Gray-water for toilet?

[FastPlastic]

If you're using water from the shower/washer wouldn't there still be soap in the water? Seems to me like it would keep the toilet bowl cleaner then normal.

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted by Binger

could use one of those cleanr tabs in your toilet tank just make the water blue and she will be happy

I think this is a case of the cure being worse than the problem. I think just using drinking water is a better choice than those cleaner things and grey water.
I live out in the country and in our area some people are allowing the local towns to spray their "biosolids" from the sewage treatment plants on their fields. If it was just human waste it wouldn't be a problem, but cleaning products, medications, oil, whatever else people dump in the drain is in there too and super concentrated!. The number of farmers allowing this is getting smaller and smaller so soon it may not be a problem in my neighborhood, probably it will be just put in the dump eventually which is also a waste. But better than contaiminating peoples food and drinking water.

Anyways, use less cleaning crap, more elbow grease and few bacteria are good for you, chlorine not so much.
Ian

[Ford Man]

Originally Posted by bennelson

Hey Folks!


Who cares if your toilet water is drinking quality or not!

The DOG!!!

[Will]

Originally Posted by IndyIan

Anyways, use less cleaning crap, more elbow grease and few bacteria are good for you, chlorine not so much.
Ian

Very good point there. A few bacteria here and there keep our immunity systems strong! I don't think any exposure to things like chlorine helps.

[Ryland]

I was thinking abut doing something like this idea only with the waste water from a home reverse osmosis water treatment system, because they tend to produce alot of waste water same thing with water softeners.
using a pump with a pressure switch built in to it a small expansion tank to act as a buffer, a pare of check valves on a "T" with the pump on one side, a float valve in the storage tank that would open up a fresh water valve that gos to th other side of the "T" with a check valve there, so if there is water in the storage tank it gets used first.
if you have a home septic system this would lower your water usage thus help keep your system healthy instead of diluting it with water.
in the next few weeks I plan to help hook up one of those reverse osmosis systems only the plan is to run it in to a 5 gallon bucket and use that for watering plants, with an over flow that goes to the drain.

[bennelson]

Ryland,

Let us know more about your project when you do it. Take plenty of photos!

[Clev]

My house is on a hill, and there is enough room in the unfinished basement to stand up. Currently, the washer is redirected down a pipe along the interior basement wall and then out into one of the flower beds in front of the house.

I'm still thinking about what else I can do with that water. I'd like to filter it into a cistern (to remove lint and such), and then pump it out to water the other flower beds.

I don't think I want to mess with any other plumbing, but if I were still single, I'd run the shower into a bucket while waiting for the water to warm up (which takes a long time; but pipe insulation is yet another project), and then dump the bucket to flush.

We run on a septic tank, so technically all of my water is recycled anyway, but I feel that the washer is just a bit too much for the septic tank to handle.

[BrianAbington]

seems like this would be a good system for a new home/remodel.

[conradpdx]

One of the main things you'll need to consider is purging the tanks on a regular basis. I know that some building codes now allow gray water systems but most require the holding tanks be emptied every 24-48 hours. I believe they ask this to help keeping the mosquito population down and because the water will get rancid with all the little dirty bits.

Now honestly most the systems being used on residential housing are typically "illegal" or not to code. So do you what will. but if you plan on selling anytime soon make sure you can hook the old system back up.

Now with washing machines unless you have diapers or other items that frequently have fecal matter on them you can use this water directly on plants and lawn. You can even get away with "non-green" detergents. The plants love the phosphorous that is contained in standard detergents. The reason your local municipality doesn't like them is that it will get into the local water source and feed the algae which will choke out the rest of the life in the river/lake/ whatever.

There is lots of info out there on gray water. Most importantly you need to make sure that all pipes and tanks are labeled boldly as non-potable water.

edit PDF too big for attaching here will find link to pdf and post it here.

Sorry PDF is the state of California guide for using gray water for landscaping, with no mentioning of use in toilets.

[bennelson]

I like the idea of "re-using" waste water from the washer or shower, because it is all kept inside the house. Much of the legality of grey-water systems is based on the whole "dumping dirty water in your yard" thing and much of people's irrational fears.

Good idea to label the greywater tank.

I also plan to have it be easy to dis-connect/re-connect the system for maintenence, if there are any problems with it, or removal if needed.

Since water would be contained inside the house, there would be no problems with mosquitos or anything.

I was also thinking that there may be the side benefit of retaining more heat in the house. You would be surprised how much heat goes right down the drain with your shower water!

It might be possible to design a heat exchanger as part of this system so that incoming (cold) well water could get pre-heated before going to the water heater.