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The EPA estimates that the average household uses more than 300 gallons of water per day. This number can even be quite a bit higher during the warmer months as a result of people frequently watering their lawns, gardens, and flowers.
Using clean water for things like flushing toilets is also a major waste, but at the same time, it’s the only option most people have. The most effective way to cut down on this type of waste and reduce your household’s water bills is with a greywater recycling system.
This article provides an overview of everything you need to know about this type of system, including its operation and functionality.
What Is Greywater?
You always produce one of two types of water when using your plumbing system. The first type is blackwater, which is the name given to the contaminated water that goes down toilets. Blackwater is chock-full of bacteria, meaning it’s not suitable for any purpose until it’s been fully treated at either a sewage treatment plant or in a septic system.
The second type is greywater, which refers to the water used for bathing, hand washing in the bathroom, laundry, cooking, and washing dishes. While greywater can also contain some bacteria, it’s considered safe to use for certain purposes as long as it’s first filtered. The purpose of filtering the greywater is primarily to remove items like hair, lint, and other organic debris.
What Can You Use Recycled Greywater For?
The average person produces around 30 to 40 gallons of greywater per day, accounting for approximately 80% of their total daily water usage. All of this water is usually wasted when it goes down the drain. This is where a greywater recycling system is beneficial, as it allows you to reuse all of the greywater your household produces to eliminate this waste.
Greywater recycling systems are most commonly used for irrigation, namely watering lawns, trees, and flowers. While you may think that watering plants with the same water you previously used to wash your clothes would be harmful, this isn’t the case, as long as you take the proper precautions.
That means only using natural, biodegradable soaps and detergents that are designated as safe for greywater systems. It also means never using bleach for your whites or pouring it down the shower or bathroom sink, as bleach will most certainly damage or kill any type of vegetation.
Not only is greywater not harmful to plants if you take the proper precautions, but it can actually be beneficial. That’s because the organic materials in greywater essentially act like fertilizer that feeds and nourishes plants.
However, greywater isn’t safe to use for plants that produce food because it can lead to the food becoming contaminated. That means you don’t want to use it for a vegetable garden or any kind of fruit tree unless you don’t plan on ever eating the produce.
Some places allow you to use recycled greywater for flushing toilets. However, there are extremely strict rules and plumbing code requirements you must follow for this type of setup to be legal.
For instance, the greywater must be disinfected and treated along with being filtered, as the bacteria in it could otherwise pose a serious health risk. Some places also require the greywater to be colored to make sure that you can easily distinguish it from fresh water.
The greywater storage tank typically has to be flushed every so often as well to get rid of all the old water that wasn’t used. The reason that this requirement is in place is also to prevent potential health risks. You generally never want to store greywater for much longer than 24 hours.
That’s because it turns stagnant and starts to go bad quite quickly as a result of bacteria in the water feeding on organic material and rapidly multiplying. Greywater also starts to smell almost exactly like sewage if it sits for too long.
All of these requirements are part of the reason that most people choose not to use recycled greywater for their toilets. Installing a recycling system that meets the requirements can be quite costly.
Using greywater for flushing also often leads to the internal components in a toilet wearing out more quickly. The toilet may experience more frequent issues as well, such as leaking and running due to bacteria and biofilm in the water collecting on components like the rubber flapper.
How Are Greywater Recycling Systems Installed?
Installing a greywater recycling system can be somewhat complicated, even if you’re only going to use the system for outdoor irrigation. However, it depends on the type of setup you want and where you’re collecting the greywater from.
The simplest option is often to just collect and recycle the greywater from your washing machine, as this can sometimes be done without having to cut into and redo part of your existing drain system. For instance, you could just connect to the drain hose on your washing machine and pipe the water directly into the greywater storage tank.
If you also want to collect the greywater from your bathroom sink and shower, quite a bit more work will be required. In this case, you’ll have to disconnect those drain pipes so that they no longer empty into the vertical plumbing stack that leads to the main sewer line. The pipes then need to be rerouted to wherever the greywater storage tank is.
Depending on the location of the storage tank, you’ll also often need to install a pump to move the water to the tank. The only exception is if the storage tank is in an area like a basement where gravity will naturally cause the water to flow to the tank.
Depending on the layout of your yard and the type of irrigation system you want to use, you may also need to have a pump that pumps the water out of the storage tank and into the irrigation system.
How Much Water Can You Save With a Greywater Recycling System?
The exact savings you might get with a greywater recycling system can vary quite a bit based on factors like the size of your household and the type of system you have. Some estimates suggest that recycling your greywater could potentially reduce your household’s water consumption by up to 40%, saving thousands to tens of thousands of gallons of water per year.
Even if you only cut your annual water usage by 20% or so, a greywater recycling system can really pay off by helping you prevent waste and conserve our most precious natural resource.
For more than 40 years, On Time Experts has been assisting homeowners with their plumbing, heating, and air conditioning needs. We have locations in Dallas, Carrollton, Garland, and McKinney, and our team proudly serves the entire DFW area.
If you’re considering a greywater recycling system for your home, we can explain what options you have and help you decide if this type of system is right for you. You can also turn to us if you need any other type of plumbing installation or repairs.
For more information or to schedule a service appointment, contact us today.
