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gray water safe
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| LABEL REPORT CARD |
| How meaningful is the label? |
Is the label verified? |
Is the meaning of the label consistent? |
Are the label standards publicly available? |
Is information about the organization publicly available? |
Is the organization free from conflict of interest? |
Was the label developed with broad public and industry input? |
| Not Meaningful |
No |
No |
No1 |
No2 |
No3 |
No |
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1. There are no government or official standards for this term.
2. There is no independent organization behind this label.
3. The producer or manufacturer decides whether to use the claim and is not free from its own self-interest.
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LABEL CATEGORY:
General Claims |
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WHERE YOU'LL FIND THIS GENERAL CLAIM:
 CLEANING PRODUCTS
FLOOR, FURNITURE & WOOD CLEANERS
GLASS & METAL CLEANERS
KITCHEN & BATHROOM CLEANERS
OTHER CLEANERS
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WHAT THIS GENERAL CLAIM MEANS:
There is no official or government definition of “gray water safe”.
“Graywater” is used by plumbers and others to mean any water that has been used in the home, except water from toilets (which is called “blackwater”). Some definitions of graywater also exclude water from the kitchen sink, dishwasher, and garbage disposal. Graywater includes water from bathroom sinks, washing machines, and baths.
Graywater can be reused for different purposes, most commonly for landscape irrigation, thus conserving fresh water. Each individual in a household uses about 10,000 gallons of graywater per year. There are different systems for safely collecting and treating graywater, depending on the intended use of the graywater, the quality and quantity of the graywater, and applicable legal and health regulations. Graywater may be contaminated by illness in the household or from human waste (e.g., when a washing machine is used to wash diapers). Different states have different laws governing the treatment of gray water.
“Graywater safe” claims are used on various cleaning products to imply that they will not interfere with the proper functioning of graywater collection and treatment systems. However, according to the National Small Flows Clearinghouse (NSFC), any cleaning product is safe to use with graywater systems, so long as the product is used in amounts typically used in cleaning in accordance with the product label. Even products such as bleaches and disinfectants can be safely used and disposed of, so long as the quantities used and disposed of are at levels that would result from normal household use in accordance with the label instructions regarding such use. Only products like pesticides and paint thinner are not graywater safe.
Foods, drugs, and cosmetics are required to list their ingredients (with a few exceptions, such as fragrances in cosmetics), but household cleaning products are not required to disclose their ingredients (except for disinfectants or other ingredients considered to be antimicrobial pesticides).
[NOTE: the National Small Flows Clearinghouse (NSFC) is a non-profit organization established under an amendment to the 1977 Clean Water Act and funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide objective information about onsite wastewater collection and treatment systems, including gray water systems. NSFC is based at West Virginia University.]
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WHO VERIFIES THIS GENERAL CLAIM?
There is no organization that verifies the use of this claim other than the company manufacturing or marketing the product.
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CONSUMERS UNION EVALUATION:
How meaningful is the label?
“Graywater safe” is not meaningful. There is no definition, standard or criteria used for judging whether a consumer product or its ingredients are specifically “graywater safe,” including under what conditions such a claim can be made, and no assurance that such a claim has been independently verified. Moreover, most households do not have a grey water system. Instead, all waster waste goes to a sewage treatment plant or a household septic tank system.
Does an organization verify that the label standards are met?
No.
Is the meaning of the label consistent?
No, it can be interpreted in different ways.
Are the label standards publicly available?
No, there are no government or official standards for this term.
Is information about the standard organization publicly available?
No, there is no independent organization behind this label.
Is the organization behind the label free from conflict of interest?
No, there is no organization independently certifying this claim. The producer or manufacturer decides whether to use the claim and is not free from its own self-interest.
Was the label developed with broad public and industry input?
No, there are no standards behind this general claim.
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LINKS FOR MORE INFO:
The National Small Flows Clearinghouse operates a free technical assitance hotline; call 1-800-624-8301. For $2 NSFC offers an information packet (Item #WWPLPE28). For more information, click here.
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