grey water from washing machine

cem · #1 05/02/07, 04:42 PM

If I want to save the grey water from my machine, how large of a container do you think I would need? I'm afraid to give it a try and run out of space. I can in vision water all over the rec room. Any words of advice?

james dilley · #2 05/02/07, 04:50 PM

I will ask you A few questions . How much laundry do you do A week. How much water does your machine use.What are you wanting to water? How much land do you have?? O K now I'll tell you A simple way to save it. There are bulk tanks that are 3-500 gallon size that are in metal bins. You can find them for $25.00 in some area. Second what about A swimming pool with A pump and filter?? that way the water is recirculated. Then you can set up A watering system. But remember you will have Solids coming out in the grey water. you will need A sediment contanier 3 tanks in A row the 1st with A open top for clean out will work. I just have 2 small poolsI plan on getting put in ground right now the water goes out A 3/4" pip[e into the yard.

cem · #3 05/02/07, 05:34 PM

I do about one to two loads per day. I was think about put the hose in a large trash can with wheels. Then using gravity feed to my garden with a hose. I live in AZ and it is getting to expensive to even water a small garden (20x50ft) I have been saving bath water to water the flower garden.

mtn.mama · #4 05/02/07, 05:43 PM

Depending on what kind of washer you have, there will probably be 15-45 gallons per load. Wheeling 45 gallons in a trash can won't be easy- its over 400 pounds of water. I have a shut off valve on my washer drain... I drain into two five gallon buckets at a time and walk it to the garden.

cem · #5 05/02/07, 05:44 PM

I'm not sure how much water my washing machine put out. I tried to get that info, but Sears does not list it on their specs. Different places I checked said it could be 30-40 gallons.

cem · #6 05/02/07, 05:56 PM

My family acts like I'm crazy. I'm glad to see other people doing the same thing. My water bill was $30 per mth and now that is going to be the base fee without any water use. We are expecting the bill to go up to 50-60 dollars. That is without the summer water use for the garden. I have been brainstorming how to reuse this water and not let it just run to the septic tank. I wish we would have had our grey water separate when we had the house built 10 years ago. Oh well, hind sight.

morrowsmowers · #7 05/02/07, 06:03 PM

You could use one of the large 55 gal. Rubbermaid type trash cans with the optional wheel base on it. But, instead of wheeling it out, put a small utility pump on the bottom of the trash can and pump it out through a garden hose to where you want to use it. You could use a remote control unit to turn the pump on when you are ready for water outside and then off again when your done. This would also cause the lint and other solids to settle to the bottom of the large trash can where you could get to them for cleaning. You may have to consider more storage if you wash several loads in one day and not using the water that day (i.e. its raining outside), etc.

Ken in Glassboro, NJ

cem · #8 05/02/07, 06:05 PM

Thanks for all the great ideas.

jacksun65 · #9 05/02/07, 06:12 PM

why not just run the hose out to your garden we used to do that way back it will pump it out a window quite a ways.

cem · #10 05/02/07, 06:17 PM

I was told that the hose has to be the same size as the hose on the machine or it will back up. I don't know, that was what I was told. I saw hosing the same size in the pond section at home depot. It was 20ft for around $20. That is one option.

rzrubek · #11 05/02/07, 06:43 PM

Is the washer located on an outside wall convenient to your garden? Do you flood irrigate? If so, you may consider replumbing it to go straight to the garden. Oh, and Ken, "it's raining outside" is such a rare ocurance here in AZ that it's really not something to consider.

cem · #12 05/02/07, 07:01 PM

The washer is in the aka rec/ converted garage. There is a 8x10 storage room (aka pet room I just inherited after the 17 foot burmese pyton died) between the outside wall. I feel bad the snaked died but now I have a great place for my preps. When we built the house, we specially designed a room for this large pet. The room has a concert floor and a drain in the middle so it could be hosed down. If you didn't know, snakes really stink.

gone-a-milkin · #13 05/02/07, 08:48 PM

PVC pipe the same diameter as the washer hose is what we use.That pump on the washer works really well.

Jan Doling · #14 05/03/07, 01:12 PM

gone-a-milkin is right. We once had a washer in a metal building and when the drain gave us problems, we made a hole in the wall and put the washer drain hose into a large pvc pipe to the outside, then another pvc pipe on the ground (a downward slope) parallel to the outside wall. It watered the lawn at the rear of the building and saved a lot of wear-and-tear on the septic system.

SolarGary · #15 05/03/07, 01:33 PM

Hi,

Here is one solution:
http://www.lochin.us/en/Home_Project.../Graywater.htm

Gary

Fire-Man · #16 05/03/07, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cem

I wish we would have had our grey water separate when we had the house built 10 years ago. Oh well, hind sight.

If you can get under your house-----You can separate the drain lines without alot of work. My On-Grid Home was built in 1973/74 and the washer--kitchen sink---back porch sink and mop sink were separated from the septic tank when it was built, but I rent out that home. My off grid place is separated--also I have used plastic barrels to catch my "washing water" with detergent. I would wash a load of say whites without using bleach or clothes that are not real dirty----let the washer pump this water into a holding tank that the bottom of the tank is about level with the top of the washer----rince the load of clothes---then when I put the next load of say dark work clothes or what ever---then I have a hose in the bottom of this barrel that when I stick this hose into the washer---it free-flows back into the washing machine--saves some water and detergent. Randy

homebirtha · #17 05/03/07, 02:41 PM

Great timing!! We are trying to figure how to move our washer upstairs, to free up kitchen space, and have been thinking a grey water system would be ideal. One question, do you have any kind of stack on the grey water system. (I think that's the right term.) The pipe that goes up through the roof to vent gasse so they don't back up into the house? Or is that not a worry with a washer, or because it's not connected to the septic?

turtlehead · #18 05/03/07, 03:34 PM

FWIW I have read that graywater should be used to water ornamentals and fruit trees, but it should not be used to water veggies. This is because the small amounts of fecal material from washing underwear etc. can contaminate the food if it touches it.

Basically if it has to go through the roots, up the plant, and out to the food you're okay but if it can splash on the food then that's not good.

That said, I've heard of plenty of folks running graywater to their garden and doing flood irrigation with it.

GoldCountryGal · #19 05/03/07, 04:57 PM

We recently bought a house that has a washing machine, but no hookups for it. It is sitting in the mudroom by a window. I was planning to use a regular garden hose to fill up the machine (just connect the hose to the washing machine connections - cold water only, obviously) and then connect a long plastic hose to the waste water connection - put it through the window and out into the field. We are not growing anything out there right now but natural landscape (mostly weeds!). From reading the posts above, it sounds like the wastewater discharge can work, but has anyone tried connecting a garden hose to a washer for filling it up? Anything I should know before I try it? The owner left a functioning electric dryer, but that doesn't really matter if the washing machine isn't working

morrowsmowers · #20 05/03/07, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldCountryGal

We recently bought a house that has a washing machine, but no hookups for it. It is sitting in the mudroom by a window. I was planning to use a regular garden hose to fill up the machine (just connect the hose to the washing machine connections - cold water only, obviously) and then connect a long plastic hose to the waste water connection - put it through the window and out into the field. We are not growing anything out there right now but natural landscape (mostly weeds!). From reading the posts above, it sounds like the wastewater discharge can work, but has anyone tried connecting a garden hose to a washer for filling it up? Anything I should know before I try it? The owner left a functioning electric dryer, but that doesn't really matter if the washing machine isn't working

They make a "Y" type adapter hose for filling your washer with just one input. That way, even if the machine calls for hot water, it will just get the cold from the hose. If you don't use one of those, I would put a hose cap on the hot water inlet to prevent the possibility of water going in on the cold side and running back out on the hot. This could possibly happen for a variety of reasons. The drain should work out the window, just be sure to use a stiff enough hose so it does not kink up and block the flow off. Some washers have a sensor that requires the use of the curved hose that they come with on the drain -- you could use this and then attach your longer hose to that one.

Ken in Glassboro, NJ