[phaster]

FYI I'm in san diego and as ya might have heard ca is in the middle of a drought.

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/unprecedented-cut-in-colorado-river-flow-ordered-due-to-drought

Just thought I'd ask who out there uses gray water? And kinda curious if ya do, what water saving techniques do you employ??

I myself have been kinda lazy, and don't have modern dishwasher, so to clean my dishes I basically take the garden hose and blast all the major food crud into a compost heap. I basically don't cook any red or white meat at home cause I hate having to deal with cleaning up congealed animal fat. I have two dogs and noticed when I used the garden hose clean up method for meals that produced waste animal fats, my dogs would eat dirt from the compost pile. To eliminate that issue, I settled upon a mostly vege and fish diet (I basically only cook fish at home pan fried in olive oil), which produces very little crud that has to be hosed off (matter of fact I scrap the fish/olive oil crud into the dry dog food)

I use as little dish detergent as possible, I basically use a spray bottle. I tried using bio-degradable soap but noticed things were not as clean as I'd like.

As far as washing, I have a front loading washing machine and use very little detergent (in the pre-wash mode), and let that go down the drain. Then use the normal wash mode as a "rinse," basically the house I have was built in 1929 and the normal way things were done back then was the washing machine water was emptied into a washing sink (which had a drain).

So what I do is let the "rinse" water collect then siphon the water (with a garden house into the yard - which helps keep the dust down since its a lost cause to have a manicured green lawn with dogs. BTW I found that a 5 gal net used for paint sprayers works really well at removing 98% of the lint and dog hair from the water from the washing machine.

http://www.amazon.com/Gallon-Elastic-Opening-Strainer-Pieces/dp/B00883KBQ4

[dohboi]

I do much the same thing. Low tech is often the best. (Be sure not to give your dogs fish bones, though.)

[Ayoob]

I piss off the back deck into the trees, does that count?

[RobertInget]

One would think knowledge like this would be common practice in
arid locations. In Southern Oregon we have experienced long droughts
in the past, saved only by one monster winter storm that kept reservoirs
half full at best. Water conservation in our area is a topic of interest.

If you are on a septic system, you are not only wasting 'gray' water, one is doing great harm to its delicate ecology flushing anything but human waste. In my winter hang, septic systems are too primitive to deal with paper. It may come as a slight shock to some but near every toilet
is a sign in english "Never put paper in toilet". All wash water is simply
directed towards a fruit tree.. end of problem.

Used dish or clothes washer water should NEVER be piped into your septic field. For most readers here redirecting bath and kitchen
drains should not be a challenge.

Eventually, out of necessity, waterless uranials and composting units will replace even so called 'low flush' toilets now mandated.

Distribution of unfiltered gray water can be challenging. I often let it
sit for a few days before permitting it to flood irrigate a small garden.
Unless you are a strict organic gardener, detergent based gray water is all the fertilizer you will ever need.

[Paulo1]

Sure it counts.

Here, on Vancouver Island water is not a problem...(yet). But grey water is not good for the septic system as too much liquid can flush solids into the drain field and disrupt bacterial decompostion. In our house I made a grey water pit with drain rock that is covered up with some lawn. Our kitchen sink goes into that as well as the laundry sink and washer. It is about 10' deep. All of our baths/showers and other sinks go into some big O drain pipe and is diverted to run under the compost pile which keeps the compost moist in the summer. In winter excess simply leeches out into the woods next door.

It is all illegal, but who is looking? We are supposed to divert all plumbing and drains into the septic system, and when that plugs I can contract one of the new mound systems for 20 grand like they are doing all over North America. Grey water and septic systems are together, an inspection and engineering scam. Apparently, one needs a ticket and certification to understand slope and that shit runs downhill. And yes, I also piss outside as much as possible.

Cheers...Paulo

[Shaved Monkey]

I dont have my kitchen sink plumbed to grey water system so I wash dishes in a plastic bucket in the sink and share it around the garden.
Washing machine, shower and hand basin go on the garden.
I have sewage system so unfortunately export lots of valuable nutrients and water.
I pee on the garden though.

[Keith_McClary]

I have two dogs and noticed when I used the garden hose clean up method for meals that produced waste animal fats, my dogs would eat dirt from the compost pile.

Why not just let the dogs lick off the dishes?

I live at the headwaters, so everyone downstream uses graywater.

[Scrub Puller]

Yair . . . At our present home we don't have to mess about with greywater and it all goes through the septic tank.

I think regulations require a separate "grease trap" but an old bush plumber told me years ago that this was bullshit and the oil and grease and food scraps enhance the biological action. There could well be something to it as we only have a 2000 litre tank and it hasn't been pumped in 25 years.

With this old system we can run as much water through it as the drain ground can absorb, solids can't clog the overflow . . . well they could but there is a baffle and the water runs off the top.

Cheers.

[phaster]

I piss off the back deck into the trees, does that count?

I've never seen "gray" piss, mine has always be "yellow"

btw other ways I try and save water is to take a "navy shower"

since it takes some time for hot water to come out of the shower head, I have a bucket in the shower stall to collect the cold water which I either use to flush the toilet or often times just use for plants

[toolpush]

I live in the city,but when we went through a drought a few years ago, I installed 11,000 litres (2900gal) of water tanks. Plumbed them into the toilet and washing machine with a float valve to maintain minimum level from city water.

For years the washing machine, top loader but I am just using rain water anyway, and the pump out hose has been a 1" polly pipe, which runs into 40ft of perforated 2" drainage hose. I just run this over the grass, which ever area needs it the most.

Maybe not the most compliant of systems, but it has worked for years and I ensure none of the grey water makes it to the storm water, which is the main problem the regulators are trying to avoid.

[phaster]

I live in the city,but when we went through a drought a few years ago, I installed 11,000 litres (2900gal) of water tanks. Plumbed them into the toilet and washing machine with a float valve to maintain minimum level from city water.

For years the washing machine, top loader but I am just using rain water anyway, and the pump out hose has been a 1" polly pipe, which runs into 40ft of perforated 2" drainage hose. I just run this over the grass, which ever area needs it the most.

Maybe not the most compliant of systems, but it has worked for years and I ensure none of the grey water makes it to the storm water, which is the main problem the regulators are trying to avoid.

FWIW I think the biggest problem "authorities" are trying address with "gray water" systems have to do w/ public health because fecal matter in water causes cholera (and could result in death)

the second reason "authorities" would have concerns about gray water systems has to do with $$$ to keep the bureaucratic dilettante on the public payroll (i.e "fees" for building permits)

[Newfie]

I posted this elsewhere, but there are so many threads on the topic I thought I'd cross post it here as well.

IF you have any desire to have your own reverse osmosis water purifier here is a link to a pretty popular marine unit.

http://www.cruiserowaterandpower.com/Wa ... OgodAGAAcw

[toolpush]

Phaster,

I don't know what the bug count for pathogens is in fresh laundry or shower water, but I doubt it is very high. It won't be zero as you have to wash your arse in the shower and your undies will always carry a trace amount of fecal matter, but I am sure it falls into insignificance when compared to dogs defecating in the street.

What surprises me is the so called professional grey water systems actually incorporate tanks and hold the grey water. These tank end up as great fermentors and i am sure they do a great job of breeding up the pathogens, they certainly do a great job of breeding up the putrefactives.

As I said before, as long as the grey water is well spread, kept aerobic, and doesn't have an expressway to the storm water, your local ecosystem will take care of business.

As for you second point of the regulator wanting their piece of silver, I couldn't agree more.