Reusing water in the garden

[justontime]

In our home we are careful about water usage but there is still a lot of water that I think could be reused. We already collect rain water for the garden, but is there a way that we could use our washing up water and bath/shower water on the garden? I haven't done it yet because I am not sure if the chemicals in it will cause harm. I have a tight budget so I can't afford to spend much on making this possible.

[mbtaluka]

We do collect rain water in large tanks and use it either to wash clothes or garden or shower. Mainly it is for shower as it is said in our country that rain water brings glow to ones skin. I don't use the bath/shower water for garden because we used it once and our plants were dead hence I don't prefer to use this water.

[berlinlife06]

Originally Posted by mbtaluka

We do collect rain water in large tanks and use it either to wash clothes or garden or shower. Mainly it is for shower as it is said in our country that rain water brings glow to ones skin. I don't use the bath/shower water for garden because we used it once and our plants were dead hence I don't prefer to use this water.

Where do you live? I know there is a system of carbon filters for the grey waters to be used with the plants and in the garden. I would collect the rain water if I could, but it would be useless to me. Instead I try to save as much as possible.

[stumpyjim]

I don't know if it would be safe to use used water on plants and the grass. I personally think its a great idea if it can be done.

[Carl]

I don't think that that the soap present in the bath/shower water will do the plants much good so I'd be a little cautious in doing that. At my workplace we have a large roof area and when the rain falls, it's channeled into the gutters around the sides of the roof into a large tank. Water from here is used to water our lawn and to wash cars in the car park.

[riskey58]

Originally Posted by mbtaluka

We do collect rain water in large tanks and use it either to wash clothes or garden or shower. Mainly it is for shower as it is said in our country that rain water brings glow to ones skin. I don't use the bath/shower water for garden because we used it once and our plants were dead hence I don't prefer to use this water.

We all so collect rain water. But I would be afraid trhat left over shower water like you said would kill the plants.

[Roguegal]

I don't know about the water from bath/shower or kitchen sink. I would suggest you ask your local hardware store for assistance on that. Here I would go to Home Depot or Lowe's.

Now, I remember my mother using the washing machine water in our garden. She had my father connect the washing machine to a hose, which ran down a pile of rocks and then into the garden. We did not use any kind of filters or anything like that. We had the juiciest tomatoes! The best tasting corn on the cob! The lettuce was absolutely delicious. And back then I even ate spinach directly out of the garden. You can't pay me to eat spinach now, it does not taste right.

[Green-Moo]

From experience, I can tell you that small amounts of washing up liquid, shampoo etc diluted in grey water will not kill your plants. All of my bathroom grey water is collected into tanks and then recycled onto the garden. My kitchen sink & washing machine drain into a large jug at the side of the house which needs to be manually emptied, but it also gets recycled onto the garden. I don't use detergent in the washing machine, but we do use soap, shampoo & washing up liquid. Our system is not sophisticated, but it's cheap and it works!

[SageMother]

I remember a horticulturist, years ago, saying that soap actually helps water penetrate deeper into the ground. I don't know if he was talking about a specific kind of soap or detergent, though.

[justontime]

Thank you for all your replies. I'm going to try it and see what happens. Our garden is more functional than beautiful because I have children and a dog. It is mainly lawn with three trees and a few shrubs around the sides. At the front it is mostly gravel with hedging and some plants in containers, I think I will use mostly rain water for the containers.