Recycling bath water

Having attached a water butt to the downpipe on the house, I subsequently discovered that the pipe which carries my bathwater also runs into the downpipe (and thus into my water butt)

Is this likely to cause any problems if it's stored?

Found this which says that it can be done but shouldn't be kept for too long and shouldn't be mixed with rainwater (which it will be).

Wondering if there is something I can add to the water to 'sterilise' it so I can store it for longer?

 

I think it would be best if you move the water-butt to another down pipe, or contrive to collect the water higher up than the bathwater outflow. Is the wash-basin also emptying into the same pipe as the bathwater? - this would be a real problem, as you would have toothpate and shaving water in there too !!

a-a

 

I don't know about the sink, but assume so.

Good idea about moving the diverter higher up the downpipe - I'll have to see if I can get a longer extension to attach it to the water butt.

Am assuming I can get some sort of attachment to repair the 25mm gap in my downpipe where the diverter currently sits

 

you should use the bath water asap as it will smell bad after a few days, also when watering plants try to avoid wetting the leaves of veg, some people just save the bath water for flower beds not for food( i have and and am still here to tell the tale ! )

 

I'd be nervous of using bathwater to water my plants

my teenage daughter uses half a bottle of bubble bath everytime she baths... and she sometimes baths twice a day

 

you have to give some credit to others i am sure that if merleworld used that many products they would not even be concidering using it to water the plants

 

I once read that soap and related bath products are actually quite harmless, and in some cases good for the plants. The article suggested that there is a lot of common ground chemically speaking between plant feed and soap.

It is well documented that soapy water is used as a foliar spray to mitigate against aphid attacks. Also, if such products were that harmful to plants then all the suburbanites that wash their cars on the drive and watch the run off spill into their flower beds would not have very pretty gardens.

I'd say if it doesn't knacker your skin, then its probably not going to harm the garden, but that's my very non-scientific opinion.

 

I don't think there is any problem with using bath water. I don't see that it is going to smell any worse that rainwater if its stored. The bottom of water butts aren't exactly clean and pleasant smelling.

Plants extract water from the soil by osmosis, which is a far better filter than anything made by man.

 

Thanks all

I'm gonna give it a go and see how smelly it gets - it's easy enough to empty if it doesn't work because it's right next to the drain so I'll just open the tap and let it run out.

 

I've had a look at connecting the diverter further up, but I can't do it because a) I'd have to get on a ladder (and I'm scared of heights) to saw the pipe and b) the top part of the downpipe isn't plastic (guttering is white asbestos) so don't want to risk it.

What I'm going to do is connect the water butt when it's raining (like now) and then when it's full and/or it's stopped raining I'll disconnect it and cover the outlet so that the water goes down the drain. It's a 100L butt so won't take much filling and once it's full it's going to be a while before I will need to fill it again, given how rarely we have a run of dry days here.



ETA : Just checked and it's absolutely full to the brim. Once it's stopped raining then I'll disconnect it from the downpipe.

 

What a sensible reply.

My bath downpipe goes into the water butt and has done for years. I use as much shampoo, conditioner, soap and scented all-over bodywash as the next person (probably), not to mention the Vim, handwash liquid and other cleaning products that might (occasionally) enter the mix. There has been no obvious case of plants keeling over, although I have no way of knowing what giants I might have produced if they'd been given lovely sterile (ish) tap water.

Maybe I wouldn't pour it all over my spinach, but I wouldn't hesitate with spuds or bedding plants, especially if a massive water bill or dying of drought were the other options.

It can get smelly, and is probably not very hygienic to handle, but heyho, me and the plants seem to have survived. If it really bothers you add a teaspoonful of bleach, that will sort it for a while. That hasn't killed anything either, your tapwater may have chlorine in anyway.

 

Actually it can smell quite bad. The reason is that bacteria feed off all the "stuff" that goes into making detergent. The bacteria give off gas, and it is that you smell.
Rainwater on the other hand has noting for (smelly) bacteria to feed on.

 

I read somewhere else that someone uses a capful of Jeyes in their water butt.

It's full now anyway and disconnected, so as and when it's empty then I'll reconnect it. Can't see it happening any time soon.

Good to have the option though, if we do have a drought, of using the bathwater if I need to (and in that situation it wouldn't be stored for long).