I've heard that its illegal in PA anyways, to use "gray" water such as bath water or washer water. I've personally been using bath water for a while now and my plants don't mind the suds, I even use bubble bath and bath oils. I just bought a sump pump and place it in the tub when I'm done and attach that to one of those roll-a-hoses that's fabric on the outside and pull that through my house to my garden. I've seen where you can rig the washer to discharge its water into a hose which leads to your garden but if you use a shared washer that may mean disconnecting the rigging after every time you use it. Sorry I can't comment on the effects of detergetns or borax on plants becuase I haven't tried it. good luck!

Don't use the water on your garden or lawn if you've added borax. Borax is poisonous to many plants (some more than others) but increasing amounts will eventually kill everything. It moves very slowly through the soil, so if you get too much on the soil it can take years to recover.

There was a thread on the Soil forum recently about this.

When I was growing up my mom did this all the time. Normal detergent -- tide, whatever -- and it greened up the grass real nice!

If you want to make sure that you use a "safe" detergent, I can recommend Seventh Generation's -- all natural, biodegradable, etc. www.seventhgen.com

There are usually more phosphates in the water after bathing/washing that plants can really enjoy. Just check that it isn't illegal. It is here in UT.

I did a lot of research on this last night. Turns out it is basically illegal in most states. Some are OK -- I think New Mexico allows something like 250 gallons a month to be put out.

In most states, you can use graywater, but it has to be put into a dredge (?) field, so that it can do under the surface watering.

And, apparently, you shouldn't put graywater in a rain barrel, as it can get nasty.

The link has a lot of info regarding all of this.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gray water Central

You can buy laundry discs that do the same thing as
detergent which are both surfactants (allows the
water to penetrate the clothes which is what actually
does the washing) According to my local department
of health, the washerwater has actually got bacteria
and so forth in it after washing. You could put it through
a sand filter if you wanted which takes care of that.
You could also water under the ground with it, that is
okay in our County. You could also put it in your
toilet tank to flush with if you wanted to.

We had a wringer washer when I was a kid and my mom ALWAYS dumped the water on the flower beds. She had great flowers and not much in the way of insect damage.

A late response as I've only recently joined.
It can't be illegal in Texas as George Bush Jnr apparently recycles gray water onto his ranch grounds .

My washer drains outside, so it does'nt fill up my septic tank. My grass loves this water. Sue

Arizona allows use of graywater if you follow several rules. http://cals.arizona.edu/cochise/waterwise/graywater.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: U of A Agriculture

according to this site, both borax and washing soda are no go's for the garden:

http://ecologycenter.org/factsheets/greywater-cleaning-products/

Yes this is a thing and its called Gray Water. In California we help homeowners install a gray water system and use the water from faucets, showers, and laundry to store for use in the garden. Works like a charm and reduces your lawn watering costs tremendously.