Some of you might remember me mentioning that I’m redoing my kitchen. The countertop came in today, so I’ll be doing the sink plumbing soon. I could get traps with external drains and drain them into a watering can. I’ve started using a solid block, all natural dish soap. I think it would be a good …

[image] mikeschinlaub: … all natural dish soap. What’s in the soap?

There are quite a few YouTube videos and other articles on using grey water. There’s several things to consider, but in general I think it’s a good thing. I know I’m careful about laundry products because my washer has a French drain.

One thing to consider is the pH of the all natural soap. If it is decidedly alkaline, as is typical soap, don’t use it for plants that prefer acidic soil.

Copied from the seller’s website. Keep in mind it will be pretty diluted with all of the water. Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (plant-derived), Decyl Glucoside (plant-derived), Sodium Cocoate (plant-derived), Quillaja Saponaria (from the South American soap bark tree - organic), Glycerin (plant-derived)…

Those ingredients are fine. The sodium carbonate is alkaline, so take that into account regarding the pH preferences of your plants.

A quick search on the products looks good for grey water use.

Spent coffee grounds might work, too.

From Day Zero Cape Town. In the worst of that summer drought, I distributed our laundry water in the garden too. Now we discard the soapy dishwater, but the rinsing water goes to cans, then the garden. I have rain tanks - and use that water for pots of ‘offended’ plants. But the potted roses for exa…

About pH, you can get cheap electronic devices to measure pH quite easily. I measured the pH in a small pond, with a lot of dead leaves in it, and it was always much more alkaline than rain water stored in a separate container. Obviously the pond is also “rain water”, just with much more organic c…

Thoughts on using dish water for plants?

Nature Talk

Quercitron December 7, 2025, 2:21am 8

I’m not sure about this, but mixing in some decomposing oaks leaves with the dishwater could neutralize some of the alkalinity. You could experiment and test the resulting pH.

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Thoughts on using dish water for plants?

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