Is it safe to tie dye my lawn?
July 12, 2024 10:48 AM Subscribe
I’m going to be doing a bunch of ice dyeing. Is letting all the dye and soda ash water drip into my lawn a bad idea?
I am using Dharma Trading Co’s Fiber Reactive Procion Dyes and soda ash in the garments. I’d looooove to just set the racks out in my back yard and let the ice simply drip into the ground rather than tubs, largely out of laziness and a lack of desire to lug buckets around. Is that a bad idea for the planet Earth and the soil-y earth?
I’m fine if the grass/clover gets stained, but I do NOT want to kill it/be left with bald dirt patches, nor do I want to damage the ecosystem etc etc. (I doubt it matters, but I'm in Chicago.)
I am using Dharma Trading Co’s Fiber Reactive Procion Dyes and soda ash in the garments. I’d looooove to just set the racks out in my back yard and let the ice simply drip into the ground rather than tubs, largely out of laziness and a lack of desire to lug buckets around. Is that a bad idea for the planet Earth and the soil-y earth?
I’m fine if the grass/clover gets stained, but I do NOT want to kill it/be left with bald dirt patches, nor do I want to damage the ecosystem etc etc. (I doubt it matters, but I'm in Chicago.)
It is a bad idea. Pour the wastewater down the drain. pH changes can disrupt soil microorganisms that keep soil and plants healthy. This is what Dharma says to do:
DISPOSAL: Fiber Reactive dyes do not require any special disposal. You can safely pour them down the drain.
One environmental consideration is that if you have added Soda Ash to your dyebath, then it's alkaline (high pH) and can be neutralized by the addition of a little white vinegar (low pH). If you used vinegar or acidic acid in your dyebath, you can add some Soda Ash to neutralize the acid.
Highly acidic or alkaline waste water maybe could upset the balance in a septic tank. We have pH test paper you can use to test the pH before flushing it down the drain.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:59 AM on July 12 [3 favorites]
DISPOSAL: Fiber Reactive dyes do not require any special disposal. You can safely pour them down the drain.
One environmental consideration is that if you have added Soda Ash to your dyebath, then it's alkaline (high pH) and can be neutralized by the addition of a little white vinegar (low pH). If you used vinegar or acidic acid in your dyebath, you can add some Soda Ash to neutralize the acid.
Highly acidic or alkaline waste water maybe could upset the balance in a septic tank. We have pH test paper you can use to test the pH before flushing it down the drain.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:59 AM on July 12 [3 favorites]
I tie-dye, and asked a vendor at a show, who said they'd done research and dyes are mostly forms of salt and not particularly toxic. If you're worried about tracking dye into the house, put down a think layer of newspaper, which will trap most of the dye and allow water to drain away. Still compostable.
posted by theora55 at 11:59 AM on July 12
posted by theora55 at 11:59 AM on July 12
Don’t sweat the drips (or hey put down a tarp that will get colorful for free) but definitely dispose of the bulk baths after the ice melts using your wastewater system (after getting into acceptable pH range - this will be posted on your metro’s website). You do not want accumulation of those dyes in soil you interact with or use to grow food.
posted by janell at 1:41 PM on July 12
posted by janell at 1:41 PM on July 12
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We used laundry baskets which were really easy to dump out in a controlled corner of the yard and then rinse out.
posted by dotparker at 11:00 AM on July 12