Left of Centre Grey Water Solution

I've got three little kids and a garden that could use more water than it is getting these days.

The kids have a bath every day and I think about trying to rig something up everytime we pull the plug out and watch all that water with just a bit of soap and the days dirt disappear.

Our 2nd storey bathroom has a toilet in it as well as the bath so all the sewerage from the bathroom heads out an easily accessbile pipe coming out the wall which feeds the main sewer line running down the side of the house.

I was thinking of the possibility of rigging up a normally open solenoid at the base of a large T joint, with the T gravity feeding a grey water pipe to the garden. I'd be able to rig up a timer setup in the bathroom so it's simply a matter of pressing a button in the bathroom to run say a 1 minute timer to close the solenoid, pull the plug on the bath, and keep everybody off the toilet :D. I've seen Bunnings have a "manual" version of this setup with a T piece.
Main challenge would be finding a suitable solenoid with a wide enough diam. to handle the sewerage from the toilet. Any ideas????

1. Open window.

2. Use garden hose to siphon the bathwater onto the garden.

I think you will run into big problems unless the greywater is completely separated from the sewage. Not only would the health inspectors jump on you with big boots, you could have a verry smelly garden, or worse, a sick family.

Can you separate the loo and the rest at the pipes? Maybe you run separate pipes - 1 for garden, 1 for sewage... The greywater pipe doesn't need to be as big as the sewage system, probably a 50 or 75mm pipe would do it.

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Originally Posted by woodbe

1. Open window.

2. Use garden hose to siphon the bathwater onto the garden.

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Ahem, yes trying to come up with something slightly more automated than that!!!!

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Originally Posted by woodbe

I think you will run into big problems unless the greywater is completely separated from the sewage. Not only would the health inspectors jump on you with big boots, you could have a verry smelly garden, or worse, a sick family.

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You're probably right but how much of an issue would it be??? 95% of the flush through this plumbing is bath/shower water. Most manual grey water systems source garden water through shared plumbing systems do they not????

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Originally Posted by woodbe

Can you separate the loo and the rest at the pipes? Maybe you run separate pipes - 1 for garden, 1 for sewage... The greywater pipe doesn't need to be as big as the sewage system, probably a 50 or 75mm pipe would do it.

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Existing plumbing runs underfloor, would be painful to try and seperate now.

Sir Don Burke said "the only place for grey water is down the sewer".

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Originally Posted by floppinab

Most manual grey water systems source garden water through shared plumbing systems do they not????

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Not. There would never be approval for it. The pipes have to be separate, otherwise the sh it literally hits the fan. As soon as the toilet water hits the pipe, it must be processed - either by passing it to the sewer, or by processing it locally in a septic or other treatment plant.

If you have a switchover setup like you suggest, you are running the risk of putting raw sewage onto your garden. I have only seen a couple, and there has been considerable pains to separate grey from brown :)

We have a treatment plant, it spits out clear but slightly smelly water, some systems are better than others I hear.

Hi
You prolly need to seperate the pipes before the black water, other wise you run the risk of introducing pathogens from the dunny into your garden.

Plenty of info here.

Al :)

A friend of mine did this and all their plants had stunted growth, they eventually gave up on it and now they have had to remove the soil and get in fresh soil and plants.

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Originally Posted by gyro

A friend of mine did this and all their plants had stunted growth, they eventually gave up on it and now they have had to remove the soil and get in fresh soil and plants.

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Why and Why?

Al :confused:

My parents have a grey water system st their place. All of the grey water (kitchen, bathroom and laundry) goes into a holding tank where it is then pumped out onto the fruit trees (all citrus). The sewerage goes seperately to a septic tank. The fruit trees are going great (lots of fruit and nice tasting)and they have to mow the grass around them all the time.

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Originally Posted by Wood Butcher

My parents have a grey water system st their place. All of the grey water (kitchen, bathroom and laundry) goes into a holding tank where it is then pumped out onto the fruit trees (all citrus). The sewerage goes seperately to a septic tank. The fruit trees are going great (lots of fruit and nice tasting)and they have to mow the grass around them all the time.

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If they had one of these, every drop of water goes to good use.

Al :)

I think they would've Al, but that sort of system wasn't around where they are 15 years ago when they built the house.

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Originally Posted by Wood Butcher

I think they would've Al, but that sort of system wasn't around where they are 15 years ago when they built the house.

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And the $6000 price tag is prohibitive.
But, if you are doing it from scratch its the way to go.

In fact, most councils insist on such a system.

Al :p

FIL works for Beaudesert Shire Council in the Health Dept. New houses outside of sewered areas most have a bio-cycle system where all the waste water (grey and septic) is broken down. They are then allocated areas of their property for this "treated water" can be pumped, usually around 20m away from the house. It's a great system but the aeration pumps in the system must be on for the bacteria to break down the waste. FIL says that in 6 years his has broken down 4 times and always on a Sunday! :D

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Originally Posted by Wood Butcher

and always on a Sunday! :D

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Of course. :rolleyes:
The bugs need a break too. :p

Al :)

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Originally Posted by floppinab

I've got three little kids and a garden that could use more water. Any ideas????

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:eek: Dont give the kids grey water!! :eek:

Al :D :eek: :D :eek: :D :eek: :D :eek: :D :eek: :D

Here it is mate, "grey water typically contains high quantities of phospate (soap, washing powder, dishwashing liquid etc.) Free phoshate is insoluble in soil and fatal to plants. You would find after a while that the soil would begin to go sour and nothing will grow (plant or animal). If you can pipe the bathwater and other grey to a separate septic tank and introduce enzymes into it you can then spray (which helps aerate the water) rather than hose in a thick stream onto the garden.
How do I know this? I did a 12 month experiment on phosphates in soil as a pollutant when I was in college (adult student :cool: ) and scored 96% for it. ;)

If you need more free water put in a rainwater tank and as you are in sydney it would be better to drink than the domestic supplied water



Rgds

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Originally Posted by ozwinner

:eek: Dont give the kids grey water!! :eek:

Al :D :eek: :D :eek: :D :eek: :D :eek: :D :eek: :D

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Oh I don't know they all look like they are going to be taller than me so this might help stunt their growth a bit so I can still be the boss.

Thanks for the replies, is pretty much what I thought something for the too hard basky without separating pipes.

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Originally Posted by floppinab

Oh I don't know they all look like they are going to be taller than me so this might help stunt their growth a bit so I can still be the boss.

Thanks for the replies, is pretty much what I thought something for the too hard basky without separating pipes.

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l don't understand , there's been greywater garden watering systems out for years guys . They're often on the gardenining shows to . Look them up on the nett , you'll get pictures of the sytems , how to set it up , the lot . Look up Permaculture to that's what that's all about .
P' easy l use one myself . They are actually bringing it in everywhere over time because people waist too much water on gardens . lt's everywhere in Perth because they have very dry ground and low rain falls .
Your grey water pipes are seperate from dunny and run down into underground aggi' pipes through the garden . Using channels surrounded buy crushed rock and then the normal garden soild over the top it's all filtered through underground and does your watering . You can set them up yourself easily or buy a system . You can also get filtering systems for them if you prefer but l had it on my last house for years and now this one both l setup myself and lawns / garden thrive .
lt's just like green areas over septic pipes .
l have a couple of pics somewhere of one l'll see if l can post it for you.
Cheers .
Masterblaster.

I am in no way an expert but Shedhand is right about the Phosphates in the water, natives especially hate phospahte. You can buy low phospahte washing power for washing machines. I used this in my previous house where I had suffiecient fall from the house to the back yard.

Jon

There is another slight problem too, of faecal matter in the bath and shower water (washing off the nether regions!) and laundry for that matter, in nappies esp. but also underwear to a small extent. If E. coli or other bacteria is in the grey water and consequently on the garden, better to keep kids out of it!:eek:
Just another negative comment to what should be a straight forward and welcome recycling procedure!!

Cheers,

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Originally Posted by masterblaster

Your grey water pipes are seperate from dunny and run down into underground aggi' pipes through the garden .

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That's my problem MB, my wastewater plumbing is combined before I see it exit my house, what I was looking for was a solenoid to switch diverting to the garden (when emptying the bath) and to the main sewer line (for everything else). Most of the posters agreed the chances of contanimation too high to risk putting this water on the garden. Separating the plumbing would require a major bathroom mods -------- too hard basky.

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Originally Posted by floppinab

That's my problem MB, my wastewater plumbing is combined before I see it exit my house, what I was looking for was a solenoid to switch diverting to the garden (when emptying the bath) and to the main sewer line (for everything else). Most of the posters agreed the chances of contanimation too high to risk putting this water on the garden. Separating the plumbing would require a major bathroom mods -------- too hard basky.

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Yeah l don't blame you it is much simpler to just use a normal system especially if it's already in place . My new place here came with a brand new septic , setup to cope with the max . l'm so tempted to just run the lot back into that and be done with it , nothing else to touch or worry about then . But , the concept was to have auto watering , recycling, plus save some of my tank water so l persisted .
l'd definately give the solenoid thing a miss it'd be giving you hell 24/7 and the bad guys would be mixed in 1/2 the time anyways my guess .A greywater syetem the basin/shower/kitchen all run out into a seperate pipe so they can't be mixed up and the gravel trenches and filter system on side of house cleans the lot so it's basically back to clean water by the time it hit's the garden . lt is allot of hassel though l must admit it's like having two septics to worry about instead of one .
Cheers.
MB

I think that the anti phosphate advice is correct. I have a grey water system and I notice that since we installed a front loading washing machine, the area it waters is not doing well at all. These washers use a lot less water and hence would have a higher % of phospates etc. I have now routed the water back to the sewer.

I would still think that the shower/bath water should be OK tho. Much less soap concentrate than a washing machine and more water volume.

Re the minute amount of fecal matter, I would think that most backyards are already teeming with it, birds, dogs, cats etc.