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Old 15-02-2007, 09:17 AM posted to austin.gardening
Noncompliant Noncompliant is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Feb 2007
Posts: 22
Default Using gray water

"Bob" wrote in message
news
Our washing machine is near an outside wall. I chiseled through the
brick,
cut a
hole in the inside wall, and installed a two inch PVC pipe about three
feet
tall.

On the outside, the PVC pipe goes into a 55 gallon plastic barrel which
lays
on its side. I rigged up an attachment to the bottom of the barrel onto
which I attached a hose.

I run hose out about 150 feet to water Live Oak trees. The washer uses
about 30 gallons per wash load, so rather than waste it in the septic
system, I thought it was better to use for watering. We never use bleach
in
the wash, only Tide.

My question is: Is there anything in the water that will damage the
trees?

Thanks, Bob



Just a couple of personal observations.

My dad did similar except just ran the washer drain hose to the backyard.
Did it like that for one year. Didn't appear to harm the St. Augustine,
spearmint, and two ash trees. Somtimes, connected it to a lengthy
polyethlene hose and routed it to the garden. Mom was careful not to use
bleach at that time. Mom got tired of trudging through the mud to hang the
clothes on the clothesline. So, dad put it the drain hose back to sewer
drain. That was back when liquid detergents weren't around, and Tide was
Tide. Yes, Mom used liquid bleach. Not sure about the amount of washes she
did, have 7 brothers and sisters.

I've got a problem with hydrogen sulfide gas in my well water. Its removed
by injecting air it via a bottle designed for that purpose. This changes
the gas into sulfuric acid, which goes to the bottom of the bottle.
Everyday in wee hours of morning, the bottle is backflushed automatically.
The 35 gallons of water/sulfuric acid goes by pipe to a french drain. The
french drain is in the vicinity and slightly uphill from a grove of Live
Oaks. Been 2 years now, no apparent damage to any growth including that
directly above the french drain. Gets kind mushy during rainy periods in
the area, so some of it may be surfacing at that time.

If your household doesn't have many occupants, and very water use conscious,
routing the washer water to other than the septic tank can be deterimental.
Need a minimum amount of water going through the septic system to make it
work correctly.
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Noncompliant