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Saving water

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  • So in the end, is it possible to use soapy water for watering plants? Interested in the question, I want to save money

  • DinnjeffryDinnjeffry Posts: 3
    edited April 2021
    I thought, why water the flowers with dirty water after washing dishes, or even rainwater, if it can be cleaned. I remember a friend of mine telling me about inexpensive water purifiers. Since I love flowers very much, I am very sorry to water them with not clean water. Read about it here https://kylesgarage.com/water-softeners/ , who also worry about it. If this is useful to someone, do not thank them


  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    Years of draught like ,2018, when we here had no rain for 3 months,we used washing up water,had a bucket in the shower,I used it for everything,had just planted new shrubs.You can't save it,it goes slimy, stinks and is full of bacteria.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Yes, if you scrape the plates well before washing them, you can then use washing up water from a washing up bowl and I have done it for a long time ... pour it on the soil around the plants, not over the leaves, and I don’t use it on small seedlings. 

    Personally I wouldn’t use the water from a dishwasher ...don’t know if others do. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    Always scrape the plates, would be very difficult to save water from the dishwasher
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    So in the end, is it possible to use soapy water for watering plants? Interested in the question, I want to save money


    @Dinnjeffry This thread aleady gives a good overview of the answers. Generally it's fine to use soapy water on the garden. Use it straight away, don't store it. Water from dishwashers is not a good idea as it has water softener/salt. Bath water possibly not a great idea on veg as the water contains ecoli etc., so don't if you are worried about such things.

    I use a bath hose and siphon to direct all bath water on to flower beds from April to Sept. It works very well. Others hook up their washing machine hose to water on to the garden - but it does need to be at a level above the garden, if just using physics to support the force of the flow.

    Using 'eco' soaps like Ecover or Method might be gentler on the plants.

  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    Fire,we live in a bungalow, have 5 water butts and hubby was thinking of installing some kind of pump to get the water from the shower
  • brackenbracken Posts: 91
    We save the bath water, by altering the down pipe so that it runs into a wheelbarrow.
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    You can't do that in s bungalow with the bathroom in the middle
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Since I love flowers very much, I am very sorry to water them with not clean water.
    Plants don't mind if you don't use water cleaned by a water company. Many would argue that it's kind of crazy to pay a lot to produce highly filtered water of drinkable standard for use on flower beds or to flush down the toilet. Using rain water or re-using grey water is one way of making better use of that super-cleaned, costly water company product.
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