i always read that blades let water sit for 24-48 hours to let the chlorine evaporate. would boiling it do the same?
yeh but it would also boil out all the other trace elements that are good for your plant i assume... i could be wrong...
the idea is to release the chlorine in the form of a gas. boiling will also do this, infact just warming it a little will do it. it will not get rid of minerals because they will not vaporize. personally I don't see the worry about chlorine. it's not going to harm your plants at the levels they use in water. I have never had any problems with my tap water. but I guess I can only vouch for my own.
many hydro grower add extra H2O2 to give the roots extra oxygen and to keep root rot at bay and the plants don't seem to mind this at all