What could possibly go wrong with a greywater system?
August 28, 2015 9:53 AM Subscribe
I'm looking to retrofit a greywater system into my house in the Bay Area, California so that I feel better about watering my trees in a severe drought. Unfortunately, plumbing is not my area of expertise, and I am apprehensive that Something Terrible Will Happen if I mess with it. To that end, I'd like to know what could go wrong with a greywater system. Also, if anyone has experience choosing a good greywater designer and installer and can speak to how to do that, or just flat out recommend a greywater genius, I'd be very happy to hear from you.
My back and front yard are small, there is a crawlspace under the house which can be used to mess with the plumbing, and I'd like to reclaim water from the washer and dryer and the shower and tubs in the bathrooms (which share a wall).
My back and front yard are small, there is a crawlspace under the house which can be used to mess with the plumbing, and I'd like to reclaim water from the washer and dryer and the shower and tubs in the bathrooms (which share a wall).
Best answer: So most towns near me here in the North Bay have been hosting free workshops in greywater systems. We are currently doing the washing machine output to landscaping, have not yet done the shower water.
Oyéah's concern about a disposal... well... I believe it's still not code to run kitchen sink water out to landscaping. Food disposal is blackwater, both legally and, unless you're vegan, practically. Don't do that.
The thing that's stopped us from going greywater on the shower so far is that... well... I've been to a couple of workshops on this, both paid and free, and nobody's able to tell me about the landscaping maintenance schedule. It's all "well, this seems to work", and "we'll see in a year or 5 how much needs to be done".
Which feels to me like "hey, every two years you're going to spend several weekends digging all this crap up and putting it back in in a slightly different configuration".
On the other side of that, although the quote is currently $800 to put in a diverter valve and punch a hole through our foundation, that diverter valve means that if the greywater system stops working we can turn it back over to just using the swer.
posted by straw at 10:05 AM on August 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
Oyéah's concern about a disposal... well... I believe it's still not code to run kitchen sink water out to landscaping. Food disposal is blackwater, both legally and, unless you're vegan, practically. Don't do that.
The thing that's stopped us from going greywater on the shower so far is that... well... I've been to a couple of workshops on this, both paid and free, and nobody's able to tell me about the landscaping maintenance schedule. It's all "well, this seems to work", and "we'll see in a year or 5 how much needs to be done".
Which feels to me like "hey, every two years you're going to spend several weekends digging all this crap up and putting it back in in a slightly different configuration".
On the other side of that, although the quote is currently $800 to put in a diverter valve and punch a hole through our foundation, that diverter valve means that if the greywater system stops working we can turn it back over to just using the swer.
posted by straw at 10:05 AM on August 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is more low tech than you're looking for, and we don't have a washing machine, but we're in SF and we keep:
-a bucket in the sink for rinse water
-two buckets in the shower (1 for warm up water, 1 for catchment while bathing)
We just carry the buckets out to the yard when they're full. Cost: about $5. Nets about 8-14 gallons per day, which the big old trees out front appreciate.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 10:21 AM on August 28, 2015 [5 favorites]
-a bucket in the sink for rinse water
-two buckets in the shower (1 for warm up water, 1 for catchment while bathing)
We just carry the buckets out to the yard when they're full. Cost: about $5. Nets about 8-14 gallons per day, which the big old trees out front appreciate.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 10:21 AM on August 28, 2015 [5 favorites]
(You can also pour the water from those buckets into the toilet bowl to flush. Then you don't have to carry the water as far.)
posted by aniola at 10:30 AM on August 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by aniola at 10:30 AM on August 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is a good resource.
I hope you will update this after you do anything, I want to do one too.
posted by latkes at 12:48 PM on August 28, 2015
I hope you will update this after you do anything, I want to do one too.
posted by latkes at 12:48 PM on August 28, 2015
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posted by Oyéah at 9:58 AM on August 28, 2015