"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote in message
k...
The message
from "pammyT" fenlandfowl @talktalk.net contains these words:

My washing machine drains right out onto my garden . I use biological
powder. Everything which gets the washing machine water seems to be
thriving.

I'm glad you said 'seems to be'.

Borax will build up in the soil and kill a lot of things. The Old Man
did for a peach tree by siting the outlet too near it: it took a few
years, but succeeded in killing it completely in the end.


Indeed, the chemicals in the washing water can harm plants. There's another
problem, too - if these materials get into watercourses they can play havoc
with the water ecology. Even if no direct poisoning takes place, the
chemical balance of the water will be altered, particularly by phosphates
which encourage the growth of algae and aquatic plants.

Neil.