Thread: water savin tips needed

I wrote a thesis on this subject last year .... I plan to put a web site up shortly that will display my findings.

With the washing machine be very careful that you aren't asking the washing machine pump to do more than it was designed for otherwise you will burn it out and it will cost $$$$'s. I really don't want to get started on this subject as I can talk like there is no tomorrow (its my own little cyclone). I would suggest a book called .... "Not just down the drain" by Stuart McQuire and/or "Water efficient Garden" by Wendy Van Dok. Both are very good reads and a must for grey water reuse. Or you could wait until I have my page up and running.

Stinky.

A simple little ditty for Toilet water useage:

If it's yellow, let it mellow.
If it's brown, flush it down.

Gordon.

You could, using a holding tank and an on demand pressure pump. However if you are going to the trouble and expense of a tank and pump it may be better to use the grey water in your garden (very low cost) and using a larger tank to catch water off your roof for domestic supply. I live in an area that isn't supplied with town water (thankfully as it just means higher rates and the supply of an almost unpotable liquid). I use the washing machine water in the garden (the average top loader uses about 120 L a load!) and we have a 26KL tank that catches water off our 180M2 roof. With our reasonably economical use I've estimated that this is enough for at least three months. You haven't said where you are so I don't know whether this is an option due to very lowrainfall or industrial fallout.

Mick

The stroage of grey water is a no no for any length of time over 24 hours. The microbial growth is amazing increasing the risk of contamination. If you do water your garden (we dont bother) it is better to put the washing machine water directly onto the garden where it will be absorbed and reduce the risks. I would agree with Mick that rain water is better for the toilet. We divert our shower water directly onto the lawn with excellent results. I plan to upgrade the system with the garden makeover and incorporate a sub soil distribution system. If you plan to use the washing machine water on the garden be careful with your choice of detergent ... it can build up in the soil over time and kill your plants ....... oh no I have started now and will find it hard to stop .... contain yourself Stinky...

all the gray water from our house goes to a tank & is pumped to a sprinkler that we moove regularly.
A submersable pump with a float swith. all automatic easy.

just have to keep the sprinkler head clear.

our shire only permits this on acreage.

Hey Stinky, you're probably all read up on it, but there's low density poly pipe available with tiny holes in it, used for sub-soil irrigation. New regulations just out (round here anyway) stipulate it must be coloured blue for waste water, probably applies to grey water as well. Tertiary treatment sewage systems are replacing septic systems in a lot of new installations around here (depends on your soil absorbtion & distances from watercourses etc etc) and until recently they all had pop up sprinklers to get rid of the water. Now, however they must have 200M2 of sub-soil irrigation. It's all good for water conservation and reducing pollution and disease but it adds more costs onto new buildings (don't even get me started about the new energy efficiency rules!)

Mick

Personally I would start at the other end and try to cut down how much water you USE and then worry about saving grey water.
Eg. - Use a Front Loader washing machine (got to be yout first step, many use about 60 litres for the whole cycle, wash and four rinses, compared to 80 or 90 litres PER FILL on a top loader, that is a wash + one rinse = 160 to 180 litres for the whole cycle, and top loaders don't wash as well and use heaps more detergent...)
- fit a water efficient dunny. Older dual flush dunnies are 9l/4.5l, newer ones are 6l/3l.
- water efficient shower - some are awful but there are some good ones too and some of the cheaper ones are great. Mine cost about $25 from that crowd who flog them in shopping centres, it has a great shower from fairly low water pressure and has never played up, it's now over 10 years old...
- you can get a water diverter to put under your laundry sink from Bunnings, so the washing machine pumps out just the same but if you flick the lever under the sink, the water goes down the hose onto your garden. You must use a good size hose (say 1") and put the washing machine hose into the sink not the bypass outlet, so that if the garden hose runs a bit slow the water can back up into the sink without flooding.
- Re detergent, I used pure soap for a while thinking it was better on the garden, but the vege patch soil seemed to clog up. When I changed to a gentle detergent the soil improved markedly. The detergent I use now is Milton InfaCare concentrate, I use only about 2 teaspoons in a front loader, it doesn't make me itch like many others do. It comes in a plastic tub like NapiSan. It used to be sold in supermarkets for over $7 a tub, now it's only in GO-LO where it only costs $2.50!

Chris.

Chris, you're right there, most people are unaware of how much water they use. I've only become more water conscious (and pretty miserly ) since buying a place without town water. We had the driest weather ever on record last year (the rainforest on the range pretty much died) and right in the middle of it our bore pump died! I'm looking at replacing our top loader with a front loader when finances permit, but I'm trying to find one that will run off a generator as extended power outages are the norm here. I've bought a new 6/3 toilet but it's still waiting to be fitted. I've fitted a watersaver shower head and I've made even larger water savings by only drinking beer.

Mick

Another thing to add to your list of water saving devices is, believe it or not, a dishwasher. We have done experiments where we put the outlet hose into a sink with the plug in. It filled the sink, right up to the edges on each side. That isn't a real lot of water especially considering it gets the dishes cleaner than hand washing. Some of the new machines, such as Mieles', actually monitor the particulate concentration in the water and alter the length of the wash cycle accordingly. Some washing machines do the same thing. Of course, this is expensive technology.

As mentioned, front loading washing machines use much less water than top loaders, and are gentler on your clothes.

One thing to remember, apart from being germy, water from the washing machine is also caustic and corrosive. Use with caution.

Mick,

There is a product called "leeky hose" or something like that which is made in Richmond Melbourne that is manufactured out of old tires. The product is porus but doesn't contain holes and thus doesn't clog with the grey water. Subsurface irrigation is recommended as the grey water doesn't pool on the surface where childeren and animals can come into contact with it. Sprinklers really arent a great option as they can block if there isn't adequate prefiltering and they also introduce aerosol droplets that can travel and be enhailed but not only the user but also the neighbours. The dishwasher is a great idea ... we only have two of us in the house and we would run a full load every 3-4 days at around 19L per load. If we were to fill a sink every morning and night we would be using much more water than this ... and we would have to do the dishes. Do not however use any kitchen waste water again .... let it go to be treated at the farm.
I will post a link to the web site when I work out how to make one .... the web site that is not the link.

Remember ..... Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Stinky

Water saving

I too would think about the amount of water one uses before trying to recycle greywater, when thinking of water saving.

I am just about to build a composting toilet for my weakender.

They are standard now I believe in national parks.

I was tempted not to hook up hot water to the shower, now that would save some water, but it gets down to -8 at night, and me thinks many including myself may skip shower, so hotwater will have to flow.

The more one is aware of our water resource the better.

Good Luck

Pulpo

Oh Dear Pulpo, a composting toilet for your WEAK ENDER.
Couldn't let that one go, is that the tube on the south side of the bladder in need of Viagra
Surprised Stoppers missed it!

thanks so much for all the helpful tips.

Well, Stinky, i am sure that i look forward to ur new web site. do post the link once it is up.

currently, i have the washing machine hose outlet to a big pail as storage. so far the water did not store over 2 days before used up. no stink, the water didn't turn turbid (signs of microbial growth), still smell fragrant. it is only used with a bailer to flush the toilet and to wash the kitchen floor. a bit of physical work here.

the idea to use a low volume water shower head is an excellent idea. i am using it and despite cutting down the amount of water used, i did not experience the drop in water pressure. Thanks man!!

C

Journeyman Mick,

Drop me a line when you are thinking about getting that front loader. I repair washing machines in my spare time (not that I have had any lately...) and collect a few vintage automatic washers. I also live on solar power with genny backup so I may be able to steer you towards models that get on with generators. It can be a hassle with front loaders, most of them, particularly the better ones, tend to have electronic speed controllers that are very fussy about their supply. I have worked on machines that do not work at all on the genny, they just fill up and sit there. Others work very weakly, not really tumbling just twitching the drum. One with a computer controlled timer would drop out and reset each time it went to tumble - so it never progressed past the first step.
You can get around this on some machines with a well regulated genny and a quality power filter (a true filter not just a surge buster). There are several different motor/speed controller technologies, some are fine. Gennies are not as bad as inverters, too. I have a top quality expensive brand inverter for my solar power system, with inbuilt power filters and advertised "cleaner than the mains" power but I have had a GE and a Bendix machine that didn't work on it. However my current Asko washing machine works perfectly on it, but many other models of Asko don't. One particular model of Asko, no longer made, is notorious.


Chris.