To try and save money and be a generally wonderful, environmentally friendly chap, i thought about recycling the waste water from our bathroom. This would of course contain shampoo, soap, toothpaste etc. (no not pooh) Does anyone else recycle their water for use on the vegetable plot or do you think this is a bad idea?
I don't do it myself as lottie is 10 min walk away and could not practically do it. I guess it would be ok though although soaps etc contain a lot of chemicals so if you are strictly organic might be a bit dodgy?
hmm, my mum does that. though not the toothbrushing gargle water ;)
it's more the amount of water you use running the shower, etc. mind you, my mum doesnt use mych soap and that, so there isnt much of that in her watering water.....
is there a way to seperate out the water into 'low use' water that you can recycle, and 'high use' water that contains a lot of shampoo (when you have washed your hair) and the toothpaste etc?
dunno
svea
I found this link about grey water that you might find useful.
http://waterwise.fortune-cookie.com/domestic/tips-for-the-garden.asp
It looks as though it's not a good idea to use it on veggies...
Clare
For any number of reasons you might want to avoid shampoos that contain Sodium Laureth Sulphate (i.e. most of them). Apparently this was devised as a degreaser for garage floors but has found its way into lots of our toiletries.
Not good for us, presumably not good for plants...
I haven't used shampoo for about 14 years :)
Makes me shrink ;D
Our neighbour has become alergic to citric acid and it is found in almost all shampoos and conditioners! Wonder if over time, that would build up in the soil and in turn end up in the veggies. ???
Re citric acid - think it is part of the metabolism. Citrus fruits I imagine would be high in citric acid....
I was thinking about this whilst in the shower this morning. There should be a switch attached to all plug holes and each should have two down pipes. Then you can decide whether the water goes straight down the drain or gets used in the garden. That way, when I'm in the shower getting wet, the water can be used in the garden, but when I'm rinsing off the shampoo, it'd go down the drain. I have to use bubble bath in my bath as I have very dry skin - it peels off otherwise! I'm looking into natural alternatives, though, as I know you shouldn't use that on plants.
We collect the water when you run it to get it hot into 4pint plastic milk bottles. In this way we collect approximately 40 pints of water a day. These are then stored in the shed until needed to water the garden. And it's all fresh, clean water, so can be used on anything. So far this year there has only been one day when I've had to get water straight out of the tap to water the garden.
And I still haven't got my waterbutt. It's supposed to arrive within the next seven days...
Bath water is ok on flowers.
If you have an external drainpipe you can insert one of those divertor things.
I just have a hose pipe and syphon it out through the bathroom window.
One water buts, our local council gives away damaged wheelie bins - the normal damage is to the lip which the mechanical lift on the dustcart (or whatever the posh modernm word is). This means that the bin is to all intents as good as new (unless you want to empty it using a mechanical lift ;))
Phil
Quote from: aquilegia on June 02, 2005, 11:09:33
There should be a switch attached to all plug holes and each should have two down pipes. Then you can decide whether the water goes straight down the drain or gets used in the garden. That way, when I'm in the shower getting wet, the water can be used in the garden, but when I'm rinsing off the shampoo, it'd go down the drain.
What a fantastic idea :-)
My mum saves her bath water and uses it to flush the toilet with!
lot's of good ideas, thanks peeps
think i'll use the recycled water on the flowers instead
I have two lidded water butts in my garden. One is connected to the downpipe on my house guttering, the other is connected to the downpipe on the garage guttering.
When I use my steamer to cook veg any water left over is allowed to cool then goes onto the garden, the same is done with the water used to boil eggs (as long as it's not salted).
Next week I'm having a brand new boiler which means removal of my old hot water tank & the central heating system being drained - I've arranged with the plumber for his staff to drain off all the water very carefully so I can use it on the garden. I thought they would think me mad but appararently they've such requests before.
The water used to wash veg then they're being peeled is also saved & used on the garden. I also have an outside tap & when I'm washing off my gardening or riding boots I stand in a tub so the water is collected & again recycled onto the garden.
I managd to get through all summer last year without resorting to the hosepipe once. Boy, did I feel proud of myself
CC
Blimey Carrot Cruncher
Well impressed with your water saving...but have you ever seen the contents of a radiator? It can be pretty black and horrible with anti rusting agents and the like...