3 questions for how to move gray water for plants?

AC_Hacker · 07-12-11, 08:06 AM

Regarding grey water recycling, I have been doing it to a certain degree for thirty-five years.

My washing machine is in the basement, and there is no sewage line down there. I tried a large number of different kinds of pumps and finally settled on a pedestal pump... it was about the same price as a submersible pump but has an extraordinarily long life, counted in decades. I initially set up the pedestal pump (it came with a built-in level switch), and put it in the wash tub. When the washing machine ran through it's cycle, it pumped into the wash tub, and the pedestal pump then pumped the water through a hose and very discretely out into the back yard. I do reposition the end of the hose from time to time.

I was warned that all that laundry detergent would totally destroy the flora of the back yard. Thirty-five years later and it hasn't happened yet... Everything is thriving.

I do have a Euro-sized front-loader which is very thrifty on water and detergent, and I use the very minimum amount of detergent required, so I suppose all that has helped.

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.

The ground knows what to do with grey water, let the ground have it ASAP.

Where I live, we get occational freezes, so I need to postpone laundry cycles til after the freeze... no problem.

Best Regards,

-AC_Hacker

07-12-11, 08:06 AM	#8
AC_Hacker Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 4,004 Thanks: 303 Thanked 723 Times in 534 Posts	Regarding grey water recycling, I have been doing it to a certain degree for thirty-five years. My washing machine is in the basement, and there is no sewage line down there. I tried a large number of different kinds of pumps and finally settled on a pedestal pump... it was about the same price as a submersible pump but has an extraordinarily long life, counted in decades. I initially set up the pedestal pump (it came with a built-in level switch), and put it in the wash tub. When the washing machine ran through it's cycle, it pumped into the wash tub, and the pedestal pump then pumped the water through a hose and very discretely out into the back yard. I do reposition the end of the hose from time to time. I was warned that all that laundry detergent would totally destroy the flora of the back yard. Thirty-five years later and it hasn't happened yet... Everything is thriving. I do have a Euro-sized front-loader which is very thrifty on water and detergent, and I use the very minimum amount of detergent required, so I suppose all that has helped. 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. The ground knows what to do with grey water, let the ground have it ASAP. Where I live, we get occational freezes, so I need to postpone laundry cycles til after the freeze... no problem. Best Regards, -AC_Hacker __________________ I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker...