How can I use grey water in my garden?
I’m Jon Mullen the Energy Evangelist and we’re talking about #SaveEnergySaveMoney.
The weather is starting to be warmer during the summer months, and today we’re talking about grey water – there are all sorts of guidance around the use of grey water, and there are many differences depending on where you live. So I will seek to give you the most cautious guidance to make sure no harm comes to you.
Grey water is water which comes out of your wash basin, shower or bath. People will also classify water from the kitchen – your dishwater, sink or washing machine, but some countries actually ban the use of this water because of the greater concentration of detergents, bleaches and salts. So let’s keep it simple and stick to the water from your bathroom, and also let’s only use it on ornamental plants rather than your vegetable garden because some vegetables will absorb the chemicals in the grey water.
So if you want to use grey water, and most of the time this will only be when we are experiencing a drought period, you should never store the water for longer than 24 hours. Beyond this time you will encourage the growth of algae and other microbes which will not be good for your plants in the long term.
The easiest solution which I have found is to install a rainwater diverter as high as possible on the bathroom grey water down pipe. Most diverters will allow you to switch the flow of water on or off. So this allows you to have either a short hose which goes into a bucket while you have a shower, or a longer hose which will give your partner or housemate a flow of water but it will be a slow flow of water. So it just depends on what is most convenient for you. Most plants will cope with some dry periods during a watering ban, but if grey water is available why not use it instead of mains water.
If you want to talk more, email me at EnergyEvangelist@EnergyPriceSaver.com .
I’m Jon Mullen The Energy Evangelist. Come and find out how to #SaveEnergySaveMoney at EnergyEvangelist.co.uk