Using greywater from washing machine to water fruit plants.

[kathycam]

I moved house recently and the utility room had no running water, this meant the washing machine was in the kitchen and the fridge in the utility room, which got pretty annoying. My Dad managed to plumb water into the utility room but not out. So its now draining into a water butt outside. As is the water from the sink he put in. (Dad's are useful)

At the moment we have to take out the water manually, but he may later install a pump system. So is the water from the washing machine okay to use on fruit bushes? I've switched to using laundry balls like these: ORIGINAL JML LAUNDRY PEARLS ECO FRIENDLY WASHING BALLS | eBay

I'm not entirely sure whats in the balls, other than "friendly ions" but I assume its safer. What if I'm using more normal wash powder or using something to clean the sink. We often use bicarbonate of soda and vinegar for cleaning, but do use other stuff sometimes. I'm guessing using bleach would be out. Has anyone tried this before and does it seem safe to use the water on fruit bushes?

[roitelet]

So long as you stick to Eco friendly products I don't think it will do any harm. I use grey water for the decorative things but not for veg as anything soapy in the water gives the veg a soapy taste I think.

[kathycam]

Okay cool, we're def going to try using eco products from now on.

[dod]

All of the main components of normal household chemicals that are likely to be disposed of down a drain should degrade fairly rapidly in soil. That said there will inevitably be bits that you don't want that could be less than beneficial. I would certainly be inclined to avoid adding anything antibacterial to the soil, and such ingredients are in many soaps etc. (although probably in small quantities)

[Speed Gardener]

Back in 1976 plenty of people, including my dad, were advised to use grey water to water the garden during the hosepipe ban. We ran a pipe from the bathroom waste pipe upstairs onto the shed roof and into the old dip tank used to water the lawn and veg beds. No problems with anything dying, in fact, the surfactant properties of the soapy water was said to enhance the wetting onto the roots.

[Hans Mum]

Only thing I wouldn't use it on is seedlings but established stuff & fruit bushes etc I would.

[kathycam]

Great thanks, its nice to be able to reuse the water, and not worry about harming anything. I will stick to products that don't contain too many nasties and I wont water on any young plants, thanks.