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Humidifiers - type of water?

I have a couple new venus fly traps and on some days I'm going to need to turn on a humidifier to maintain its desired humidity. They require distilled or reverse-osmosis purified water - but, can I use tap water in the humidifier, or do I actually need to get purified/distilled water for that too (this would be too expensive for me)?

It's a Vick's warm mist humidifier (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2266322).
 
I live in Phoenix, AZ where it's very dry. Humidity is not a problem. I would not even worry about it. I just keep my soil moist and they are growing great.
 
I asked thbjr the same question, I don't know if you saw his response or not, but here it is.
Matt, the Hunter humidifier has 'perma wick'. It is a coated metel mesh (quarenteed for 5 years) that the water is pumped up and dripped on top of. It doesn't 'wick' the water up like the cheaper one does. I'd like to use RO water, but I use nearly 10 gallons a week, so I just soak all the filters in a vinegar solution every Sat night for about 30 minutes to remove the water deposit solids. I do have to replace the wick filter about every 3 months, but they are available at Wallymart for about $5. Someday, when I get an RO system for the whole house install, I'll certainly used RO water in the humidifiers.
He's basically saying that he uses tap water (correct me if I'm wrong) and that he cleans out all of the mineral buildup once a week with a vinegar solution.

-Matt
 
I personally wouldn't go through all the trouble with your humidifier. Just go out to your local grocery store and dish out a possible $4 to get yourself a huge container of distilled water. That's what I did! :B


Ps. From lurking around here, I believe that a fly trap does not need humidity. Just make sure that it's soil is always wet by having water in its watering tray 24/7
 
Well, they need humidity, but you don't need to supplement it. It belongs outside.

If you did use a humidifier, a warm-mist humidifier is wrong. It's steam.

You can use tap if you have to, and the cleaning it out doesn't bother you. Let the water sit overnight to let the Chlorine evaporate before use (But I'm telling you, don't bother using it. Put it outside.) I don't know why you have an aversion to pure water. Unless your tap water has been tested and you know it has a low TDS level, you'll need to use pure water if you want long term success. If your tap water is that pure to begin with, then go ahead and use it in the humidifier.... which you shouldn't bother with.
 
A vaporizer is going to turn your grow area into a sweat lodge - you know that, right? The only good thing that could be said about this plan is that it will probably cook your plants to death before you do any serious damage to your house's interior.
http://sarracenia.com/faq/faq2000.html
~Joe
 
Since your location does not say "The Sahara", you do not need to to any type of humidity control. At all. Just stick it outside and water it with distilled or RO water.
 
Thanks for the info, I've removed the humidifer.
 
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