Home Waste Water recycling questions

[blrsiteseeker]

can we get some help from the firms like Ardes Architects and InteriorDesigners , inthis respect since we can't afford to shell out huge amounts but at the same time ready to meet the reasonable and affordable expenditure.

THe various things you mention for Rain water harvesting are various methods. You only need to implement one method. So for an existing house, you could perhaps filter the harvested water and send it to your existing sump or recharge your borewell. YOu don't need to do all the various tanks you mentioned.

[kpb2308]

Has anyone implemented the grey water recycling in their houses. i.e. recycling water from Washing Machine and Kitcehn sink to flush toilets. I have seen a few youtube videos on this, but am not sure of the practicality or any maintenance/health problems of implementing this. Appreciate inputs from people who have implemented/researched and let go the idea.

[aries31]

Washing machine water can be collected (and pumped to a separate tank) for flushing, but has to be used within 24hrs else flushed out. I was surprised to learn that washing machine water (excessive phosphates) and water from kitchen sink (with food particles, oil etc) are unsuitable for garden. So, I have decided to let these be dumped into drainage.

However, I am planning to have a double bowl sink in kitchen - one for soap/oil laced waste water (goes to drainage) and another sink exclusively for waste water from washing rice, veg, fruits, rinse of clean utensils etc - routed directly to the garden. My estimate is this will give me about 3-5ltrs / day savings

[kpb2308]

Washing machine water can be collected (and pumped to a separate tank) for flushing, but has to be used within 24hrs else flushed out. I was surprised to learn that washing machine water (excessive phosphates) and water from kitchen sink (with food particles, oil etc) are unsuitable for garden. So, I have decided to let these be dumped into drainage.

However, I am planning to have a double bowl sink in kitchen - one for soap/oil laced waste water (goes to drainage) and another sink exclusively for waste water from washing rice, veg, fruits, rinse of clean utensils etc - routed directly to the garden. My estimate is this will give me about 3-5ltrs / day savings

aries31
Even the biological wastes from your other non-soap sink (which may contain rice, leaves etc), could be harmful as it decays over time when stored and lets bacteria grow. You may need to filter it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joVL70wtLAs shows how we can filter. I am seriously thinking of implementing this, but am skeptical about its maintenance aspect, and also how safe the water would be after recycling. Even if you use it on gardens,humans can get in contact with it while walking etc. So, if it breeds harmful bacteria, it could be dangerous.

[aries31]

Hi kpb2308

My understanding & experience is it is probably safe to do so. I used to collect water after washing veg, rice etc in a bucket and pour it in the garden (we had severe water shortage then). The water would disappear quickly leaving no option for mold/bacteria to grow. I will ask in the horti dept and see what they say.

[maheshv]

Soap Nuts
http://www.soapnuts.in/How_to_use_soapnuts.html

Anyone here used it?
After reading the article, I feel this is the solution to all problem we have discussed above with recycling.

[krishna74]

hi All,
has anyone installed a reed based grey water harvesting ? I have heard from a distant friend that there are consultants who would provide the design and services , basically the grey water from kitchen , washing machine , bath is collected , made to go through a reed /plant based bed and re-used for gardening , flushing the toilets etc . any help would be appreciated .

thanks
Krishna

[santro]

Krishna,

You can contact S. Vishwanath of Rainwaterclub.

http://www.rainwaterclub.org/greywater.htm

[aries31]

I'd also recommend http://greywateraction.org/ lots of useful info.

See if you can get hold of Indukant Ragade's book on water management/issues in India which also covers grey water. I have the file (250MB pdf) but lost download link..

[Lavannya]

Recycling of Waste Water is possible in any size of property and at any scale as desired by the owners of the house or building.
Washing machine water can be used very simply by letting it run through some Reeds. The reeds consume some of the chemicals in the soap and the water out of the reed bed can help grow spinach, bananas and lilies very well.
Grey water is easy to treat is in fact the larger quantity of water that one produces as waste. The system is very simple and can be made a part of the landscaping with small areas as need. This water can be directly bucketed out or pumped out for use as gardening, car washing and such external uses.
Black water needs a little more elaborate system, nevertheless not very difficult or complicated either and can be incorporated easily.
Any DEWATS : Decentralized Waste Water Treatment system can be incorporated very easily and maintained easily just as one would a Garden/Plants.
When compared to the cost of the building the DEWATS & RWH (Rain water harvesting) systems are such a minor percentage of cost, resulting in much less water use over time.