DIY Grey Water Recycling

Shower water makes great gray water for recycling.

If you've ever watched your bathtub drain out after a luxurious soak and felt a bit guilty about all the water wasted, you might enjoy DIY "gray" water recycling. Recycled water from baths, showers and other household uses makes great cleaning water and can cut down on fresh-water use in your lawn and garden. Recycling your gray water saves money on your water bill and cuts down on water usage.

Things You'll Need

• Buckets
• Mesh screen

Instructions

1. Collect waste water or gray water from your home. Place buckets in the showers and sinks that collect the water you use to wash your hands or shower. Leave buckets underneath window air conditioning units to collect the moisture that falls. Hook your washer's drainage hose up to a large cistern.

2. Do not collect "black water" or water that is contaminated. Remove a sink grey water container before handling meat or washing utensils or cutting boards used to cut meat. Also remove the container when working with cleaning products since these contain chemicals you don't want to re-use. The Greenest Dollar also advises not reusing water that's been in contact with bleach, grease, oil or dish soap that contains phosphates.

3. Pass your gray water through a mesh screen and into a fresh bucket to remove impurities.

4. Use gray water to wash your car or clean your house (for example, in a bleach cleaning solution). Pour the gray water directly into the container you're using to clean. Use as much gray water to perform these tasks as you want or need; there is no danger of using too much gray water to clean a car.

5. Water your garden plants with gray water, pouring the water directly from the bucket you screened it into. The University of Massachusetts Extension website suggests using no more than one-half gallon of gray water per square foot of garden plant each week. They also advise using gray water for ornamental plants and shrubs and your lawn, and using only fresh water for food crops.

Tips & Warnings

• Only collect as much gray water as you can use.

References

• The Greenest Dollar: How to Recycle Grey Water
• University of Massachusetts Extension: Recycling Grey Water for Home Gardens