Go Greener, Australia

A little while ago, I was sent a sample of BioZet washing powder to review (thanks, Karina!). It’s made to suit grey-water systems, since it’s low in sodium and phosphorus. Karina also sent me some info about grey-water, which was handy since I didn’t know much about it before. I gave the BioZet a go this weekend, doing two loads of laundry: one of mine, and one of Dave’s. Well, Dave did his own, but I watched him and questioned him about it afterwards

I tried the Advanced Concentrate type, but there’s also one with added fabric softener, and one for front-loading washing machines as well. We didn’t add any fabric softener, partly because I’ve been cutting back anyway, and partly because fabric softener isn’t good if you want to reuse your rinse water.

Our clothes came out of the wash exactly as clean as you’d expect from a leading brand of washing powder (and I have high expectations!), and we hung them up to dry on the line. I liked the scent, which was soft and mild, and could be smelled on our washed clothes. Dave thought it smelled “nice, not too floral-ish”.

We don’t have a grey-water system hooked up to our washing machine, but we do have a hold button, which stops the machine just before the rinse cycle. This gave us time to grab a bucket and put it under the drainage hose, to catch the rinse water. The water from the wash cycle is usually too alkaline to re-use on your garden, but the rinse water is fine.

A full load of washing gave us five 10L buckets of rinse water: that’s 50L of water per wash, or 100L for both. That’s a lot of water saved from going down the drain! We put it on our garden bed - not on the vegie patch, as you don’t want grey water on plants you’re going to eat, but on the section with our hibiscus bushes and other decorative plants. It was tempting to splash it all over the garden, but deep watering is better than a shallow sprinkle, so we stuck to just one area. We haven’t started up our reticulation for the summer yet, and the shrubs looked grateful for the drink.

I was really surprised by the amount of rinse water that came out. If Dave and I each do a weekly load of laundry, that’s 5,200L of water that could be re-used each year instead of going straight down the drain. Because our house can’t have a proper grey-water system attached, I hadn’t looked at any washing powders that are suited to reusing the rinse water. But now I realise how much water we’re wasting, I fully intend to keep using the BioZet and putting the rinse water on the garden. We might hook up a hose to go out the laundry door though, instead of messing around with buckets!

If you’re looking for a washing powder that’s suitable for grey-water reuse, look for one that’s low in sodium, and low in phosphorus. Sodium dehydrates plants and prevents them from taking up new water, while phosphorus contributes to algal blooms in waterways (like the Swan River algal blooms that have been happening more often in recent years). Other tips from BioZet:

• Avoid using harsh products in your wash, like bleach.
• Don’t reuse rinse water if you’ve had things like nappies, etc in the load.
• Don’t let kids or pets drink it - I can’t imagine it tastes any good, but that’s never stopped kids or pets from finding out for themselves!
• If you’re not sure how your garden will react, test the rinse water out on a small patch before using it all over the place.

Overall, I was really happy with the BioZet. I’d definitely purchase it in the future, and will recommend it to anyone who’s interested in washing powders that are compatible with grey-water systems. You can find out more about it at their website, and there’s also lots more information about safely re-using grey water in your household, in particular the Grey Water fact sheet (pdf). Check it out, and have a think about how much washing water is going down the drain at your place!