Topic: Cleaning soapy water

[Dirty Digger]

Is there any way I can easily remove soap from water so that I may re-use my dish/bathwater without messing up my plants root system?

Just contemplating the downside to a hot summer, especially if we actually have one this year. hmmmm

[Dirty Digger]

blimey, no suggestions whatsoever.

I did a little online research on the matter and came up with reverse osmosis, however, this generally requires machinery and seeing as I hardly want to spend a penny on it, it's not the way to go.

So does anyone have any ideas or not?

[Baccy Man]

A basic sand filter removes most unwanted material from greywater. Most people collecting greywater simply change the detergents they use to eco friendly ones rather than spending a couple of hundred quid on a filter capable of removing the undesirable ingredients in conventional detergents.

http://www.reuk.co.uk/Sand-Filters-for-Greywater.htm

[tonybloke]

all of the water from our upstairs bathroom (bath / shower & basin) goes via a diverter on the maingutter down-pipe, through a waterbut, then a hose onto a lovely 20 ft high willow tortuosa. no filter, but have to clean out waterbutt frequently (monthly in summer) cos it's near the back door and grey water can get a bit pongy without the dilution it gets from the rain in the winter

[Dirty Digger]

all of the water from our upstairs bathroom (bath / shower & basin) goes via a diverter on the maingutter down-pipe, through a waterbut, then a hose onto a lovely 20 ft high willow tortuosa. no filter, but have to clean out waterbutt frequently (monthly in summer) cos it's near the back door and grey water can get a bit pongy without the dilution it gets from the rain in the winter

Yeah whilst i'm sure you can put water straight on to your plants without too much trouble, I don't think it's a good idea. The build up of detergents must affect the root system after a while.

Perhaps you should divert it into a sandbox filter first.....i'm going to put some effort into making one of these. It sounds ideal.

[tomatoada]

I am planning to use my bathhwater so what I need is to be able to find eco friendly bath bubble.

[Baccy Man]

I am planning to use my bathwater so what I need is to be able to find eco friendly bath bubble.

Plenty of them about just look for the usual buzz words used to inflate price tags eg; environmentally friendly, eco friendly, 100% biodegradable, 100% natural ingredients, organic etc... Basically you want something plant based rather than petrol based & with natural rather than synthetic fragrances.

Alternately you can make your own.
http://www.ecofriendlydaily.com/beauty/eco-friendly-bubble/

[tonybloke]

all of the water from our upstairs bathroom (bath / shower & basin) goes via a diverter on the maingutter down-pipe, through a waterbut, then a hose onto a lovely 20 ft high willow tortuosa. no filter, but have to clean out waterbutt frequently (monthly in summer) cos it's near the back door and grey water can get a bit pongy without the dilution it gets from the rain in the winter

Yeah whilst i'm sure you can put water straight on to your plants without too much trouble, I don't think it's a good idea. The build up of detergents must affect the root system after a while.

Perhaps you should divert it into a sandbox filter first.....i'm going to put some effort into making one of these. It sounds ideal.

8 years on, and the tree is doing fine!!

[Dirty Digger]

all of the water from our upstairs bathroom (bath / shower & basin) goes via a diverter on the maingutter down-pipe, through a waterbut, then a hose onto a lovely 20 ft high willow tortuosa. no filter, but have to clean out waterbutt frequently (monthly in summer) cos it's near the back door and grey water can get a bit pongy without the dilution it gets from the rain in the winter

Yeah whilst i'm sure you can put water straight on to your plants without too much trouble, I don't think it's a good idea. The build up of detergents must affect the root system after a while.

Perhaps you should divert it into a sandbox filter first.....i'm going to put some effort into making one of these. It sounds ideal.

8 years on, and the tree is doing fine!!

You may well be right but i'm still going for the sandbox filter.

[tonybloke]

all of the water from our upstairs bathroom (bath / shower & basin) goes via a diverter on the maingutter down-pipe, through a waterbut, then a hose onto a lovely 20 ft high willow tortuosa. no filter, but have to clean out waterbutt frequently (monthly in summer) cos it's near the back door and grey water can get a bit pongy without the dilution it gets from the rain in the winter

Yeah whilst i'm sure you can put water straight on to your plants without too much trouble, I don't think it's a good idea. The build up of detergents must affect the root system after a while.

Perhaps you should divert it into a sandbox filter first.....i'm going to put some effort into making one of these. It sounds ideal.

8 years on, and the tree is doing fine!!

You may well be right but i'm still going for the sandbox filter.

they are a bugger to clean out, and get clogged very easily.
Our underlying strata of 'bedrock' is sand and gravel (East Norfolk) and very free draining. the tree  isn't going to get a build-up of detergents in the root area.

[Dirty Digger]

they are a bugger to clean out, and get clogged very easily.
Our underlying strata of 'bedrock' is sand and gravel (East Norfolk) and very free draining. the tree  isn't going to get a build-up of detergents in the root area.

I am in lincoln and as far as I know we have up to 18 meters of sand and clay before we hit bedrock, so should be free draining too (clay permitting). As far as I can tell, the easy way to make a sandfilter easy to clean is to make a tall thin one, so that you only have to replace a small area of sand at the top of the filter each time. I'm just about to buy a 1000 ltre water container, so quite happy to make one as it's going to be a bugger to fill otherwise.

[PurpleHeather]

From what I can gather. Bath water can contain bacteria which could end up being ingested if used for watering plants grown for eating.

Mature plants, shrubs and lawns can be watered occasionally with it but it may leave a scum on the surface. I think I would rather give my lawn and shrubs bath water than nothing if it was so dry that they would die without it.

Bath water is certainly excellent for washing the car. It could be reused for washing floors, paintwork, seats and several other things we 'just put under the tap' Like muddy boots or use it to wash the kids out door toys such as bikes, swings and such.

I think one of the dangers with the soap and detergents is that salt is used in the manufacture. knowing the dilution of bath water to the cleanser I suppose it is possible to work out the strength of it and the tolleration level of the plants but that is just too scientific for me but I prefer a quick shower rather than a long soak in the mucky water I have just washed in.