distilled water?

[piggiemummy03x]

can piggies drink distilled water? we have a megahome water distiller that gives us ‘pure water’ and i know they remove all the minerals so was wondering if this will be okay for my girls and a better option than tap water? do you use tap or distilled water for your babies?

 

[Piggies&buns]

No they can’t have distilled water. The guide below explains

Drinking water should be filtered in the UK if your tap water is hard. This lowers the calcium content, and of course higher calcium is a factor in the formation od bladder stones.
A lot of owners use a Brita jug or such like.

All About Drinking And Bottles

 

[Free Ranger]

Ooh I've not heard of this before but a lot of members filter their water to remove calcium and I actually use bottled 'soft' water for the low calcium.

 

[piggiemummy03x]

No they can’t have distilled water. The guide below explains

Drinking water should be filtered in the UK if your tap water is hard. This lowers the calcium content, and of course higher calcium is a factor in the formation od bladder stones.
A lot of owners use a Brita jug or such like.

All About Drinking And Bottles

interesting ill have to give that a read! how do you know if your water is hard? ill have to purchase one!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

No they can’t have distilled water. The guide below explains

Drinking water should be filtered in the UK if your tap water is hard. This lowers the calcium content, and of course higher calcium is a factor in the formation od bladder stones.
A lot of owners use a Brita jug or such like.

All About Drinking And Bottles

so why is it that distilled water can cause adverse health affects? i can’t seem to find any answers? i’m going to order a brita!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

Ooh I've not heard of this before but a lot of members filter their water to remove calcium and I actually use bottled 'soft' water for the low calcium.

yep i’m going to go out and get one!

 

[Lorcan]

so why is it that distilled water can cause adverse health affects? i can’t seem to find any answers? i’m going to order a brita!

There's a lot of trace minerals in water anyway. You want to limit those but you don't want to cut them out of the diet entirely, a deficiency can cause as much damage as too much can. It's a balancing act.

 

[Merab]

interesting ill have to give that a read! how do you know if your water is hard? ill have to purchase one!

Your local water board should have that information.
Also - does the kettle fur up?
That’s a sign of hard water.

 

[piggiemummy03x]

There's a lot of trace minerals in water anyway. You want to limit those but you don't want to cut them out of the diet entirely, a deficiency can cause as much damage as too much can. It's a balancing act.

i see! thanks for clearing that up

 

[piggiemummy03x]

g

Your local water board should have that information.
Also - does the kettle fur up?
That’s a sign of hard water.

going to pick a brita jug after we’ve been to the vets!

 

[Free Ranger]

There will be info on your water company's website. There is usually a page where you put in your postcode and they tell you how much Calcium in mg/L (or something like that) and then you compare it to a chart to see how hard or soft it is. Here in S Oxon it's v hard and my kettle is a scummy mess!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

There will be info on your water company's website. There is usually a page where you put in your postcode and they tell you how much Calcium in mg/L (or something like that) and then you compare it to a chart to see how hard or soft it is. Here in S Oxon it's v hard and my kettle is a scummy mess!

got you! we’ve just gone out and got a brita filter so will be using this from now on, hopefully the two weeks there where on hard water won’t affect them, i completely forgot to check, i feel so bad!

 

[Roselina]

I use a Brita water jug …. It’s v easy and I prefer the taste . It’s hard water here in Suffolk. My kettle doesn’t fur up anymore ! The piggies water bottles don’t get any staining now either. Sadly the taps etc need cleaning weekly

 

[piggiemummy03x]

I use a Brita water jug …. It’s v easy and I prefer the taste . It’s hard water here in Suffolk. My kettle doesn’t fur up anymore ! The piggies water bottles don’t get any staining now either. Sadly the taps etc need cleaning weekly

newest purchase lol! so now i no longer need to worry about the water hardness?

 

[Piggies&buns]

newest purchase lol! so now i no longer need to worry about the water hardness?

Excellent. That will certainly help. Most calcium comes into the diet by way of water and pellets, so filtering water and limiting pellets will do as much as you can do in terms of bladder stone risk

 

[Qualcast&Flymo]

interesting ill have to give that a read! how do you know if your water is hard? ill have to purchase one!

This might help for starters. Then your local water company if you're in an area which isn't obvious on the map as there's no place-names on it.

 

[Claire W]

newest purchase lol! so now i no longer need to worry about the water hardness?

I have that water jug and no, by using a water jug, you don’t have to worry about water hardness. You may find the following website helpful in finding out whether you live in a hard or soft water area Water quality - United Utilities

 

[Roselina]

newest purchase lol! so now i no longer need to worry about the water hardness?

No that’s perfect - I find the Brita filters are best and last about one month where I live. Often the supermarkets do special offers so it’s worth keeping a look out.

 

[piggiemummy03x]

Excellent. That will certainly help. Most calcium comes into the diet by way of water and pellets, so filtering water and limiting pellets will do as much as you can do in terms of bladder stone risk

that’s brilliant thankyou so much! should i be worried about the 2 weeks they weren’t on filtered water?

 

[piggiemummy03x]

View attachment 201839

This might help for starters. Then your local water company if you're in an area which isn't obvious on the map as there's no place-names on it.

i think i’m in a hard/very hard water area, i feel awful!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

I have that water jug and no, by using a water jug, you don’t have to worry about water hardness. You may find the following website helpful in finding out whether you live in a hard or soft water area Water quality - United Utilities

thanks so much!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

No that’s perfect - I find the Brita filters are best and last about one month where I live. Often the supermarkets do special offers so it’s worth keeping a look out.

fab thankyou!

 

[Piggies&buns]

that’s brilliant thankyou so much! should i be worried about the 2 weeks they weren’t on filtered water?

No don’t worry

 

[piggiemummy03x]

No don’t worry

i’m so glad i’ve found this forum!

 

[poggle]

i think i’m in a hard/very hard water area, i feel awful!

Where I used to live was a very hard water area and I raised over a dozen piggies there without filtering their water, without a single bladder issue. This was over a fifteen year period and all but one lived to 6-8 years old.

Filtering water is recommended as a preventative measure but it's important to remember that genetics play a part too. And even if your pigs are more susceptible to those kinds of issue, I'd be surprised if a fortnight did any lasting damage, if any

 

[piggiemummy03x]

Where I used to live was a very hard water area and I raised over a dozen piggies there without filtering their water, without a single bladder issue. This was over a fifteen year period and all but one lived to 6-8 years old.

Filtering water is recommended as a preventative measure but it's important to remember that genetics play a part too. And even if your pigs are more susceptible to those kinds of issue, I'd be surprised if a fortnight did any lasting damage, if any

okay thanks so much for the reassurance! i must say it wasn’t even something i thought about with my previous girls and they never had bladder issues..

 

[poggle]

okay thanks so much for the reassurance! i must say it wasn’t even something i thought about with my previous girls and they never had bladder issues..

No me neither, I've learned a lot since I found this forum And of course knowledge has come along nicely since the start of those fifteen years as well! (mid-90s )

 

[piggiemummy03x]

No me neither, I've learned a lot since I found this forum And of course knowledge has come along nicely since the start of those fifteen years as well! (mid-90s )

oh of corse! its crazy how much everything’s progressed and the knowledge we now know, i am honestly so grateful for this forum!

 

[Tigermoth]

I choose not to filter water, I avoid single use plastic if I can and I just can’t justify the plastic etc in filters. They can be recycled but I prefer to avoid altogether. Touch wood no calcium related problems here but we do need to replace the kettle too often and my shower screen looks frosted when it isn’t

 

[poggle]

I choose not to filter water, I avoid single use plastic if I can and I just can’t justify the plastic etc in filters. They can be recycled but I prefer to avoid altogether. Touch wood no calcium related problems here but we do need to replace the kettle too often and my shower screen looks frosted when it isn’t

Single-use plastic is a worry here too, I did see an advert the other day for a water filter with a refillable filter part but didn't get a chance to look into it. Hopefully this is good sign and the rest of the market will follow!