This is the fifth article in a 6 part series on Saving Water. See part 1 on measuring your tap water, part 2 on benefits of a water tank, part 3 on gutters and drains and part 4 on saving water around the house. Living in Sydney, Australia I’m acutely aware of the value of this precious resource.
When it comes to conserving water, this is the big one. As greywater comprises around three quarters of a household’s waste water, it’s well worth looking at. After all, saving water = saving money.
What is Greywater?
First, a definition.
The water you see around the house can generally be classified as one of three types –
White / fresh water : this is the clear water you drink.
Greywater / graywater : this water contains a small amount of dirt, and is water that has been previously used within the house. The water which leaves the washing machine, for example.
Blackwater : this is the waste water from the toilet.
Just remember the greywater = previously used part, and you’ll begin to see just how much of the stuff there is available.
What can greywater be used for?
At this point you may be wondering exactly what you can do with all of this slightly cloudy water. After all, it contains everything that was washed off your hands, dishes, clothes and so on.
There are two answers to this, as you’ll quickly see in the sections on collecting greywater. It can either be used as-is for a few things, or cleaned up and re-used in any number of ways.
Using greywater as-is
There are a few ways to collect the water in the house, and use it on an appropriate (more on that in a minute) part of the garden. These are all free, and are things that anyone can start doing today. Excellent.
The Bucket Method
In an earlier article on saving water around your house, I mentioned the idea of putting a bucket in the shower, specifically to catch the cold water that comes out before things start to warm up. Once the bucket is full, put it to one side until after your shower; and then pour it on the garden.
An alternative is to use this bucket of water to flush the toilet. Simply pour the water into the bowl, instead of flushing. It’ll automatically flush everything away.
NB : Having a bath? The same thing applies. Grab the bucket afterwards.
Simple redirection
Several appliances (notably washing machines, air-conditioning units and dehumidifers) enable a hose to be connected to the back (often just a regular garden hose) to redirect the waste water. Simply attach a hose to the back of the machine, and point it to an appropriate part of the garden. Perfect.
What is an ‘appropriate’ part of the garden?
In the examples above, much of the water was already clean to begin with; putting it on any area of the garden is fine.
With greywater, however, some plants enjoy it more than others. If you have a choice, use it to water :
Lawns : most grasses are fine with greywater. If the greywater is particularly cloudy, just alternate its use with fresh water.
Trees and large shrubs : the majority of these are fine. Greywater tends to be slightly alkaline, so trees such as Oaks do particularly well with it.
Roses : roses also tend to enjoy slightly alkaline conditions, so greywater is perfect.
Alkaline-loving plants : whilst roses are perhaps the best known, a number of other alkaline-friendly plants enjoy a bit of greywater. These include bougainvilleas, agapanthus and honeysuckle.
As a general rule, use the greywater for ornamental plants rather than those you eat. Whilst there are exceptions, this will keep things running smoothly.
NB : If the garden is physically lower than the machine spitting out the water, you won’t even need a pump. Just plug in and enjoy.
Things to avoid
The vegetable garden : although some vegetables really don’t mind it, the majority don’t like it at all.
Irrigation systems with small holes at some point (even the sprinkler heads) : these occasionally become clogged with the larger material in greywater.
Cleaning up the greywater
As I mentioned earlier, the other way to handle greywater is to collect it; and then clean it up a little. When people talk of the costs associated with greywater, this filtration is usually involved. Effective, yes; but not exactly cheap. Yet.
Why clean the greywater?
By filtering the greywater, the clean water produced can be re-used to flush toilets, run the dishwasher, fill the washing machine and so on. It can also be stored for much longer periods of time.
How is this done?
There are a number of systems on the market for doing this (collection, filtration and storage), with the expected range of appearances and costs. These systems generally work by :
Collection and filtration : the water is taken as it goes down the drain, and redirected into a filtration system.
There’s absolutely no difference in appearance at this point – in fact your neighbours may already be doing it. You’d never know.
Storage : once the majority of impurities have been removed, the water is directed to a storage tank.
Re-use : the storage tank is connected to the wet rooms of the house. Whenever the toilet is flushed, or the washing machine is used (as well as many more devices) – this cleaned greywater is used.
NB : If there isn’t quite enough water in the storage tank, the regular supply of fresh water is automatically used.
Keeping the greywater clean, naturally
As you can see, greywater is simply a mix of the stuff you pour down the drain (except the toilet, of course). No matter whether you’re using a bucket or a cutting-edge filtration system; life will be much, much easier if the water is a little cleaner to begin with.
To keep the greywater as clean as possible, take a look at your household cleaning products. There are a number of items that will do a superb cleaning job (particularly shampoos, laundry and dishwashing detergents); as well as keeping your plants happy. If you’re putting greywater on the garden, these are well worth considering.
Of course, all products vary in their cost, appearance and effectiveness – ask your neighbours what they are using. Regardless of the brand, however, here are a few general guidelines :
- use products which are phosphate free
- use products which are low in sodium
- use products which state that all of their ingredients are biodegradable
- use products which are concentrated
- use products which can be used in cold water
Although this sounds like a bit of work, most of the products with ‘green‘ names will tick these boxes. And your garden will look great.
Final thought on using greywater
When it comes to saving water, the use of greywater is an obvious choice. Whether you’re using a bucket or a complete filtration system; using greywater just makes sense.
Next week I’ll be taking a look at the many things possible when you’re building a new house, or renovating an existing one. Self-sustainability (at least as far as water is concerned) really isn’t as difficult as you might think.
In the meantime, check out some of the previous articles in this series. Enjoy.
Thanks for the information! I just put in a pond last spring and I am truly enjoying it. I found a great product I thought I would share with you. it is a remote controlled, floating fountain that does not require any installation! It is the Toba Mgic Fountain and my wife and I are so enjoying it. Check it out at http://www.tobafountains.com!
Scott, you’re the most passionate, well written environmental author that I have ever met.
Glad to have you on my team.
Marty : Haven’t seen those before, love the idea. Fountains are very relaxing to watch.
Rob : Wow. Cheers.
Thanks, Rob! I agree with you…the writing in this column was definitely worth the read! Thank you so much, Scott!
yada yada this is boring how can you sit here and talk about this stuff>>?????
Well DJ, believe it or not, in some places in the world, it’s critically important to talk about this stuff.
Interesting post. Thanks for sharing.
yea ok whatever its still stupid who caares
yea but who???? thats is sooooo stupid its not like we can actually change the environment. the people who do care are people who are homos! sorry about that but its true, and what are you talking about anyway how is it critically important huh?????? tell me
well first DJ, where do you live? Country I mean.
um why would i tell you??? you could like come and find me so i dont think so. i dont trust anybody on here. So you still havent told me why its important! What country do you live in ROB????
I live in Canada DJ. The reason I ask where you live is because your country may not be in as dire straights as say Australia. Australians have water restrictions and laws about water usage. Conservation of water is a fairly critical issue there, hence the author, Scott Bird, knows a thing or two about it.
I’m interested in fresh water conservation especially because my country has the largest supply of it and I most certainly don’t want to have our leaders sell it out from under us to the US or anyone else.
Water conservation is fairly important. Maybe it’s just my age.
who cares? My family is from Canada! Its not a issue, everybody else makes it an issue. oh yea ive been there! who cares about scott bird anybody can turn a paper in to some work of art! it doesnt matter if they take it from your country to the Us the us is better anyways
are you not going to reply back now??? or is it because I told you???? oooo yea ive been there too! So ha ha ha
are you gay???? because you wrote this:Scott, you’re the most passionate, well written environmental author that I have ever met. that seems like it to me. You can tell me anything!!!!1
Dj, if you’re not adding to the conversation, then no, I’m not going to take the time to discuss this with you. Take care of yourself
robe is a punk for saying that!!!!
rob is a bitch!!
my bad for expressing my opinion. you are just mad because I exposed your secret. boo hoo hoo Rob is sad now!!!!!
okay here I am adding to the conversation:::: How does this greywater system work???? Do you just put in the ground and then use it????? Its very confusing to be honest and Rob Im not talking to you on this one anybody else can put there info on this but Id rather not talk to robby right now. i dont feel comfortable abround him because of his NASTY NASTY secret.
DJ – your comments are so infantile that they almost aren’t worth my time or anyone else’s for that matter. Why do you feel the need to go on someone’s blog and bash them? Give us your blog address so we can see what kind of brilliant wisdom you have written.
My take – those that can do. Those that can’t – bash others.
For what it’s worth, I’m Rob’s girlfriend and I can guarantee you he isn’t gay. But if he was he’d still be my best friend.
You realize in your last few comments you’ve bashed Rob personally, Canadians, gays and environmentalists. What’s next gender? You wanna bash me too.
I have better things to do with my time and the only reason I commented is because I find your comments sad and humorous.
im sorry somebody hacked into mine and messed it up sorry!!!!
so you didn’t back up your site?
so let’s see – your site is hacked, so rather than fix it, or back it up and reload it – you choose to visit someone else’s and act as a heckler. Interesting how some people choose to spend their time.
no i didnt back up my site i didnt know i was suppost to. How do you act as a heckler??? I bet you were really offended by what they said. Im really sorry for everything though.
DJ – Go here, get this plugins and backup your site (they’re for wordpress though)
We dont take anything personally, no, we were not offended
This website is really helping me for a research project I’m doing.