I'm sure this has been asked before

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aservant

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I’m wondering if I can add a pinch of regular salt to the holy water I use at home? to prevent it from building up those little particles of what I know not at the bottom.
I use it often and keep a lid on the container so it doesn’t evaporate as quickly, ( my apartment is small with dry heat in the winter and hot in the summer)
Hence I do this so I don’t need to refill it as often.
 
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Cool. Did you have to ask permission for it? I’m kinda interested in getting some myself now.
 
Our pastor welcomes any parishioner to take some home to use.

“If we run out we’ll just make more” to quote him.
 
Nice. Well I don’t know to be honest with you whether or not it is acceptable to add salt. You should probably ask your pastor.
 
I never knew that. I’m really going to look into getting some. Thanks for informing me.
 
If I ever have kids and I catch them doing something unclean, I will be sure to use it for the second use.
 
Kinda like how you can’t just chuck an Eucharist that fell on the floor into the trash. Right?
 
I know but what I’m asking is whether or not we dispose of Holy Water properly is because it is sacred. I know it’s not as important as the Eucharist nor is Christ present in Holy Water but the concept also applies here.
 
There is already salt in the holy water. Those particles in your bottle is likely salt crystals forming. Since they are heavier than water molecules they will end up on the bottom. I was surprised that I had a lot of salt on my forehead once as it was the last drops of holy water in the bowl.

A deacon or priest will bless salt and then add it to water and continue the prayers. We have big containers in the sacristy and people bring their own bottle. Someone asked our deacon if you could drink it and he replied “Why not?” and smiled.
 
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HeDa said:
Those particles in your bottle is likely salt crystals forming. Since they are heavier than water molecules they will end up on the bottom. I was surprised that I had a lot of salt on my forehead once as it was the last drops of holy water in the bowl.
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Thank you,

I thought something such as this may be the case.
I will carry on using it with as usual and not be concerned.

God bless you🙏
 
Be careful when buying those pretty little Holy Water bottles. Some of them tend to leak.

Tour guides on my pilgrimages have recommended putting Lourdes water and holy water in a clean regular water bottle, like one that is used for bottled water. You just buy a bottle of water and save the bottle. You then rinse it out and put the holy water in it. The caps fit much tighter than on the pretty Holy Water bottles and it helps to keep your water secure. You should store it out of the sun.
 
aservant said:
I’m wondering if I can add a pinch of regular salt to the holy water I use at home? to prevent it from building up those little particles of what I know not at the bottom.
I use it often and keep a lid on the container so it doesn’t evaporate as quickly, ( my apartment is small with dry heat in the winter and hot in the summer)
Hence I do this so I don’t need to refill it as often.
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You can if you like. There’s nothing preventing you from doing it.

I’m not sure how much it will help, though. I know some members here with biology backgrounds have posted on this topic once or twice. It seems there needs to be a high concentration of salt in the water to actually prevent bacteria. A little salt sometimes encourages it. It might also be algae. Again, someone who knows biology would be able to say how much is enough.

Algae usually sticks around, even despite a good washing. I suggest washing a holy water bottle with bleach every time it goes empty. Be sure to rinse it very well (and several times) after the bleach. And, as someone already suggested, keep the Holy Water away from too much sunlight. You might have better luck with those 2 suggestions than you will with adding salt. Glass works better than plastic.

As for the salt, my second suggestion is to use blessed salt instead of just unblessed.

The better suggestion is to get Holy Water blessed using the traditional form (which is still the form approved by the Church). That rite uses blessed salt (although how much will depend on just how much the priest adds at any given time–there’s no set ratio).
 
jackfitz316 said:
I never knew that. I’m really going to look into getting some. Thanks for informing me.
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Holy water is meant to be taken home. Don’t ever hesitate to take it (just from the right place). I often tell my parishioners that I don’t bless it often enough and that means they should be taking more home and using it.
 
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