallo Tributo a Modigliani for my tarantulas. Only the best water for them.

 

[Liquifin]

Tap water is basically what I use in gallons. I do add repti-safe water conditioner sometimes because my frogs sometimes also share/use the same water as my inverts. I do love how repti-safe is basically safe for inverts too, so it's good to see the improvement over the years with the brand. But tap water is basically it for water that I use for inverts, excluding frogs.

 

[MrTwister]

The amount of chlorine in tap water will off gas very quickly in a water dish.

 

[DomGom TheFather]

Because distilled water does not contain any minerals - it pulls those minerals from the body of the organism drinking it. I would never drink it myself, or give it to any of my animals. The risk of it doing harm negates any benefits.

I drink distilled water, sometimes.
It is the standard organ cleaner!

Is spring water the best option because it doesn't have chlorine but still has the minerals?

Every terrestrial organism benefits from ground water.

 

[ColeopteraC]

I’ve been fairly using tap water with all my inverts, only minor problems I get are the occasional limescale stains on some of my other inverts enclosures (non-T stuff I spray). I sometimes use the water from my filtering jug but only if it’s present.

The amount of chlorine in tap is negligible for most terrestrial organisms, we wouldn’t be bathing, washing with it and drinking it for 50+ years if it were at any notable density. Distilled water may have health benefits for the T’s but it doesn’t benefit my schedule nor my wallet. Tap water will do just fine for now.

 

[DomGom TheFather]

I have to say it.
Chlorine in tap water causes bladder cancer.
Damn it.

 

[Vanessa]

I drink distilled water, sometimes.
It is the standard organ cleaner!

My eyes roll the minute someone says 'body cleanse', 'organ cleanse', or the like. Our bodies have cleansed themselves just fine without distilled water, that is what they're designed to do. I can't help it if some snake oil salesman has convinced you to part with your hard earned money as long as animals don't end up suffering for it.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

I have to say it.
Chlorine in tap water causes bladder cancer.
Damn it.

Unproven as yet, but considered a possible risk factor. Which doesn't mean "if you drink chlorinated tap water you will get bladder cancer", but does mean "if you drink chlorinated tap water there is some possibility that it will slightly increase your chances of getting bladder cancer".

 

[DomGom TheFather]

My eyes roll the minute someone says 'body cleanse', 'organ cleanse', or the like. Our bodies have cleansed themselves just fine without distilled water, that is what they're designed to do. I can't help it if some snake oil salesman has convinced you to part with your hard earned money as long as animals don't end up suffering for it.

You are super cute and funny.
Drinking the same hard water from the same well is sometimes not the best for long periods of time.
Humans can and have collected rain water for drinking.
I'm not on a cleanse. I am an alcoholic with a well that contains incredibly hard water. I drink it but I also can tell that my body enjoys the taste of rain when I put it in there.

Unproven as yet, but considered a possible risk factor. Which doesn't mean "if you drink chlorinated tap water you will get bladder cancer", but does mean "if you drink chlorinated tap water there is some possibility that it will slightly increase your chances of getting bladder cancer".

The real exposure to it happens during showering.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

You are super cute and funny.
Drinking the same hard water from the same well is sometimes not the best for long periods of time.
Humans can and have collected rain water for drinking.
I'm not on a cleanse. I am an alcoholic with a well that contains incredibly hard water. I drink it but I also can tell that my body enjoys the taste of rain when I put it in there.

Yeah, distilled water doesn't hurt anything as an occasional thing. In the long-term, drinking exclusively or mainly distilled water is a problem. I used to live with the super-hard well water too, and I swear sometimes it felt like my teeth were developing lime scale

The real exposure to it happens during showering.

You might be peeing in the shower incorrectly. The flow should go out, not in.

 

[DomGom TheFather]

You might be peeing in the shower incorrectly. The flow should go out, not in.

Na.
Heating the contained, chlorinated water and then releasing it through a shower head in a confined space allows chlorine to be absorbed directly through both the skin and lungs.
I don't have to worry about it but it is something to think about.
We are talking about this while I smoke a cigarette, mind you.

 

[Vanessa]

You are super cute and funny.

And you're patronizing and not funny.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Na.
Heating the contained, chlorinated water and then releasing it through a shower head in a confined space allows chlorine to be absorbed directly through both the skin and lungs.
I don't have to worry about it but it is something to think about.
We are talking about this while I smoke a cigarette, mind you.

The chlorine itself isn't an issue though - it's the products it breaks down into in your digestive system that are considered potentially risk factors for bladder cancer. I'm not the right kind of scientist to say this with certainty, but I'm not sure the breakdown pathway would be the same in this case.

 

[DomGom TheFather]

The chlorine itself isn't an issue though - it's the products it breaks down into in your digestive system that are considered potentially risk factors for bladder cancer. I'm not the right kind of scientist to say this with certainty, but I'm not sure the breakdown pathway would be the same in this case.

Most likely, I am wrong.
I just don't like chlorine.
I don't care how many lives it saves to put it in the water.