re using water ??? (Merged Thread)

oops_a_daisy

hopefully somebody can answer my questions because I am trying to think about everything that I throw away and trying to find ways to reuse everything. Can I re use the dirty dish washing up water on my garden because it has washing up liquid in will it cause a problem ? and also can I re use the water used to boil veggies in on my garden too ( obviously I would cool it first ) I mainly use organic veggies and a pinch of salt to cook. I was thinking that maybe it wouldnt cause too much of a problem if I re used the above water just on the grass and not on my veggie garden. If anybody has ony other tips for re using water or not wasting it in the first place I would be grateful.

needmoney

I'm not garden expert but i use the washing up water to water my plants, not too sure about the veg water but I would think so too, no doubt someone will correct me if this is wrong.

I'm sure years ago people would use the dish water for the plants.

Mishy

I don't see why you can't. It's recycling as well. If I had a bath I would probably use that water too if I needed too.

arkonite_babe

Have a look at this article for ideas!!

Veg water can be re-used on the garden, as long as it is cold

Joscar

The use of 'grey water' (second hand water from a bath or washing up) has been in gardening magazines and TV programmes quite a bit lately.

The soap in bath water would probably be diluted enough to use on the garden directly - but seems like a lot of effort to carry in buckets to the garden. I am sure I would leave puddles throughout the house. I have seen pumps you can buy that siphon the water out via a hose through the bathroom window. Not sure how practical that would be and I would think you would have to save a lot of water to get the money back for the pump.

Cold water used to cook your veggies in is OK - or use it to make gravy. The water from boiling eggs is supposed to be good too. Some minerals pass from the shells I think.

Kitchen sink water should be 'cleaned' to remove any grease or food particles by sieving through a piece of fabric. And it is only recommend for non edible plants. Personally I only use kitchen sink water without any soap in - for example the water left after cleaning veggies / salad. Using washing up water does not make sense to me. We are told to worry about putting pesticides on the garden but detergent is OK ?!:think:

culpepper

You could use ecover to wash up. We did this up until recently when we got a dishwasher.
Now OH has a pipe going to outside from the dishwasher and we catch the water in a bucket. I use 1 tbsp borax and bicarb as the powder which is diluted quite a lot by the time its been through 5 gallons of water(about the same amount water as the sink holds).
Veg water should act as a sort of plant feed as it has nutrients from the veg in it. You could always salt the food after it is cooked instead of whilst it is cooking.

jockettuk

what abt childrens pool with chlorine in,, can we use this on flowers, it doesnt seem to do any damage to grass or didnt last yr but now with a hosepipe ban in want to know when the pool to be empty can we use it on the flowers etc

billy_the_kid_2

Reusing soapy dishwashing water on plants will keep the greenfly at bay. Or is that just an old wives tale?

Seakay

No, it does help.

Got this from Supanet:

ASK THE EXPERT
Is there an organic method of controlling greenfly other than ladybirds? I recently had a major infestation on a lupin and could only find one or two ladybirds! I eventually had to dig up the lupin and dispose of it as it was completely covered and the flowers destroyed. How can I prevent this happening again?

Answer:
Yes. Soapy water - real soap or detergent - is very effective but must be applied daily. You can also get proprietary brands of agricultural soap. If you still wash dishes by hand the left over water does the job perfectly.

hardpressed

I save the water when I'm waiting for the hot tap to run hot, if you see what I mean. I keep a watering can or a bucket outside the kitchen door to put it in, soon mounts up during the day. Also save the water from washing my hands, that goes in the bucket too.

larissa156_2

We have bought a little washing up bowl that holds all the cleanish water used for washing veg. etc. When the bowl is full I empty it into a bin outside the kitchen door. It really does collect quickly (scarily so!). I used to save all the washing up water as well, but when it was stored outside in all the recent hot weather it started to smell quite quickly.

I'm also saving my daughter's bath water. Whilst it is not convienient to use it on the garden (too far away and hazardous!), I use it to flush the loo. I cut the bottom off a plastic milk container and use it as a scoop. A few scoops are really very effective!