Rinse Water For Plants?

[thesmellofdustafterrain]

If I'm rinsing my fountain pens with water or soapy water (hopefully these are the right things to use), I was thinking to give the rinse water to my house plants when I'm finished.

 

Soap - I'm using real soap not detergent - is good for reducing bugs in the soil.

 

But what about the traces of ink in the water? Anything in fountain pen ink going to hurt or help my plants?

 

What about dip-pen ink?

[lapis]

I wouldn't do it. There may be phenol in the ink (above all in Sailor's) which you can smell. But there are also other decontaminants present like sodium azide etc which you can't smell but are lethal. Inks also contain (or should contain) surfactants which you can't smell either. These are all gonna kill yer plants. Wait! Drink a glass of that soapwater yourself first, and if you like it, your plants might like it too.

[thesmellofdustafterrain]

eek!

 

Does this mean my ink rinse water isn't septic-system safe?

[JakobS]

I doubt there would be any benefit to it. The negative effects will depend on how dilute the ink-water mixture is. I would do a little science experiment first on seedlings of something simple and easy to grow, before using it on any plants that you are invested on keeping for the long run. All ink brands, and even inks within a number of brands possess a varied selection of chemicals so it would be difficult to be confident that all inks would behave similarly...

 

 

eek!

 

Does this mean my ink rinse water isn't septic-system safe?

 

That would be something to ask to specific ink manufacturers, dumping a full bottle of ink down the drain into a septic system would be different than a dilute ink-water mixture. The former being a bigger challenge for the system than the latter I would imagine....

Edited February 19, 2019 by JakobS

[evyxmsj]

Worst case dump it on some weeds? Assuming this doesn't somehow result in massive, mutant weeds :-)

[melro]

Maybe it will change the color of the plant and you'll have a very colorfull garden.

or maybe it will grow a tree that will produce ink fruits , that you'll only need to use a squeezer to collect the ink and this way you'll have ink for life and become rich for inventing ink trees.

 

or they'll just die

[A Smug Dill]

Wait! Drink a glass of that soapwater yourself first, and if you like it, your plants might like it too.

 

 

LOL

 

Or maybe the plants that don't die from it will develop some tolerance, and its offspring sprout in some exotic colours besides.

[Karmachanic]

Waste water from showers, baths and sinks and so on is often collected in a separete cistern in warm, dry climates for the express purpose of watering the garden/crops, and is known as grey water. Look it up on your favorite search engine.

[thesmellofdustafterrain]

Waste water from showers, baths and sinks and so on is often collected in a separete cistern in warm, dry climates for the express purpose of watering the garden/crops, and is known as grey water. Look it up on your favorite search engine.

 

Not only is grey water a good way to reduce water usage, but it also contains many nutrients that benefit plants (aka, don't have to spend money on fertilizer).

 

Houseplants can have fungus and mould problems. Since the ink has a mild biocide, I wondered if it might be an alternative way to keep plants healthy.

[JakobS]

The reason grey water is taken from shower/baths and sinks and not toilets and garbage disposals, and washing machines(though many consider this greywater with the right setup/ use of soaps) is because of the likelihood of chemical and biological concentrations from the former sources being lower and less problematic than the latter. There is generally some sort of filtration before grey water is useable for watering gardens etc as well. Diluted ink may not pose a problem, but I would say there is probably more components in fountain pen ink that plants have no need for, than would benefit them. Not all biocides are safe or effective for all purposes, it would be better to learn what fungus/molds are forming, and treating them with the right fungicide for their demise, and the plant's survival. Or learn how to avoid them from growing on your plants from the get-go.

 

I am all for reducing water waste, and maybe a bit of experimentation would find plants grow fine with diluted ink in the water, but it's worth a little experimentation first on plants that you haven't invested in and hope to keep alive in the long term....

Edited February 22, 2019 by JakobS

[Bibliophage]

Grey water from toilets is called a 'septic system'. I spent 30 years in a house with a non-powered septic system, and we never had a problem with anything other than having to mow more frequently over the field lines.

 

Nowadays, the county is mandating you have to have sterilizers, pumps, and sprayers, rather than just being allowed to use gravity feed field lines - despite the absolute lack of any evidence that any of that expensive, power guzzling (bleep) is necessary. (rather than pumping out the tank once every year or two, and cleaning the field lines once every forty years)

 

Interesting. I got beeped for the alternate spelling of 'carp'.

Edited February 22, 2019 by Bibliophage

[JakobS]

It's good to keep this a little more relative to what the OP is asking. The same amount of ink/water concentrated in a rinse jar/cup, would be equal to many bottles of ink, or even gallons (depending on how full the pen is) going to a septic/grey water system to have a similar dilution, and perhaps even more to make it to a leach field unscathed by separation or bacterial digestion. Also, with septic systems in general, leach fields are often growing monoculture grasses, or a limited diversity of plants above them due to limiting root penetration of the drainage system. Microbe and animal diversity can also be effected by the creation and maintenance of these fields. Monoculture grasses may grow just fine, but that isn't the whole story of the ecosystem that is present/absent. And nonetheless, not really pertinent unless you are flushing ink or other chemicals into these systems at a similar dilution. Which generally isn't recommended for these systems.

[wallylynn]

IMHO, the big issue is that these are houseplants with little pots, not garden plants with cubic yards of dirt and rain and drainage. Even without ink, your dirt is going to congeal into a pot of soap after a while.

[inkstainedruth]

I've always been a little worried about houseplants and the amount of chlorinated water that comes out of my tap (to the effect that the water was allowed to sit in a watering can for a day or two). And that's with water that's designed to be safe for human consumption.
I'd be really concerned about water full of dyes, not to mention stuff like ammonia or vinegar (the latter being used in concentration as a weedkiller on some gardening shows I've seen).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[lapis]

That's why I always water my own plants here in the house and on the balcony etc only with filtered water which I otherwise use for all of my teas. Also, don't forget that scene in Dr. Strangelove:

 

Ripper: Mandrake?
Mandrake: Yes, Jack?
Ripper: Have you ever seen a Commie drink a glass of water?
Mandrake: Well, I can't say I have, Jack.
Ripper: Vodka, that's what they drink, isn't it? Never water?
Mandrake: Well, I-I believe that's what they drink, Jack, yes.
Ripper: On no account will a Commie ever drink water, and not without good reason.
Mandrake: Oh, eh, yes. I, uhm, can't quite see what you're getting at, Jack.
Ripper: Water, that's what I'm getting at, water. Mandrake, water is the source of all life. Seven-tenths of this Earth's surface is water. Why, do you realize that 70 percent of you is water?
Mandrake: Good Lord!
Ripper: And as human beings, you and I need fresh, pure water to replenish our precious bodily fluids.
Mandrake: Yes. (he begins to chuckle nervously)
Ripper: Are you beginning to understand?
Mandrake: Yes. (more laughter)
Ripper: Mandrake. Mandrake, have you never wondered why I drink only distilled water, or rainwater, and only pure-grain alcohol?
Mandrake: Well, it did occur to me, Jack, yes.
Ripper: Have you ever heard of a thing called fluoridation. Fluoridation of water?
Mandrake: Uh? Yes, I-I have heard of that, Jack, yes. Yes.
Ripper: Well, do you know what it is?
Mandrake: No, no I don't know what it is, no.
Ripper: Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous Communist plot we have ever had to face?

[BaronWulfraed]

Ripper: Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous Communist plot we have ever had to face?

 

 

Never knew Grand Rapids MI was a hotbed of communism...

[Parker51]

It is highly unlikely that currently made inks will be a problem but some old ones had some things in them that might not be too good for some plants (iron).

[inkstainedruth]

 

 

Never knew Grand Rapids MI was a hotbed of communism...

 

They fluoridated the water where I grew up. My mother was ecstatic! My brother and I didn't have cavities until we were in high school -- and as my mother said: we didn't inherit good teeth from either of our parents....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[kestrel]

Any biocides would most likely be too dilute after flushing from a pen but it is worth remembering that many plants have commensal fungi (translation from the biobabble: if the fungi die so do the plants and vice versa) and soil bacteria are essential for proper functioning of soil nutrient cycles. Some biocides are biologically active in soil/runoff in parts per billion. Concur with JakobS. Test first. Let us know.

 

Any FPN readers with school age children might consider this as fair game for a science fair project.

[amberleadavis]

Nope, I tried it. I was able to kill bamboo.

Of course, I use crazy inks.