using washing machine waste water to water flowers

[fredsredhat]

any gardeners on here? we're on a water meter so to keep costs down im trying to recycle as much water as possible. im thinking of a system where i attach a hose to the waste pipe of the washer through a valve system (i havent thought of this yet) so i can either let the water run down the drain as normal or divert it through the hose. the hose would run the length of the flower border with holes punched in at intervals as a kind of sprinkler. the garden runs slightly downhill, would the washer pump be upto it? would the dirty water have too many chemicals (soap) to cause a problem to the plants? we already have a water butt, but im thinking if we have a long dry summer like last yr then our raised veggie patch would take most of that??
any thoughts?

[Ben90]

Given this a read?

Washing machine water isn't ideal, especially as the new ones tend to be more water efficient leaving you with a higher concentration of detergent, you could however switch your detergent to something biodegradable but then it's a toss up between money saved reusing water and money spend on fancy detergents.

Shower and bathwater is good source as it is usually cleaner and most bathrooms are upstairs so you can use gravity to get water where you need it more easily.
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[clancy]

Get a bigger water Butt ? Or get a second one and set the first to overflow into it ?
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KLX 300r

[Fisty]

No, no, no. Mate of mine went all "good life" and piped his washing machine and dishwasher to a water butt to water his garden and veg patch. EVERYTHING was dead within a month.

Just set up 3-4 water butts around the garden and that will save you money in the long term.
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[Fisty]

[CaNsA]

210 Litre watter butt for under £30 in aldi

https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/specialbuys/thursday-20th-march/product-detail/ps/p/210-litre-water-butt-set/

[Rigga]

[Fisty]

[The Shaggy D.A.]

I wouldn't use the grey water on the garden, but would use it for flushing the loo.
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[dodsi]

Water isn't that expensive, 1000l costs about £2 Inc wastewater charges - how much is a grey water system and how many ML can you buy for this?

[Quornholio]

Not unheard of for people to modify those 1000l IBC containers to store water in. Not as pretty/normal as water butts, but much cheaper per l, if you can find someone selling them. Think Felton's in Preston was selling them for around the £50 mark, but you had to collect/move them.

Be aware of what was stored in it previously though.
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[Hoffy]

[clancy]

You can get IBC containers on Gumtree and ebay for £20-40 there's literally thousands for sale
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[dydey90]

[hellkat]

I kinda like them IBC things, they look a bit space age, compared to those stupid green plastic things.

So if you knew what had previously been stored in them, you'd have to rinse them first. So ... save all the rainwater in it to wash it out before you use it ... OR ... hose it out, thereby wasting more water than you are saving?

I wouldn't use the washing machine water on the garden. I like my plants to smell of plants, not of chemical "plant-scented" flavours. Carrots tasting of Black Diamond fabric conditioner isn't the most appealing of vegetables.
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[Quornholio]

[ficedula]

[dodsi]

Absolutely correct, based on incoming water from the Meyer but charged (around here) 92.5% of the volume of incoming. But the wastewater will be charged at a higher rate than incoming. (This is due to the expense of removing wastewater from properties and treating it)

[dydey90]

Must be that different water boards measure in different ways then. The last time I had to pay a water bill they only had a reading for waste.
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[dodsi]

You maybe have 2 water companies, one for fresh and one for waste?

The waste bill would still be based on the reading taken by the fresh water company.

There is no waste metres on houses.

[totalllama82]

Glad I live in a country where I pay a flat fee for water when I read this nonsense. I suppose you gain the fact that there isn't a torrential downpour every 5 minutes.
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[Ariel Badger]

I live on my own and am very glad I have a water meter.
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[Quornholio]