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Smart Water Management for Your Survival

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© Smart Water Management for Your Survival

Smart Water

Management

for Your Survival


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DISCLAIMER .................................................................................................................. 3

How to Lower Your Water Bills .................................................................................... 4

Earning More or Paying Less? ..................................................................................... 5

Make the Most Out of Water in Your Home ................................................................. 6

7 Ways Your Water Bill Goes to Drain ......................................................................... 8

1. Leaking Toilets ...................................................................................................... 9

2. Drippy Faucets ...................................................................................................... 9

3. Clogged Drains ..................................................................................................... 9

4. Stinky Drain ........................................................................................................ 10

5. Slow Drain .......................................................................................................... 10

6. Singing Faucet .................................................................................................... 11

7. Week Water Pressure ......................................................................................... 11

Smart Management Rules for Re-using Your Grey Water ....................................... 13

DO's and DON'Ts when Reusing Grey Water ............................................................ 15

A Few Words about Treating Your Gray Water .......................................................... 18

Smart DIY Systems for Re-using Your Gray Water ................................................... 21


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DISCLAIMER

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN “Smart Water Management for Your Survival” IS MEANT

TO SERVE AS A COMPREHENSIVE COLLECTION OF TIPS THAT THE AUTHORS OF THIS

COURSE LEARN OVER THE YEARS RELATED TO SURVIVAL/PREPAREDNESS. SUMMARIES,

STRATEGIES, TIPS AND TRICKS INCLUDED IN THIS E-BOOK ARE ONLY

RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE AUTHORS, AND READING THIS E-BOOK DOES NOT

GUARANTEE THAT ONE’S RESULTS WILL EXACTLY MIRROR OUR OWN RESULTS.

THE AUTHOR OF “Smart Water Management for Your Survival” HAS MADE ALL REASONABLE

EFFORTS TO PROVIDE CURRENT AND ACCURATE INFORMATION FOR THE READERS OF

THIS COURSE. THE AUTHOR WILL NOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY UNINTENTIONAL

ERRORS OR OMISSIONS THAT MAY BE FOUND.

THE MATERIAL IN “Smart Water Management for Your Survival” MAY INCLUDE

INFORMATION, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES BY THIRD PARTIES. THIRD PARTY MATERIALS

COMPRISE OF THE PRODUCTS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED BY THEIR OWNERS. AS SUCH,

THE AUTHORS OF THIS GUIDE DO NOT ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR ANY

THIRD PARTY MATERIAL OR OPINIONS. THE PUBLICATION OF SUCH THIRD PARTY

MATERIALS DOES NOT CONSTITUTE THE AUTHORS’ GUARANTEE OF ANY INFORMATION,

INSTRUCTION, OPINION, PRODUCTS OR SERVICE CONTAINED WITHIN THE THIRD PARTY

MATERIAL.

WHETHER BECAUSE OF THE GENERAL EVOLUTION OF THE INTERNET, OR THE

UNFORESEEN CHANGES IN COMPANY POLICY AND EDITORIAL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES,

WHAT IS STATED AS FACT AT THE TIME OF THIS WRITING, MAY BECOME OUTDATED OR

SIMPLY INAPPLICABLE AT A LATER DATE. THIS MAY APPLY TO THE “Smart Water

Management for Your Survival” AS WELL AS THE VARIOUS SIMILAR COMPANIES THAT WE

HAVE REFERENCED IN THIS EBOOK.

GREAT EFFORT HAS BEEN EXERTED TO SAFEGUARD THE ACCURACY OF THIS WRITING.

OPINIONS REGARDING SIMILAR WEBSITE PLATFORMS HAVE BEEN FORMULATED AS A

RESULT OF BOTH PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, AS WELL AS THE WELL DOCUMENTED

EXPERIENCES OF OTHERS.

NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION SHALL BE REPRODUCED, TRANSMITTED OR RESOLD IN

WHOLE OR IN PART IN ANY FORM, WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE

AUTHORS. ALL TRADEMARKS AND REGISTERED TRADEMARKS APPEARING IN “Smart

Water Management for Your Survival” ARE THE PROPERTY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNER.

ANY AND ALL REQUESTS FOR SUCH PERMISSION SHOULD BE SENT BY TO

[email protected].

COPYRIGHT 2015 SurvivopediaTM, Smart Water Management for Your Survival


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How to Lower Your Water Bills

Everyone who gets into prepping ends up with the problem of figuring out how to pay for

it.

Just trying to stockpile enough food can be pretty expensive, without even getting into

buying the necessary equipment to allow you to survive in the various different

situations you could find yourself in. If you’re going to survive, you’re going to have to

come up with that money somewhere.

That’s not the biggest financial concern that preppers have though. Many experts agree

that the United States is on the way to financial ruin. Our government can’t keep

spending money at the rate that it is indefinitely.


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Our national debt is so high right now, that our country’s credit rating has been

downgraded twice. Not only has that, but federal government spending now equaled

about 1/4 of the country’s GNP.

If a financial collapse comes or even a run on the dollar, we’re going to see high

inflation rates kick in quickly, perhaps even hyperinflation. When that happens, wages

won’t be able to keep up with inflation. So, we’re all going to end up with a serious

earnings to spending gap.

Earning More or Paying Less?

There are only two ways to fill that gap, earn more money or spend less. Considering

that high unemployment is the other big sign of a financial collapse, it might be nearly

impossible to earn more money, or even earn the same amount of money that you were

earning before the collapse. That leaves us with finding ways of cutting our costs.

Most people live from paycheck to paycheck. If you asked them, they’d say that there’s

no fat in their budget; that they’re spending as little as possible. But I’m not so sure.

The problem, as I see it, is that we are so used to our comfortable way of life, that we

don’t want to cut things out, not that we can’t cut them out. We have come to see things

as necessities, which our grandparents would have called luxuries.

The future isn’t what it used to be, as my grandfather told me when he was still around.

With that in mind, it would be a good idea to do a little looking back, looking at how our

forefathers lived in the past. You know something?

They did a Hell of a job if you think about it. Our ancestors managed to live long and

fulfilling lives without the benefits of modern technology. They were used to growing

their own food and caring for their livestock, they were self-reliant and lived the life of

preppers, born and bred.


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Looking back to our own history, we can learn everything there is to learn about survival

in a hostile environment. Conserving the water in our homes is one of the most

important aspects of preparedness, as well as of homesteading.

When you’ve mastered the art of recycling and you’ve

become Captain Planet, both in your heart and in your

mind, you’ve also learned an important lesson about

frugality, self-reliance and prudence.

Make the Most Out of Water in Your

Home

Let’s face it; we all waste a lot of money. If we didn’t, we

could live off of a whole lot less. We just don’t consider

many of the things we spend our money on to be a waste.

But let’s look at some of those top wasters and see how we could save ourselves some

money.

Considering how much money are wasted, it’s going to be important to be able to make

the most out of the water you have in your home if the SHTF. Learning how to conserve

your water for later use is an essential survival tool in the arsenal of every prepper; or at

least it should be.

For example, your hot water heater is keeping your water at an ideal temperature for

washing dishes and bathing 24 hours per day.

But do you really need that? I seriously doubt that you need hot water while everyone is

sleeping or at work. Put it on a timer and only have it heat the water when you are there

to use it.

The first step in conserving water is to use a water consumption calculator to determine

how much water you use on a daily/weekly/monthly basis.


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The average American family of four uses 400 gallons of water per day. How do you

compare to that? Take a look at it and then start making the appropriate changes to

your water consumption from that starting point, keeping the hard facts in mind.

Here are some tips and tricks for conserving/recycling your water for later use:

Rain water is free (or at least it used to be) hence using a rain collection

system is a very efficient way of providing your home with an additional source of

fresh, clean and free water. The rain water can be easily stored in plastic 55

gallon drums and used for both short and long term needs. Keep in mind that rain

water can be used for watering your garden or feeding your livestock, since it

doesn’t contain all the chemicals that are found in the tap water.

You can re-use the water that drains out of your flower pots. All you have to do is

to place a bucket or a plastic tray under the flower pot and the water collected

can be used to water other plants in your garden

You can save the kitchen water that was used to clean the dishes and dump it in

the toilet bowl when you’re flushing. Another neat trick I’ve learned from my

grandparents is to fertilize the garden with the water used to cook

pasta/vegetables in (after it was cooled, of course).

Washing your laundry manually, instead of using the washing machine will save

you a lot of water. Sun dried laundry saves energy and comes with another

benefit; the Sun naturally removes stains and disinfects (free of charge)!

You can save water by taking showers instead of baths. When you’re showering,

you’re using about 8 gallons of water every 5 minutes. On the other hand, a bath

requires 30 to 40 gallons of water. Collect the water in the bottom of the tub and

use it to clean clothes or to water your garden. Remember to use salt/chemical

free soaps, so that the water you collected from the shower can be used for

domestic purposes.

The water that isn’t drunk from cups/bottles can be re-used. In order to kill any

potential germs, all you have to do is to boil the water for later use. If you’re not

cool with this idea, well, you can use this water for your house plants or your


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pets. The plastic bottles can be used

later as DIY irrigation systems, check

that out!

When you’re brushing your

teeth/washing your hands, turn off the

water! You should open it again only

when you rinse (the same goes for

showering)

Invest in efficient washing

machines/dishwashers if you don’t like

to wash them by hand

Regularly check your pipes and faucets

for leaks. In case you did not know, a

small drip can waste up to twenty gallons of water/day

Use high pressure nozzles on hoses and low flow showerheads/faucet aerators.

This will allow you to accomplish the same cleaning with less water.

Start composting instead of using a garbage disposal to put edible garbage down

the sink

The water from the fish tanks provides excellent nutrition for your garden/home

plants

Replace your big tank hot water heater with an instant one

7 Ways Your Water Bill Goes to Drain

As preppers, we’re typically good at fixing things because we enjoy being self-sufficient.

These annoying home problems won’t be annoying anymore after you read through

these tips and learn how to fix them yourself.

You’ve probably already heard of (and likely tried) some of the methods but we hope

that you gain some insights and knowledge from some of the others!


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1. Leaking Toilets

Leaking toilets waste a huge amount of water but are an easy fix even if you’ve never

done it before – there are only two main causes. Either your rubber flapper is leaking or

your chain that raises the flapper is too long or too short.

To make sure that it’s one of these two problems, add a couple of drops of food coloring

to your back tank. If you see the water in your bowl changing colors within a few

minutes, it’s the flapper.

Check the chain first. Make sure it’s long enough to let the flap close but not so long that

it gets caught under the flapper. It’s typically adjustable so if this is the problem, just re-

hook it so that it’s the proper length.

If it’s not the chain, you need to replace the flapper. You can get them for very little cash

at your local hardware or construction supply store.

2. Drippy Faucets

These are another huge water waster and the sound will drive you nuts. They’re usually

caused by a worn washer.

There are three types of faucets: two-valve, pull-out and single-arm. Where the washer

is in your faucet depends upon the type of faucet but that’s easy to figure out. Just go to

the manufacturer’s site and look up what type your faucet is, then look up how-to videos

or tutorials to change it.

3. Clogged Drains

Plumbers cost a fortune, if you can get one to your house before the second coming.

Luckily, clogged drains are often easy to fix yourself. There are several fixes for this.

First, pour 1/2 cup baking soda down the drain and follow it with 1/2 cup vinegar. Let it

set for half hour to an hour and repeat if it seems to be working.


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Second, if you suspect the clog is caused

by grease, pour a cup of baking soda down

the drain followed by 1/2 cup of salt. Top it

off with a couple of cups of boiling water.

Third, try a plunger. You need to cover the

overflow hole with a towel or something so

that you get a seal.

If you need to, rub some petroleum jelly on

the edge of the plunger so that you get a

better seal. You want the plunger covered

in water so if there isn’t enough standing water, run some more.

Fourth, a coat hanger works well as a drain snake. Just bend it straight, leaving a small

hook at the end. Stick it down the drain and twist it back and forth a bit, then pull it up to

see what you can fish out or shove it down to see if you can push through the clog.

Warning: this can be pretty disgusting, but it’s effective. You may want to wear gloves.

4. Stinky Drain

Stinky drains are typically caused by bacteria, so that’s what you want to address. First,

run your water as hot as you can get it, then add a couple of tablespoons of baking

soda. If the smell lingers, pour some bleach or vinegar down the drain. Don’t use both,

though – pick a method.

If you have a garbage disposal, you can prevent getting a stinky drain by tossing in

some lemon peels when you use them and grinding them through.

5. Slow Drain

If your sink or tub isn’t draining as quickly as you’d like, we’re here to help.


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First, it’s likely draining slowly because there

is debris such as hair starting to clog in it.

You can get this dandy little tool called a zip-it

from your local hardware store for just a

couple of bucks. It slides down in the drain

and pulls out the yuck.

It could be that your pop up stopper is dirty,

too. If so, clean around it, removing it if

necessary. Clean the overflow hole, too. You

can also use the methods described above for

clearing a clogged drain.

6. Singing Faucet

That atrocious sound when you turn on the hot water is likely caused by either a loose

or worn washer or a clogged washer seat. To find out which, turn off the water and

disassemble the faucet.

If the washers appear worn or loose, tighten them up or put in a new washer. While

you’re in there, make sure that the pipe around the washer isn’t clogged or dirty.

7. Week Water Pressure

Before you go troubleshooting your house looking for a leak or other cause of poor

water pressure, talk to your neighbors. If they’re experiencing the problem too, there

may not be anything you can do other than complain to your local water company.

If you’re the only one with a problem, troubleshoot where the problem is coming from. If

it’s equally bad throughout the entire house and your house is more than 20 years old,

your pipes may be clogged with lime scale and other mineral deposits. Unfortunately,

about the only fix for this is to replace your plumbing.


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You should check the main water supply coming in to the house before you go replacing

your pipes. Check this at the main water valve where the water company turns off your

water. There’s a water supply valve there that allows water to flow to the house and it

may not be open all the way. It’s located on the pipes where the cold water comes into

the house. Often, it’s a red metal turn knob. If it’s not all the way, open it.

If the weak water pressure is localized to one or a couple faucets, you may be able to fix

the problem without calling a plumber. If it’s in the shower, your showerhead may be

clogged. Remove it and soak it in vinegar or in a special solution made for eating away

hard water deposits.

There may also be a water flow restrictor in the faucet or showerhead. Look for a rubber

or brass washer – that’s the restrictor. Look also for other washers that have become

loose or dislodged and may be causing the problem.

Though these all may seem like small problems, they’re irritating and can often cost you

money if you don’t fix them. We hope that these tips for fixing 14 of the most annoying

home problems were helpful.


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Smart Management Rules

for Re-using Your Grey Water

Have you ever thought about recycling water? You know what I’m talking about - we’re

all used to recycling aluminum cans and bottles so the next best thing to recycle might

be water, right?

I am writing about recycling water because the stories about the droughts hitting

California are abundant lately, and who knows which state is next? Besides, it’s always

a good idea to know how to re-use the water that you have because you absolutely

can’t live without it.


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Why you should recycle or re-use water in the first place? Because water is a

fundamental and extremely valuable natural resource, essential for preserving life and

our civilization here on Earth. Also Fresh water is a finite resource. We have salt water

in abundance but only a miniscule amount of the water on the planet is actually potable.

Only about 2% of the planet’s water supply is fresh water and that should worry you

quite a bit. I know that theoretically speaking, we could build huge desalinization plants

and use ocean water for irrigation, drinking, fracking and whatever else we need water

for, but that day is still far away in the future while the problems in the present are

becoming more pressing for American families and businesses.

Before considering recycling water, you should know that one of the most effective

strategies for preserving our Earth’s fresh water supply is to reduce your demand for

fresh water in the first place. You can achieve that through several methods; for

example, start collecting rain water and using highly efficient fixtures and appliances in

your home.

No matter how efficient you try to be, you’re still going to use a certain amount of water,

and not all of it will be for drinking. The main cause of wasted fresh water is called “grey

water”.

Grey water is basically what comes out of the drains

after you’re taking a bath or washing your clothes.

Grey water is much different from black water, which

is that nasty stuff flushed down the toilet.

Unlike black water, which requires serious treatment

and processing in order to be sanitized, grey water

can be re-used relatively safely.

For example, you can recycle most grey water and

use it for watering your garden or your plants.

However, the problem is that your current plumbing


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system doesn’t differentiate between grey and black water. Instead, it combines them

both into what’s called sewage water, which is unusable unless it’s filtrated and purified

via a special water treatment facility.

Now, what can you do about that? Well, nothing much except for manually capturing

your excess grey water for using it later.

Not all grey water is created equal. For example, what comes from your dishwasher or

your kitchen sink may be heavily contaminated with organic matter and chemicals and

can be host for lots of pathogens, while the bathroom sink water is relatively harmless,

only containing soap residue and small amounts of organic matter.

Keep in mind that re-using grey water is not a difficult task; all that’s required is a bit of

attention to details.

You must remember the potential hazards of chemicals, pathogens and bacteria from

grey water without exaggerating their health risks. Also, take a minute and think about

what system for recycling the grey water you’ll be using, as some of them may require a

permit if you wish to install them on your property.

DO's and DON'Ts when Reusing Grey Water

Let’s take a look at some ideas for efficiently re-using the grey water in your residence

or place of business.

Starting with the “don’ts”, try to avoid complicated grey water recycling systems that

involve pumps, expensive water filters and instructions that require you to be an

engineer.

Remember that there are no official reports of illness or deaths caused by responsibly

re-using grey water. Still, try to use a grey water recycling system based on water flow

(as opposed to a pooling one), thus minimizing the chances of bacteria proliferating

inside.


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Also, if there’s somebody in your house suffering from an infectious disease, avoid re-

using the grey water until that person gets healthy again. The reason is obvious;

avoiding viruses and bacteria inside your recycled stash of grey water is critical to the

health of everybody else. Common sense, really but we felt we needed to state it.

Always take care when using grey water and never allow it to mix with animal feed or

drinking water, in order to prevent accidental contamination. Basically, you should avoid

using grey water in the proximity of food or water sources for your livestock.

Another thing to remember when re-using grey water is “garbage in, garbage out”; that

means that you should use natural, biodegradable soaps, shampoo, detergents and

other products for high quality grey water.

Regardless of your recycling system, you should never store grey water for extended

periods of time; as a general rule, try not to exceed 24 hours and re-use it as quickly as

possible (thus reducing the buildup of bacteria, pathogens and the like).

One of the simplest and safest methods of re-using grey water is to catch warm-up

water. That’s the water that goes down the drain while you’re waiting for the warmer

water to reach your shower or faucet. This warm-up water could be significant in

quantity, especially if your heater is “lazy” or far away from your bathroom.

The warm-up water is extremely clean and presents almost no health hazards, hence

you can use it safely to water your plants, for example.

As for capturing it, you can simply use a bucket or a big bowl placed under the faucet,

then move it away when the water gets hot enough to suit your needs.

If your local health codes allow it, you can re-use grey water from your bathroom sinks

by re-engineering your sinks drains to be used as a grey water collection system. In this

way, you’ll no longer need to manually store grey water in buckets.

However, you can choose to do it manually, i.e. the grey water from bathroom sinks can

be harvested by removing the trap and putting a bucket under it, for catching “the grey


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gold”. You can use the respective grey water for flushing the toilet (never pour it into the

tank, but in the bowl) or, if you’re not using harsh chemicals or detergents, you can use

it for watering the plants in your garden.

The grey water from your bathtub can be re-used for landscape watering by installing

tubing and a sump pump, which will pump out the grey water from your bath to an

outside barrel each time you take a bath. Obviously, you can do it manually by using a

bucket, but it’s a bit labor-intensive.

If you don’t use harsh detergents such as chlorine bleach, the grey water from your

washing machine can be safely re-used for watering your trees and plants via a laundry-

to-landscape system.

It sounds fancy, but all you have to do is use a discharge hose running from the

washing machine, long enough to reach your yard. This enables you to re-use the grey

water for irrigation each time you’re doing your laundry. Simple as ABC, but highly

effective, isn’t it folks? Just remember not to discharge the grey water in the same spot

every time or you’ll create a bog in your yard.

When using grey water for irrigation, avoid using it on edible vegetables, especially if it’s

untreated. Also, never use it on plants that thrive in acid environments (as in acidic

soils) because grey water is usually alkaline.

The safest uses for grey water are for landscape irrigation, toilet flushing, creating

artificial ponds or lakes, dust control, concrete mixing, various construction activities,

golf course irrigation, cooling water and stuff like that.

As you can see, there are numerous uses for grey water, but if you’re intending to

implement grey water recycling on a larger scale for your home or for your business,

you should think it through, because you’ll require some level of filtration or settlement

when there are large quantities involved.


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Also, it would be a good idea to contact a grey water expert to assess your particular

situation (what’s appropriate for your landscape for example) and eventually invest in a

system which complies with your local health and building codes.

Keep in mind that just because something works for your neighbor, it won’t necessarily

work for you just by default. Also, be aware of the big picture; for example, if you’re only

saving $5/month using a grey water system, it makes no sense to invest thousands of

dollars in an elaborate grey water collecting scheme. Even the ecosphere will be

impacted more by the wasted piping, electricity, filters etc. than the wasted water itself.

A Few Words about Treating Your Gray Water

To begin with, if you want to re-use grey water on your homestead on a regular basis,

you should contemplate the concept of treating it first.

Why treat it, you may ask? Well, there are a number of reasons for that.

To begin with, if you want to use grey water for agricultural purposes such as irrigation,

you must remove the potentially harmful substances first, especially if we’re talking

about edible plants. What you spray on the plants gets into your digestive system later

when you eat them; this is not a matter to be treated lightly.

Basically, you should remove any substances that can harm or affect human health. If

we take the rationale further, you must cleanse the recycled water of any substances

that may pose a threat to the environment or to people. Also, filtering re-used water will

help a lot with preventing your grey water system from clogging.

Now, let’s take look at the most common methods for treating grey water systems, shall

we?

If you’re using the paradigm “prevention is better than treatment”, you will realize that

the best method for treating and filtering grey water is to avoid the need to do so in the

first place.


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I know it sounds like a Zen riddle or something, but I

am very serious about this matter. My point is, you can

install a grey water system that doesn’t require

treatment. If you remember in my previous article, I

stated that not all grey waters are created equal.

If you’re using bio-degradable products in your

bathroom and kitchen, you can re-use the respective

grey water for irrigating your garden without filtering it.

Lots of substances occurring in “organic” grey water

are good for plant life; they’re actually nutrients that

will help with plant growth. Some potential

contaminants can be easily treated just by passing the

respective water through a thin layer of soil, in the vicinity of your re-used water system.

This type of approach works mainly for grey water irrigation systems when the main

concern is human contact with the water. If you manage to reduce it to a minimum or

even eliminate it, you’ll mitigate the health risks associated with grey water systems.

Moving along with the story, the next solution is the good ole filtration method.

The simplest method for treating your recycled water is to use a filter to prevent lint,

hairs, food and what not from getting inside your grey water system.

There are lots of filters and filtering methods and a huge number of models of filters and

types of materials used for filtering grey water.

One common(and cheap) method is to filter the grey water using natural materials, like

a “natural” basin filled with stones and mulch (you remember my article about mulch,

right?) which works as a “melting pot”, digesting and consuming the organic materials in

the grey water and also filtering the solid residue. Mulch is obtained from tree bark,

leaves and stuff like that.


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If mulch is not your cup of tea, you can choose a

slow sand filter that is made from layers of stone,

gravel and pea gravel, all covered in sand.

The third method involves using a regular water

filter, readily available in hardware stores or on

Amazon, eBay and Craigslist.

There are lots of types of water filters: some of

them use cellulose-made cartridges (the cheaper

ones) and other “high-end” varieties use ceramic or

active charcoal filter cartridges.

Generally speaking, these types of filters are meant

to provide you with high quality, even potable water.

If you’re using them for your grey water system, they can be a pain in terms of

maintenance cost.

Sometimes the best way of dealing with the impurities in your grey water system is to

use a settling tank, which translates into a treatment system using settlement and

flotation.

The settling tank uses gravity for purifying grey water. The impurities that are denser

than water will eventually settle to the bottom of the tank while other substances that are

lighter than water, such as oil, gas and other tiny particles will float to the surface of the

tank, forming a scum layer.

The last method of treating grey water is by disinfection. You can disinfect grey water by

using chlorine, ultraviolet rays or ozonation.

Using chlorine is the most popular disinfection method because it’s cheapest, is highly

efficient and is relatively easy to perform. All you have to do is put chlorine tablets into

your grey water tank and that’s about it.


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You can treat grey water with ultraviolet light, but the rate of success depends greatly

upon the water quality. Ultraviolet rays are easily blocked by the particulate matter in the

water; thus this method doesn’t work very well if the light can’t pass through the water

far enough.

Ozonation is seldom used in grey water systems but it works by generating ozone gas

inside the water using a special device onsite. Ozone diffusion inside the water kills

bacteria and pathogens but it’s kind of expensive. Bottom line, if there’s no serious risk

of human contact with the grey water, you don’t really need to disinfect it prior to using it

in your garden for example. Bacteria and various other substances with the potential to

harm human health are usually destroyed or removed if they pass through a short layer

of unsaturated soil.

Keep in mind that if you’re using a grey water system, it’s not advisable to store the

water rather to use it on the spot. Storing grey water maximizes the issues with

microorganisms that thrive in it and it also has a foul odor.

The 24 hours storage period after treatment is the general rule of thumb when dealing

with grey water. After 24 hours all bets are off so you should never use it past that

expiration date. If you plan to store it for more than a day, the grey water must be

disinfected or biologically treated.

Smart DIY Systems for Re-using Your Gray Water

Now, let’s have a more detailed look at a few types of grey water recycling systems, and

try a few ideas for home-made smart systems for this purpose.

A great DIY water recycler example is one that uses a plastic-made trash bin

(wheeled) with the grey water pouring inside on the top of the respective bin

through a filter. When the bin fills up to 75%, there’s a water level switch that

starts the water pump located on the bottom of the trash bin. The water pump


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empties the treated grey water from the bin until a low-water level switch is

triggered and the filling process restarts. KISS in action!

Another DIY grey water treatment system is one that re-uses the water from

flushing your toilet. Basically, the water that goes down the sink from your

bathroom (the sink, toilet or shower) is captured using two soil pipes located on

the side of the residence and pumped into a storage tank. Then it’s re-used for

flushing the toilet.

A basic grey water treatment system works like this: the water captured from the

bathroom passes through a filter (sand/metal etc.) and from there it is pumped

via a hose to your garden, lawn or whatever. Info about different detailed grey

water recycling systems are available online, they work very similarly to the ones

commercially available, but you can DIY at a fraction of the price.

This smart system is composed of a filtration chamber, a storage/separation tank

and the pump featuring various safeguards for preventing underflow/overflow

situations, a venting system and a bypass scheme if you need to flush out the

system rapidly for maintenance.

This high tech water recycling system is connected to the bathtub, shower, your

washing machine and the sewage; it captures the relatively clean grey water and

filters it before storing it inside the storage/separation tank. Here flotation and

settling takes place to further separate the impurities and there’s a chemical

sterilization option, too.

The latter system is a combo of the aforementioned treatment systems: first, the

grey water is filtered then put inside a settling tank for further purification. After

that, it’s pumped out to be used for…whatever. You can DIY this smart system

for reusing grey water in a couple of weekends at most, using basic tools, low-

level plumbing skills and off-the-shelf parts for a grand total of maybe $350 or

less.

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