Simple Things To Remember Prior to Installing a Greywater System

| Chris Thompson

Greywater recycling systems capture and treat water from showers and baths so that greywater can be reused for flushing toilets. Proper installation is vital to isolate the grey water system from the rest of the plumbing and to ensure that grey water does not get back into the main water lines of the house. Installing a grey water recycling system is simple, but there are some important things to consider when doing so to avoid problems.

Capturing the correct source water properly

The primary grey water sources in grey water recycling systems are shower, bath, and bathroom sink drain water.  There are many other sources of grey water in the home, but not all are suitable for treating for reuse for toilet flushing. As kitchen sink and dishwasher water are full of particulate matter and oils, they can overwhelm the system. Thus, avoid connecting any pipes that handle food waste into the system. Typically, laundry water is not used since two bathroom showers generate enough daily grey water to meet toilet flushing demands of a household. When only one shower is available, laundry is a possible reusable source.  However, as laundry water contains fibers, dirt, and oils, an additional pre-filter is necessary to keep the majority of the particulate matter out of the system.  As this filter must be maintained on a regular basis, capturing laundry grey water is often NOT suggested.

Four Simple Rules:

The following four simple rules are meant to provide plumbers with helpful tips for installing grey water recycling systems:

  • Use shower water as source water when possible. Avoid kitchen sinks, dishwasher and laundry.
  • Isolate everything. Tie all incoming drains into a single 2” pipe into the system. Use a single ½” to ¾” riser pipe out of the system and branch it out to the toilets.
  • Label everything. Use purple PEX or large warning labels on the pipe to designate that the pipes are running grey water.
  • Install appropriate overflow and bypass connections back to sanitary to avoid flooding the system.

So keep the four rules in mind when installing a Greyter Water System grey water solution.

 

greyter Back to homepage thinking posts