What's this about water?

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Different areas of the country have either hard of soft water. This can affect certain conditions that a guinea pig may have, maybe irritating a condition. The suggestion to use filtered water would poissibly neutralise the water and hence not irritate any existing condition Winston has. xx
 
nutmeg said:
Different areas of the country have either hard of soft water. This can affect certain conditions that a guinea pig may have, maybe irritating a condition. The suggestion to use filtered water would poissibly neutralise the water and hence not irritate any existing condition Winston has. xx
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Ty! Ok, i recon were in a soft water, but i'm not sure!
 
pigpig479 said:
Ty! Ok, i recon were in a soft water, but i'm not sure!
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I think I am hard water, but not really sure either. Maybe someone can tell us how we can find out. I know when I have been on holiday sometimes and washed my hair, it seems like it doesn't rinse properly, and I have thought this was because the water was soft? xx
 
To find out the quality of your water look up who supplies it, then on their website they should have a 'check the quality of your water' place enter your postcode and it should give you all the information you need.
 
My understanding of water quality was always based on bubbles and boiling :)). If you get a good soapy lather the water is soft, if not then it is hard. If you get a deposit in your kettle after a few months its hard, if the kettle is always sparkly clean then its soft. But then there is the possibility that I am talking rubbish gleaned from old wives tales cos I live in Scotland, home of soft water, lovely bubbles and shiny kettles :(|):(|)
 
You are correct hun less soap powder/shampoo needed in soft water area trust me my mum is in a soft water area and we are in a hard water one and there is a marked difference. I hate hard water!
 
East Anglia is the hardest water area of the country, I believe. It's believed that the minerals in hard water can irritate bladder conditions and *may* play a part, however small, in stone formation.

I use a simple Brita water filter for my pigs. I tried using it a few years ago when I lived in Northern Ireland but couldn't get used to it, but for the past 18 months or so I have been using a filter for their water every day. They much prefer the taste of filtered water than plain tap water.

There is confusion in terms of bottled water, as the most common is mineral water which I believe you generally don't want to use.
 
No stay away from mineral water for them as there can be high calcium levels and high salt too in some.

Filter water is definitely best as it's totally pure.

Make sure you change the filter monthly though. We are all on filter water here not tap.
 
nutmeg said:
Different areas of the country have either hard of soft water. This can affect certain conditions that a guinea pig may have, maybe irritating a condition. The suggestion to use filtered water would poissibly neutralise the water and hence not irritate any existing condition Winston has. xx
Click to expand...

pigpig479 said:
Ty! Ok, i recon were in a soft water, but i'm not sure!
Click to expand...

nutmeg said:
I think I am hard water, but not really sure either. Maybe someone can tell us how we can find out. I know when I have been on holiday sometimes and washed my hair, it seems like it doesn't rinse properly, and I have thought this was because the water was soft? xx
Click to expand...

Modwyn said:
To find out the quality of your water look up who supplies it, then on their website they should have a 'check the quality of your water' place enter your postcode and it should give you all the information you need.
Click to expand...

elle100 said:
My understanding of water quality was always based on bubbles and boiling :)). If you get a good soapy lather the water is soft, if not then it is hard. If you get a deposit in your kettle after a few months its hard, if the kettle is always sparkly clean then its soft. But then there is the possibility that I am talking rubbish gleaned from old wives tales cos I live in Scotland, home of soft water, lovely bubbles and shiny kettles :(|):(|)
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nutmeg said:
Lot to be said for old wives tales. Your bubbles back up my hair wash theory. lol xx
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Modwyn said:
You are correct hun less soap powder/shampoo needed in soft water area trust me my mum is in a soft water area and we are in a hard water one and there is a marked difference. I hate hard water!
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Laura-CCC4 said:
East Anglia is the hardest water area of the country, I believe. It's believed that the minerals in hard water can irritate bladder conditions and *may* play a part, however small, in stone formation.

I use a simple Brita water filter for my pigs. I tried using it a few years ago when I lived in Northern Ireland but couldn't get used to it, but for the past 18 months or so I have been using a filter for their water every day. They much prefer the taste of filtered water than plain tap water.

There is confusion in terms of bottled water, as the most common is mineral water which I believe you generally don't want to use.
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check out this link

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howthingswork/a/aa082403a.htm

and this one
http://www.eddy.uk.com/hard-water-regions.htm

and pop your post code into this calculator and you have your answer
http://www.espares.co.uk/hardorsof****er.aspx
 
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I was reading the first link and imagining piggie bladders and urethras getting clogged up rather than kettles and such. I feel worried for myself. :))

This is the link I found a few months ago with some extra info:
http://www.dwi.gov.uk/pubs/hardness/index.htm

pigpig - Guineas don't need anything adding to their drinking water, whether it's Vitamin C or not. There are very particular exceptions, but even then fresh drinking water must always be on offer. They should get all the vitamins and nutrients they need from their food, not their water. :)
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
I was reading the first link and imagining piggie bladders and urethras getting clogged up rather than kettles and such. I feel worried for myself. :))

This is the link I found a few months ago with some extra info:
http://www.dwi.gov.uk/pubs/hardness/index.htm

pigpig - Guineas don't need anything adding to their drinking water, whether it's Vitamin C or not. There are very particular exceptions, but even then fresh drinking water must always be on offer. They should get all the vitamins and nutrients they need from their food, not their water. :)
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I think this kind of thing is less of an issue for us compared to cats, horses, rabbits and guinea pigs because they typically excrete excess calcium in their urine. Hence the reason they produce milky pee and it can certainly get sludgy, I have never heard of problems in horses but cats, rabbits and guinea pigs all seem prone to stones.
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
I was reading the first link and imagining piggie bladders and urethras getting clogged up rather than kettles and such. I feel worried for myself. :))

This is the link I found a few months ago with some extra info:
http://www.dwi.gov.uk/pubs/hardness/index.htm

pigpig - Guineas don't need anything adding to their drinking water, whether it's Vitamin C or not. There are very particular exceptions, but even then fresh drinking water must always be on offer. They should get all the vitamins and nutrients they need from their food, not their water. :)
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Yeah i know! But i heard iot and just wondered what other people think of it, i know it's useless!
 
Yes, we have incredibly hard water here. I am changing my water filter once a week these days, which obviously costs a lot.

I did a bit of reading about mineral water etc recently. Something was said earlier in the thread about it containing salt. This isn't true - there will probably be traces of sodium, but sodium isn't salt. Sodium is an essential mineral to health in small amounts, and salt is sodium chloride (ie sodium mixed with chloride).

I don't pretend to truly understand the ins and outs. To be honest, a lot of what I read was incredibly contradictory.
 
In short, no. It's just not ideal if there are option that are believed to be better.

halfpenny, thanks for the info. When I said I was worried for myself, I meant about what I was thinking as I read the info - instead of imagining pipes getting clogged and adversely affected by hard water, I was thinking of how that could be compared to the effect on a guineas bladder/urethra. :))
 
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