I finally stopped burying my gray water after a neighbor called me out

This old guy named Frank down the road in Sedona saw me digging a trench for my washing machine runoff. He said 'you're just poisoning the ground slowly, pipe it above ground to your trees instead.' I was mad at first. But after 3 months of doing it his way, my apple tree is actually growing. The soap residue breaks down fast enough and the tree loves the extra water. I switched to a biodegradable castile soap and now I just run a hose 50 feet to the drip line. Anyone else deal with gray water critics and change their mind?

3 comments

3 Comments

alicemurphy1mo ago

I switched to castile soap too and my plum tree exploded with growth after I started piping my shower water to it. Have you seen a big difference in your soil quality since you stopped burying it?

phoenix_bailey1mo ago

Piped my shower water to a fig tree once, @alicemurphy, and ended up with soap scum mold growing all over the roots. Had to dig the whole thing up and start over.

west.casey1mo ago

Haha yeah @alicemurphy's plum tree is basically living its best life off that castile soap shower water. I buried my gray water for years before Frank called me out too, thought I was being clever. But I guess soap scum mold is a real thing, I never saw it coming because I wasn't looking close enough. Now I just let it run to the drip line like he said, and my apple tree hasn't complained once. Honestly, I wish Frank had yelled at me sooner, would've saved me a lot of digging.