Grey Water

People$champ

People$champ

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I would like to know if laundry water from the washing machine can be used on garden plants and trees ? Or if it’s only safe for the use on lawn. Is there anything O must add to the water before it’s poured onto the plants
 
People$champ said:
I would like to know if laundry water from the washing machine can be used on garden plants and trees ? Or if it’s only safe for the use on lawn. Is there anything O must add to the water before it’s poured onto the plants
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Contact TLC and ask them if they could make an episode of Extreme cheapskates staring you.
 
Not an expert but from personal experience I can share what we did during the Cape drought two years back.

Wash cycle water we kept for lawn exclusive as precaution, rinse and spin cycle water was used for all other outdoor plants. The grey water had no affect on any of the plants. We used normal retail washing powder, think Bio Classic at the time.

I guess it heavily depends on the soap/detergent/chemicals that you use in your washing cycle.
Some soaps are 100% biofriendly and are readily available but comes at a cost.
 
A3@MBB said:
Not an expert but from personal experience I can share what we did during the Cape drought two years back.

Wash cycle water we kept for lawn exclusive as precaution, rinse and spin cycle water was used for all other outdoor plants. The grey water had no affect on any of the plants. We used normal retail washing powder, think Bio Classic at the time.

I guess it heavily depends on the soap/detergent/chemicals that you use in your washing cycle.
Some soaps are 100% biofriendly and are readily available but comes at a cost.
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Yes, just choose the right detergent. I think that the fabric softener is a problem for plants though.
 
I've been using my washing machine water to water my garden for 5 years already (in Cape Town). Have had absolutely no problems whatsoever. I don't use any special detergent. Just normal Omo or Skip.
 
Nerfherder said:
Yes, just choose the right detergent. I think that the fabric softener is a problem for plants though.
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signates said:
The only water going down the drain through the sewerage system should be from your toilet.

Everything else can be reused in some way in the garden
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You can also use grey water for your toilet. Just use a load of clean water every now and again to remove scum build up. Very popular choice during water restrictions.
 
Most greywater from washing machines should be fine - best test on a patch of lawn in a corner and on some of your least favourite plants first (indigenous plants like any kind of water usually).
Have seen some solutions where greywater gets stored in tanks after going through a simple filter (sand IIRC) and used afterwards.
Most okes on small holdings I know, reuse the majority of the house's grey water and keep really good looking gardens going through the dry seasons.
 
Dairyfarmer said:
You can also use grey water for your toilet. Just use a load of clean water every now and again to remove scum build up. Very popular choice during water restrictions.
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Also reason why I run the washing machine on it's hottest setting once every 2 months or so.
[Not for the toilet! For build up.]
 
Generally, there is no problem with recycling water. I agree with the idea of using it for flushing toilets but to do that effectively and hassle free is by no means an easy task.
 
Dairyfarmer said:
You can also use grey water for your toilet. Just use a load of clean water every now and again to remove scum build up. Very popular choice during water restrictions.
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We have a bucket in the shower. I get two additional toilet flushes from that water per day. Water that would otherwise go down the drain.
 
pinball wizard said:
We have a bucket in the shower. I get two additional toilet flushes from that water per day. Water that would otherwise go down the drain.
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It is very easy to plumb in a system to catch grey water (bath/shower and laundry), store it and supply the toilet and taps in the garden. Just automates the whole system. You can then also add filtration and supplement with rain water to dilute soaps in the water.

And here is one real benefit. You are charged by the supplier for your clean water. You are then charged for your sewage water based on the clean water your use. By double using your clean water (wash clothes and then flush the toilet) you half the cost because you are not paying for the fresh water going to the toilet and then paying again for it to go gown the sewage. The same with watering your garden. You pay sewage costs for the water you put on your garden even though it doesn't go done the sewage.
 
Yes absolutely. We are busy with a bathroom renovation at my daughters place and the new bathroom will be 100% ready for a double feed of water to the toilet, one for a normal supply and the second for a grey water source.
The biggest headache has been to work out how to divert bath, shower and basin water to a point where at a future date the water can be cleaned a bit before being fed to the toilets and gardens.
The problem is about levels pressure and where and how to install collection tanks.
 
Just be aware of whats in your soap if you plan on running it into your garden. Long tern phosphor and sodium build up can have adverse effects.
 
The only water that should not in my option be diverted to grey water is the water used for dish washing. It is just too messy and will cause havoc with a grey water filtration system.
 
Mars said:
Some washing powders are also quite bad
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But can be handled in the grey water filtration process. Grease fat and other crap can't easily.
Hence why we prewash dishes before they go into the dish washer, as the dish washer water also ends up in my grey water system.
 
Geoff.D said:
But can be handled in the grey water filtration process. Grease fat and other crap can't easily.
Hence why we prewash dishes before they go into the dish washer, as the dish washer water also ends up in my grey water system.
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ok, I didn't realize that.
 
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