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Using washing machine water

kev vankev van Posts: 114
in Tools and techniques
Hey guys, I live in the SW where we have a hose pipe ban. For last month we have been using the water we have collected almost every day on non important plants  like a rose we got with the house, geraniums, and other bedding plants. Have used this on my olives. I will only  use rain water on my tree ferns or tap water when that runs out. Don't have much rain water left. 

Can anyone see a problem with me using all the collected water from the washing on what I call for me non essential plants? 

Weekly we save around 300-350l of water. 

Cheers

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Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Not something I've ever done @kev van, and we don't have quite the same problems here with water so I only save the shower water as it heats up, and the actual shower water when I'm in there.
    The chemicals in the soap powder would worry me, but I don't know if it's any worse than bath water full of stuff, or washing up water, when washing up liquid is full of salt. Perhaps someone else will be able to advise on how good or bad it would be compared to the other grey water.  :)

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • McRazzMcRazz Posts: 440
    I'm interested in this as i've often considered grey water for the garden but the idea of any kind of soap/detergent on my plants and in my soil gives me the heeby jeebies
  • rowlandscastle444rowlandscastle444 Posts: 2,612
    McRazz said:
    I'm interested in this as i've often considered grey water for the garden but the idea of any kind of soap/detergent on my plants and in my soil gives me the heeby jeebies
    Knowing how plants survive, despite the acid rain that we get, I imagine that a bit of soapy water won't harm them more.

    We repurpose our shower and bath water, and used to do the same with water from the washing machine in our old house, when we could collect it. We used it on everything from potatoes and carrots, through fruit trees and bushes, to flowers and shrubs. 

    The only issue was the initial smell of it. Certainly didn't worry the plants. Maybe we had the cleanest shrubs on the road. 

    In times of water shortage, it's better than nothing. 
  • WonkyWombleWonkyWomble Posts: 4,541
    I'm in Suffolk and although there is no ban yet, I try not to waste water so when I saw that my bath outlet pipe is very close to my hydrangea and raspberries, I took the pipe out of the drain and placed it on the flowerbed. I did this last year, the hydrangea has now tripled in size and raspberries the same. I don't use lots of products in my bath water, just simple soap, mild shampoo and conditioner, but the experiment has been a huge success!!
  • WaysideWayside Posts: 845
    You can get friendlier laundry soaps.  Worth exploring.  I even read that you can use ivy.  CAT might be able to offer free advice.
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    I am not certain about this so don't shoot me down if it's not the case. I  think I remember from some time ago that soap, and mild detergent is OK but that the detergents used in washing machines and particularly dish washers are much harsher so I would be very wary of using grey water from these sources.  So unless you use very mild products or mix with other water to dilute , stick with bath, or  shower water, for plants.
    AB Still learning

  • WaysideWayside Posts: 845
    But for example we have moved over to liquid detergents, you should avoid powders.  Faith in Nature do a good one that doesn't make you stink like some mainstream powders.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    In the drought of ‘ 76 we collected all grey water for the garden,  I’d never seen such fantastic growth,  the grass was so dark and rich. I did a lot of washing then having a mucky little boy and a baby in terry nappies.
    In those days products were harder than now I think.  Mum reckoned it was the soda content that made the rich colour.
    We needed to use the bath water here a few years ago,  used it on my patio tubs,  plants never looked better. 
    Doesn't happen often here,  there’s always rain water in the butts and we have several of them on every available down pipe. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • rowlandscastle444rowlandscastle444 Posts: 2,612
    We use this stuff in our washing machine. Admittedly we have to use something more powerful on stubborn stains, but this does seem to be the way forward, if we want to use the water from the machine.

  • SalixGoldSalixGold Posts: 450
    Washing machine water should be fine, if you use some soap like Ecover. (Not using conditioners or bleach etc). Dishwasher water has a lot of salt and is not recommended to use on the garden.
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