Do you use drinking water to flush your toilet or do you reuse your greywater?

Question

If you want to conserve water, you may wish to consider reusing your greywater. This is used water that is no longer suitable for drinking, but suitable for other purposes. My family uses greywater by saving bath water and laundry water, and flushing the toilet with that water instead of drinking water from the pipes. Our approach is very basic but very do-able--bailing out the tub into a plastic wastepaper basket, and diverting the clotheswasher into large, plastic garbage cans. You just pour your collected greywater into the toilet bowl with a pitcher till it flushes. Nasty? Yeah, but oh well. You can reduce your water consumption by 30% to 50% by doing this.

Of course there are more $ophi$ticated ways to reuse greywater, but this is the simplist.

Answer 1

I have to admit, I use drinking water. But I have a low flow toilet, and even my 2 1/2 year old can chant "if its yellow..."

I use greywater in summer for my plants, though, and have a low flow showerhead... don't shower every day...

Answer 2

I have 2 wells, so I don't use city water.

Answer 3

Reuse, is the magic word there.

Answer 4

I think the idea is excellent. You and your family's actions are commendable. I think if more people did what you did, the earth would be in better shape. However, the average American isn't going to spend their time pouring their clothes washer water into plastic buckets even if you paid them. The modern lifestyle, for many middle-to-upper-middle folks, means spending leisure time in front of the TV or doing something hedonistic, rather than conserving our planet's finite resources. I think the creative challenge for you might be to try and devise a practical way to reuse greywater and clothes washer water. I wonder if environmentally conscious plumbers, masons, and architects could design a home with a septic system that could save the clothes washing water in an tank to use for the septic system. I think your excellent idea deserves to be worked with by professionals who design homes and plumbing. It would sure be worth a try. Please introduce your idea to people who might be able to do something with it.

Answer 5

If you want to conserve water, you may wish to consider reusing your greywater. This is used water that is no longer suitable for drinking, but suitable for other purposes. My family uses greywater by saving bath water and laundry water, and flushing the toilet with that water instead of drinking water from the pipes. Our approach is very basic but very do-able--bailing out the tub into a plastic wastepaper basket, and diverting the clotheswasher into large, plastic garbage cans. You just pour your collected greywater into the toilet bowl with a pitcher till it flushes. Nasty? Yeah, but oh well. You can reduce your water consumption by 30% to 50% by doing this.

Of course there are more $ophi$ticated ways to reuse greywater, but this is the simplist.

19 minutes ago - 3 days left to answer.

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Answer 6

I try to conserve all natural items and eletricity also...u save money and help the environment

Answer 7

i really appreciate your idea and your intentions

good luck

Answer 8

Neither.  I want to save all water.  I live on 4 wooded acres, and I just do my business outside.

Answer 9

where i come from we have a endless suply and it is cheap so i would say no you must live in california or la

Answer 10

Wow.

That's really cool.

Answer 11

instead of doing all of that why dont you just fill your toilet with large stones and a lot less water will be needed.

Answer 12

Too bad the government won't let be do this.  Thats right in America one has to get BIG BROTHERS permission to do anything like this, well in Michigan any way.

I would love to put a 1,000 gallon tank in my back yard.  Use the rain water from my eves-trough in the toilet and washing machine.

Answer 13

Wow, that's pretty cool!  Thanks for the tip! :)