Marianne
Super Self-Sufficient
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- Thread starter Neko-chan
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gettinaclue
Almost Self-Reliant
I was talking to a lady a couple months ago about her garden and she said: (paraphased of course)
Every night after I gave my kids a bath, I would get the bucket and bale out the tub and go pour it in the garden. Everyone's garden around me was dying because of the heat, drought and water restrictions, but mine was lush and green and there wasn't a single bit of bug damage at all that I could see - from the soap I think. I didn't know what else to do, we needed the garden and couldn't afford to let it die so I just threw that water on 'em. My neighbors accused me of watering in the dark with the hose, but I didn't. I've thrown bath water on them ever since.
I didn't ask her about dish water....
I've been playing with the idea of asking DH to come up with some sort of valve system. Turn one way for water to go into the garden (prime would be water from the bathtub and the water is wasted while you're waiting for it to heat up) and turn the valve the other for water in the sewer.
I don't know if it's feasible or not, and I've also been very reluctant since I've heard and read about grey water killing the garden. I'm very interested in this thread!
Every night after I gave my kids a bath, I would get the bucket and bale out the tub and go pour it in the garden. Everyone's garden around me was dying because of the heat, drought and water restrictions, but mine was lush and green and there wasn't a single bit of bug damage at all that I could see - from the soap I think. I didn't know what else to do, we needed the garden and couldn't afford to let it die so I just threw that water on 'em. My neighbors accused me of watering in the dark with the hose, but I didn't. I've thrown bath water on them ever since.
I didn't ask her about dish water....
I've been playing with the idea of asking DH to come up with some sort of valve system. Turn one way for water to go into the garden (prime would be water from the bathtub and the water is wasted while you're waiting for it to heat up) and turn the valve the other for water in the sewer.
I don't know if it's feasible or not, and I've also been very reluctant since I've heard and read about grey water killing the garden. I'm very interested in this thread!
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Neko-chan
Lovin' The Homestead
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Marianne
Super Self-Sufficient
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That was interesting. I bet most everything we use would have some kind of scary type warning on some ingredient or another, though.... :/
It just chaps my hide when I see some company calling their product 'green' and it's not so green. That's advertising, for ya! I don't know how it is in your neck of the woods, but here in the US, it's common.
It just chaps my hide when I see some company calling their product 'green' and it's not so green. That's advertising, for ya! I don't know how it is in your neck of the woods, but here in the US, it's common.
moxies_chickennuggets
Super Self-Sufficient
Another good thread to watch!! 
This is used routinely in lab to lyse (kill) bacterial cells. Well, it's used in combination with other stuff, so it's not the worst thing in the world. But soil health is a subtle thing. Even irrigation, which seems like it should be no problem, results in inappropriate levels of salts and minerals in the soil. Soil is alive and full of microbes and creepy crawlies that might be negatively affected by the soap.Neko-chan said:
I'd think twice before taking an anacdotal account of soap-water irrigation seriously. We just don't know enough to draw conclusions from these stories. For example, we don't know what type of soap was used. We don't know what crops were grown, the cummulative effects over the years, etc. This is the sort of thing where short-term empirical evidence can be misleading, so I'd even be suspicious of trying it for a while and drawing conclusions from that.
moxies_chickennuggets
Super Self-Sufficient
Well, I do take the shrimp water, from when I boil them, let it coll, then pour it on the plants. I also hear boiled egg water is good too, and boiled potato water. I just don't boil eggs very often.
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Neko-chan
Lovin' The Homestead
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moxies_chickennuggets
Super Self-Sufficient
After saving the greywater for over a month now, I am pretty sure how much water usage I produce. I empty one to 2 mop buckets from the kitchen daily..depending on what I am cooking. I stopped using the actual dishwater though,...just let it run down the drain. I only use one small pan of hot soapy water. The tomatoe plant in the ditch seems to love it.
In the bathroom, I use the 5 gallon bucket....for a whole days usage of water...I use it to either flush the toilet..or as the rinse water for cleaning. I try to keep the toilet clean..and brush it out with comet and the toilet brush about every other day. It's an OCD thing...I used to d it every day. Other than those....I only use more water for a bath..(not daily), and laundry...every two weeks now. The bath water is the only other water used from the well ..fresh. I use rainwater for laundry now. At least in the summer.
In the bathroom, I use the 5 gallon bucket....for a whole days usage of water...I use it to either flush the toilet..or as the rinse water for cleaning. I try to keep the toilet clean..and brush it out with comet and the toilet brush about every other day. It's an OCD thing...I used to d it every day. Other than those....I only use more water for a bath..(not daily), and laundry...every two weeks now. The bath water is the only other water used from the well ..fresh. I use rainwater for laundry now. At least in the summer.
Marianne
Super Self-Sufficient
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Wow Moxie, that's pretty impressive!
k15, I also had read that grey water goes bad really fast, so it couldn't be stored. I'd love to have a system other than the bucket brigade. I'm not poking fun at you, Moxie! When I change the water from the pets bowls, the old water gets poured onto plants. I used to use the water from rinsing out the milk jugs on houseplants. Some loved it, but the aspargus fern almost died. Veg water was saved to make veg broth (along with all the veg odds and ends). Potato water saved for bread. Then I ran out of freezer space.
When I handwash dishes, I put just a bit of water in with the soap on one side of the sink. Wash and rinse the dishes in that same sink. Most of the time, the sink is just 1/2 to 2/3 full by the time the dishes are done. If there wasn't a bunch of greasy stuff, I'll wash eggs in that same water, then use the water and a rag to hit window sills, chair and table legs, etc. OR I'll just leave it in the sink to rinse my hands or rinse off dishes later. Eventually the dirty looking water bugs me and I let it go down the drain.
Earthships have a good greywater system that waters an indoor planting area. I seem to remember that you had to use specific dish detergent, something baking soda based...but it was a LONG time ago that I was researching this.
Who was that gal that designed a terrific system for a restaurant? Dang! Something like Solvia...it was mentioned on another thread somewhere. It worked really well until some uneducated official shut it down.
I have a book on grey water systems packed away in a box somewhere around here. Was that other system called Clivus or something like that? Egads, it's too early in the morning for me to be trying to think this hard.
k15, I also had read that grey water goes bad really fast, so it couldn't be stored. I'd love to have a system other than the bucket brigade. I'm not poking fun at you, Moxie! When I change the water from the pets bowls, the old water gets poured onto plants. I used to use the water from rinsing out the milk jugs on houseplants. Some loved it, but the aspargus fern almost died. Veg water was saved to make veg broth (along with all the veg odds and ends). Potato water saved for bread. Then I ran out of freezer space.
When I handwash dishes, I put just a bit of water in with the soap on one side of the sink. Wash and rinse the dishes in that same sink. Most of the time, the sink is just 1/2 to 2/3 full by the time the dishes are done. If there wasn't a bunch of greasy stuff, I'll wash eggs in that same water, then use the water and a rag to hit window sills, chair and table legs, etc. OR I'll just leave it in the sink to rinse my hands or rinse off dishes later. Eventually the dirty looking water bugs me and I let it go down the drain.
Earthships have a good greywater system that waters an indoor planting area. I seem to remember that you had to use specific dish detergent, something baking soda based...but it was a LONG time ago that I was researching this.
Who was that gal that designed a terrific system for a restaurant? Dang! Something like Solvia...it was mentioned on another thread somewhere. It worked really well until some uneducated official shut it down.
I have a book on grey water systems packed away in a box somewhere around here. Was that other system called Clivus or something like that? Egads, it's too early in the morning for me to be trying to think this hard.
