Is water recycable?

Question

Can we recycle the bath water we use, or the water we practically take for granted every day? (Dishwasher water, toilets, sewer water, any kind of used water.)

Also is there a way to make saltwater into freshwater?

Answer 1

yes it is put in a tank with tiny microbes that eat the bacteria and then the microbes are taken out and the water is fillered then runs back throght you taps

mmm.. dont that just make you thirsty

Answer 2

Yes! We can, in fact, recycle the bath water we use.

Yes! If you desalinate saltwater through a desalination plant. It would turn into fresh water.

Hope it answers your questions!

Answer 3

Yes water is recyclable.  Where do you think the water you are drinking is coming from?  That is why they put a lot of chlorine and other chemicals into our water so as to clean it of impurities and other matters. It's not just a matter of filtering but it goes through a more complicated process.  In fact, you can also say that water is recycled through the natural way because it evaporates than it condenses and falls down as rain then again it evaporates become clouds and then condenses and so on and on.

Answer 4

Yeah, its called googling your question, it works for about 95% of these dumb questions on here.

Answer 5

Water is recyclable and the earth has been recycling it for as long as water as existed.  Remember learning about the "water cycle" in 3 or 4 grade? same thing. The water we use now is millions of years old.  Salt water or any kind of water can be made into pure H20 by evaporation because the only thing that evaporates in the water are the H2O molecules. Try it at home.  The salt will be left in the bottom of the pan.

(If you have a gallon or more of salt water, you can boil shrimp and crabs in it.)

Answer 6

Looking for a more energy-efficient bathroom? There are a few ways that you can make a difference while maintaining your sanitary standards. Think low-flow showerheads and toilets, and aerators in your faucets. But there are other possibilities too, including the Power-Pipe.

Normally, hot water flows through pipes, and all the energy is lost. Consider that water heaters consume about 13% of domestic energy use, so it is particularly wasteful when all that carefully heated water then disappears down the drain. Whether it is a shower, bath, or load of laundry, wouldn’t it be great to use hot water without feeling guilty.

The new product offers some hope of sustainable bathroom habits. Using the existing heat contained in drain water, the Power-Pipe recycles that energy to heat incoming cold water. A copper section of pipe, it is designed to trap heat. Drain water drops through the inner tube, forming a thin sheet around the sides and transferring the heat to the copper wall. Cold water flows through the outer tube, becoming heated through contact with the inner wall.

Of course, the cold water is not heated to the same temperature this way. It then passes into the water heater, already warmed to as much as 28 degrees Celsius. Less energy and money is required to completely heat the water. Another option is to plumb the water directly into the shower, giving increased shower flow and additional reduction of water heater costs. Up to 60% of heat energy can be recycled this way.

The design of the pipe is simple and durable. It can be installed into most homes, typically in the basement near the water heater. The manufacturer claims that the product’s cost can be recovered within 2 to 5 years based on lower energy use. Another benefit is the availability of warm water even when the heater is depleted - no more unwanted cold showers. Beyond the residential benefits, Power-Pipes can be modified for industrial and other commercial uses.

Of course, there are other choices that will further reduce your household energy demands. Short showers use less water and energy than baths. Insulate water heaters (but follow manufacturer’s recommendations carefully). Insulate pipes connected to the water heater. Install heat traps on water pipes that attach to the water heater. Consider using solar panels to heat water, although there needs to be room for a storage tank.

On-demand heaters can also be more efficient. Rather than keeping a huge quantity of water hot all day and night, on-demand heaters warm water as it is needed. Common sights in the UK for decades, these small units are becoming increasingly popular in North America. There are a few considerations if you are thinking of making a change. How cold is the water flowing into the house? How much hot water is needed at a time? And how hot do you want your water? You may be able to install several units - near the bath and the kitchen sink, for example.

Answer 7

A Desalination process can turn Sea Water into Drinking water. If you boil and condense sea water, then filter it a little bit more you can drink it.

Grey water or sewage can be recycled by going through some hardcore filtration and a process of reverse osmosis.

If you use environmentally friendly detergents, you can pump your dishwashing and clothes washing machine water straight onto your garden, and shower with buckets to catch the excess water before it goes down the drain.

Answer 8

water is recyclable generally talking about sea water

because all the water everybody uses goes to the sea one time or the other

but it is commercially expensive to do so

distillation is the method but large scale is not what the government tends to do when you have clean water from the lakes or rivers at your disposal

Answer 9

you can always, re-purify water, but i dont think it can be recycled, and yeah they have stuff that takes the salt out of water i think...

Answer 10

Yes, water is definitely a reusable resource. Depending on what we put in our water, we can reuse water in many different ways. There are even filtration systems right now that can filter almost water source into clean drinkable water.

Turning salt water into fresh water is called Desalination. Saudi Arabia is known to use this system for the majority of there drinking water.

Answer 11

Go p**s, boil the water then later drink it.

u'i'll get the answer.

Answer 12

Yes yes and yes.

Sea water can be distilled or purified by reverse osmosis.

Answer 13

Yes the city of phoenix holds hazardous wast collection events. The next one is June 12, 13 and 14th at Desert West Sports Complex 6602 w encanto blvd. I got a schedule in the mail this week. e-mail [e-mail] or 602-262-7251. Good luck!

Answer 14

Assuming that you don't have a system to reuse greywater in your house, all the water you use goes either to your septic system and then to the groundwater or thru a sewer to a treatment plant. After some treatment, it gets discharged to a stream and the cycle starts over.

Yes, seawater can be desalinated, by distillation or freezing. There are a few plants that do it, many of them in the Middle East.

Answer 15

yes, in some cites they treat the sewage and send it into a separate water system to flush the toilets. in my town the sewage is treated and put back into the river we got it from then a town down stream treats it again for drinking water.

there is a way to make salt water into fresh. it is called desalinization. it is very expensive and takes alot of energy. in places like the middle east with very little ground or surface water, it is the only viable option.

Answer 16

all tap water is recycled. They water you drink from a tap has been through somebody about 7 times. Its all recycled it goes to the water centre, is cleaned, and sent out again.

Answer 17

yes, of course as science is very advanced nowadays!

Answer 18

yes, water is recycable. Just need to filter it.

Saltwater can be made into freshwater via Reverse Osmosis Filtration.

Answer 19

well it is not proved that water is recyclable but if it was the ice caps would not be melting that much

Answer 20

Yes you can. And yes we do.

Answer 21

Water Recycling and Reuse: The Environmental Benefits

http://www.epa.gov/region09/water/recycl...

From Sewage, Added Water for Drinking

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/27/us/27c...

[Nov 07] "...Orange County Water District will turn on what industry experts say is the world’s largest plant devoted to purifying sewer water to increase drinking water supplies. They and others hope it serves as a model for authorities worldwide facing persistent drought, predicted water shortages and projected growth.

The process, called by proponents “indirect potable water reuse” and “toilet to tap” by the wary, is getting a close look in several cities..."

Desalination:  Desalination, desalinization, or desalinisation refers to any of several processes that remove excess salt and other minerals from water. Desalination may also refer to the removal of salts and minerals more generally,[1] as in soil desalination,[2][3] but the focus of this article is on water desalination....

Answer 22

ABSOLUTELY!

water: the most precious of commodities is always re-useable.

Sometimes needed is heat or filters or both.

when you search for help in this area you will

find thousands of eager insights on the net. look into motherearth sort of a green place// many helpful insights.  This is by no means the only one, with little effort you will discover many more

Answer 23

Water does get recycled  through processing plants.  I don't know what you could do to do it at home - don't think I'd trust my ability to change my toilet water no matter what I was given for a method.  

Water treatment plants are everywhere  - maybe you can contact the one in your town to see if there are things that you can do at home.

Answer 24

yes, water can be. How about the water that comes from the sky? Rainwater can be collected and stored to water plants or wash cars. At our home, we have the drain from our washing machine set up to drain into our back yard.. if you angle it correctly, you can water all of your plants with it. You could probably rig a similar system for your bathwater as well as your dishwater. Many of our national parks use "graywater" to water their grass and plants at their building facilities. Hope this helps!

Answer 25

Water is recycled by your local water treatment plant.Sewer water is processed and cleaned then reused.

Nature (sunlight) evaporates seawater making clouds and then rain , so saltwater is turned into freshwater all the time.

Some counties have desalination plants that remove salt from sea water however this is expensive.

Answer 26

Dennis;

Let me take a stab at this.your first question is "can we recycle water we use for ordinary household purposes. The answer is a resounding yes. It isn't recycled in the same way aluminum from cans is but it can be purified for reuse.  one of water's difficulties is the fact that it is such a good solvent.  As a result many things dissolve in  water.  This characteristic of water makes it an incredibly useful substance.  The problem is that many things dissolve in water and we don't want them to stay there so we end up having to find a way to extract those things from water.  To give you an example; pretend you have a 1 quart container of water  that you intend on drinking.  Someone opens the top of this container and puts three clean golf balls in the water.  The golf balls may not dissolve but they have "contaminated"the water.  Now, if you reach in and remove those golf balls you have essentially decontaminated the water and brought it back to its original condition.  You didn't really modify the water in any shape or form, you just removed the Non-water material which was in the container.the great difficulty lies in the fact that there are many different technologies to remove various contaminants from water.  Doing this on a small-scale would likely be very expensive and also very innefficient.  Typically water reclamation like this is done in the large-scale by cities and/or communities.  Of all the contaminants in water sodium chloride salt is clearly the No. 1 contaminant as all of the oceans are salt water.  There are a number of different technologies for desalination. reverse osmosis was mentioned by one poster but this is just one of many ways to achieve the goal.  The interesting thing is that nature has already showed us how to do this.  As the sun beats down on the oceans/lakes/rivers  the water component of saltwater evaporates and ultimately forms clouds.  The NaCl remains in the water which did not evaporate. As a result the NaCl concentration of the remaining seawater goes up  (the Dead Sea, the great Salt Lake, etc.)  Once this evaporated freshwater has joined with more evaporated freshwater it forms clouds and ultimately falls back to earth as rain.  Since gravity is constant and water always tries to find its own level the water will eventually make it back to the ocean which should over the long run return ocean salinity back to where it had been before the water evaporated in the first place. this is called the water cycle and is one of the fundamental principles in earth science.

now for a bit of rebuttal to some of the other answers. someone had suggested that water is recyclable you just need to filter it It's a little more complex than just running the water through a filter.this would be an easy thing to validate by simply going down to a murky pond, bring with you two clean and clear glass jars use one jar to scoop up some water and pour that water through the filter into the other jar.  There should be some discoloration and particulate matter in the second jar which went through the filter.

someone has also suggested that all tap water is recycled.  This is not necessarily true.  In fact many people still get water from a well.I suppose one could say that well water is recycled because ultimately it evaporated somewhere else traveled/filtered/detoxify through the ground, and then is pumped into the home.

livewire gives some very poor advice.  He/she suggests urinating and then boiling "the water" and then drinking it.  It's unclear in his response if he is talking about boiling the urine, or some different water.  However, I'm working under the idea that he is referring to boiling the urine.   boiling urine does not turne into water, it turns it into hot urine.  What boiling urine will do is allow the water to leave the urine as steam.  That steam would then need to be condensed with a piece of metal, a piece of glass, or some other item which is relatively cool  compared to the steam.  Doing something like this is basically a small-scale of what nature does when water is evaporated from saltwater, condenses into clouds, and falls back to earth as freshwater rain.

Alan T has a bit of a break from reality when he says;well it is not proved that water is recyclable but if it was the ice caps would not be melting that much.

that sentence is nonsensical.  Of course it has been proven water is "recyclable" that has been done over and over again.  It's hard to believe that anyone with access to cable TV and Discovery Channel/learning channel hasn't seen an episode on water treatment facilities and reusing wastewater.  And how that ties into the polar ice caps is a bit of a leap!

it's funny, we have where I live, a bit of a demonstration of this in the small scale.  We have a septic tank in the backyard into which flows all of the liquid waste from the house.  That includes bath water, toilet water,sink water, and water from the dishwasher and washing machine.  All of this water, with some solid material stays in the septic tank but slowly flows through the ground and is filtered and decontaminated.  Now, in the big picture all of the houses in our community have a similar system and that water all collects below the ground in aquifers.  These aquifers are then Into by wells and that he contaminated water is used for drinking, showering, laundry, etc.  I remember many years ago before I had any science education at all I thought about this and I said to myself "so, you take dirty crappy water, you run through dirt, and that makes it clean?  That seemed very counterintuitive to me but as my education advanced I could see the individual mechanisms by which all of these things occurred.

Answer 27

Yep you can recycle it you need a 24 stage reverse osmosis filter to be able to drink the used water you used everyday. and sea water too but you need a big capital for that one and the process of recycling water is very expensive.