Quote:
Originally Posted by AC_Hacker
My one warning regarding grey water use is to set up your system so that the water is used right away, and not allowed to stand in any kind of tank for long. Grey water contains some kind of crud, or else it wouldn't be grey water, and if it sits it can get funky, and possibly dangerous.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vmike
When I captured the wash water in a tank previously, I used a filter of pantyhose to capture the lint, mostly to keep it out of the pump. Fortunately my collection tank is out of doors and underground, because it will sour if you leave it stand indoors.
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Turns out that there is a dandy
Wikipedia entry on greywater, which contains this sentence:
Quote:
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If stored, it must be used within a very short time or it will begin to putrefy due to the organic solids in the water.
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...and also:
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It is now recognized and accepted by an increasing number of regulators that the microbiological risks of greywater reuse at the single dwelling level where inhabitants already had intimate knowledge of that greywater are in reality an insignificant risk, when properly managed without the need for complex, expensive and onerous red tape approval processes.
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I have read some Permaculture books and watched some Permaculture films that addressed the subject of graywater, and I remember that the advice of Aussie graywater recyclers is to use graywater quickly.
I have also had quite some time to experience the effect of standing graywater and I would have to say that in my experience, 'putrefy' comes much closer to describing the situation than 'sour'.
I do concede that vmike may have storage conditions, weather conditions, or a graywater mix that is tolerant of storage... not the case for me.
Regards,
-AC_Hacker