Greywater Systems

Water is such a precious commodity. Humans, especially in Western societies, have been unconscious about their water use and the consequences of this wastefulness.

Why do we flush toilets with clean drinking water? Why don't we reuse our bath water or sink water or use it more than once? This is the principle behind greywater systems.

Greywater accounts for 50-80% of residential wastewater (according to Wikipedia). Greywater is the water that goes down the drain after bathing/showering, doing dishes, washing your hands, and doing laundry. This water can be reused, not for drinking but for reuse in toilets, irrigation, and heating (if it's hot water).

There are a few concerns about greywater systems that I'll address:

1. Sanitation - greywater is more likely to grow bacteria quickly. This is especially problematic when the greywater needs to be stored. One solution is to have a greywater system that filters the water and has microbial treatment.

2. Soap - greywater that may be used on plants or in situations where it goes into water bodies or groundwater, may have harmful affects because of the high phosphate soaps used in laundry, dishwashing, etc. If you are thinking of a greywater system, natural soaps would be good to use.

3. Harmful things poured down the drain - many people do not dispose of chemicals properly at an eco-station. You do not want paint thinners, rotten food, drug-store products like medications, etc. to be down the drain in your greywater. Conscious living means taking responsibility for everything you do. Dispose these items at eco stations instead of down the drain where it goes back into the water system. A common examples of the effects - levels of Prozac and Birth Control are found in city water because users pee it out, flush it and it isn't cleaned out in the water treatment plants.

More to come... (I need to study the technical stuff and see if I can explain it in common language)...

Written and Researched by Kim Tanasichuk. Copyright © 2007-2009 Kim Tanasichuk. All Rights Reserved. You may not reproduce any content on this website without the written permission of Kim Tanasichuk.

Videos About Grey Water Systems

Videos courtesy of Youtube and Google Video and Copyright to Their Owners

Greywater Reuse in the Middle East	Greywater Recycling Development (Warning: weird computer narrator voice, but good info)	Recycling Bathwater to Flush Toilet