[steved]

Just bought some Jeyes for disinfecting the stones around the side of the house where the dog likes to unload.
Reading the bottle as i was bored, it says you can use to keep your water butts clean of the slime etc that builds up over the year by adding 5ml per butt.
However, it also says to not get it anywhere plants. As most people who have water butts will no doubt use them to water plants, is the concentration so small as to not have any adverse effects?
Has anyone used it in this way and noticed any problems?
I empty and clean out the communal butts closest to my allotment yearly and its a PITA job!

[New shoot]

I know this link starts with greenhouse cleaning, but there is a bit about cleaning out water butts further down, which says use Jeyes to clean, then rinse away.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=731

[steved]

Thanks for that New Shoot, maybe it was just me, but from the label it seemed you could use it with the 5ml per butt as you go, so to speak?
Maybe i'll give it a swerve, as no one seems to have used it as such.
Cheers
Steve

[New shoot]

I think that's probably the best option.  If that concentration is enough to kill algae spores in the water butt, I would be worried it would also kill plants you used that water on.

You wouldn't popular if that happened on your allotment site 

[mumofstig]

You can use Citrox disinfectant in water butts - it's quite safe 

http://www.organiccatalogue.com/p596/CITROX-DISINFECTANT-500ml/product_info.html

[sunshineband]

I think that's probably the best option.  If that concentration is enough to kill algae spores in the water butt, I would be worried it would also kill plants you used that water on.

You wouldn't popular if that happened on your allotment site 

As well as being fatal to other healthy soil organisms and fauna as well. Swerving it sounds good and Mumof Stig hs provided an excellent suggestion  for ater butt maintenance ☺

[mrsbean]

We always clean the greenhouse with jeyes fluid, then give the soil a quick spray.Never had any problem with my various crops of veg and flowers.

[Christine]

I believe that legally you aren't supposed to use Jeyes on the soil Mrs Bean

[Ivor Backache]

I believe that legally you aren't supposed to use Jeyes on the soil Mrs Bean

I use to use this for club root, but now grow brassicas in pots using mole hill soil mixed with compost. Most chemicals are off the shelf now. Sodium chlorate for weeds and copper solutions for potato are next.
Because this is an European ruling, would anything change if we left the EU?

[mumofstig]

Sodium Chlorate was banned in 2009, Bordeaux mix and other copper sprays were banned in 2014.

Interesting point about Brexit maybe altering rules 

[BabbyAnn]

Sodium Chlorate was banned in 2009, Bordeaux mix and other copper sprays were banned in 2014.

Interesting point about Brexit maybe altering rules 

Would we want them returned to the shelves though?  Both sodium chlorate and copper solutions are harmful to people as well to the environment

[brokenglass]

If Brexit does happen, then the opinion of most observers is that the regulations and the Authorities involved with such within the UK will retain the regulations and the Regulators as it would cost too much to change them.     Difficult to state that something is a known "poison" then just declare it isn't.

[Trikidiki]

Would we want them returned to the shelves though?  Both sodium chlorate and copper solutions are harmful to people as well to the environment

Agreed, Sodium Chlorate is toxic if ingested but no more so than many other products that are still licenced for sale, let's face it bleach is pretty harmful if ingested. There are still copper based products available for sale so it is not necessarily correct that Bordeaux Mixture and some copper sprays were banned for environmental or health reasons.

More likely is that the profit to be made from selling these products (some of which are now in the public domain) will not satisfy the manufacturers' greed in light of the cost of licencing them. It is easier and more profitable to release new products into a now 'closed' market and reap a higher profit margin.

[New shoot]

Would we want them returned to the shelves though?  Both sodium chlorate and copper solutions are harmful to people as well to the environment

Agreed, Sodium Chlorate is toxic if ingested but no more so than many other products that are still licenced for sale, let's face it bleach is pretty harmful if ingested. There are still copper based products available for sale so it is not necessarily correct that Bordeaux Mixture and some copper sprays were banned for environmental or health reasons.

More likely is that the profit to be made from selling these products (some of which are now in the public domain) will not satisfy the manufacturers' greed in light of the cost of licencing them. It is easier and more profitable to release new products into a now 'closed' market and reap a higher profit margin.

Any chemical can be dangerous if used incorrectly, but you can't dismiss the environmental impact of some of them.  The build up of copper over time, in soils that have been treated with sprays like bordeaux mixture, is pretty well documented.  Home growers may use may a lot less product than your average vineyard owner, but there a lot more of us dotted across the land.

Manufacturers are in it to make money.  Why exist otherwise, but unless they can corner the market on some new wonder replacement, it is not in their interest to see stuff banned.  Some slow selling lines have gone because the economics just didn't add up against licensing fees.  Most of stuff now off the market has been because of pollution of soils, watercourses, problems with run-off or potential health threats.

[Trikidiki]

By way of an example:

"Dithane" was replaced by Bayer with "Bayer's  Fruit & Vegetable Disease Control", this was then withdrawn, not due to its copper content as they still sell "copper oxychloride" the active constituent , in other products such as Cupravit 35 in Italy. 'Copper oxychloride' is also still available in the UK as a plant nutrient.
It is approved under EC Regulation 1107/2009 until at least 31/1/2018 and  "is not considered to be a risk to game and wildlife when used as directed."

So did Bayer stop producing "Bayer's  Fruit & Vegetable Disease Control" for environmental reasons?