DIY grey water sustem

[Sinbad]

So, I have some ebucks and builder vouchers are in 40% discount.
What with the Joburg water restrictions and the money we have invested in our garden, I thought maybe it was time to look at reusing bath water and possibly washing machine/dish washer water...?

My property is on a bit of a slope, all the water outlets are near the top of the slope. So I was thinking, get some kind of jojo or similar, low profile tank and park it on the lowest point of the property.
Run a 50mm pvc pipe or similar from the tank, along the outside of the house, to where the drains are, and connect the pipe to the drain outlets via some magical adapters or possibly duct tape.
The get an on demand pump on the jojo outflow, and put a hose connector in it so we can water the garden that way, or even connect it to my small sprinkler system.
Was thinking that I could put some kind of overflow on the jojo at the level which would cause the water to back up in the pipe,and run that to another drain so if the tank is full the water just runs to waste...

Is this feasible? Is there anything else I need to think of? Caveats?

Tia!

 

[Arthur]

I've seen a few RYO greywater irrigation setups, and there's no reason yours won't work. Depends on your garden and what plants you are irrigating.

I'm not keen about it because of soap and chemical buildup in the soil.

Good luck.

 

[Sinbad]

I've seen a few RYO greywater irrigation setups, and there's no reason yours won't work. Depends on your garden and what plants you are irrigating.

I'm not keen about it because of soap and chemical buildup in the soil.

Good luck.

Is there some kind of filtration/treatment I could do to the water?

 

[upup]

2 jojo, one at the down side collector, and when it is full, pump it up to the top tank, high to use to wet the garden. You can have a filter tank to remove catch some solids/ bad things.

 

[Sinbad]

2 jojo, one at the down side collector, and when it is full, pump it up to the top tank, high to use to wet the garden. You can have a filter tank to remove catch some solids/ bad things.

What's the benefit over the single tank at the bottom with a pump? (except obviously the top tank could be a lot bigger)

 

[Ejeckt]

Is there some kind of filtration/treatment I could do to the water?

Woolies and some of the independent hippie stores like Faithful to Nature have a range of earth friendly soaps, shampoos, washing powders, dishwashing powders, etc that are all natural and won't leave any chemicals in your soil. You pay a slight premium, but it might be worth it vs the filtering option (and I guess your inner hippie can sleep better at night).

When I was at one of these home expo events a while ago I saw a company that sets up greywater systems for homes. They do complete setups but also sell individual components and DIY kits that you then mix with other products from builders, etc. If I find their pamphlet around here tomorrow I'll put up the details.

 

[Sinbad]

Woolies and some of the independent hippie stores like Faithful to Nature have a range of earth friendly soaps, shampoos, washing powders, dishwashing powders, etc that won't leave any chemicals in your soil. You pay a slight premium, but it might be worth it vs the option on filtering (and I guess your inner hippie can sleep better at night).

When I was at one of these home expo events a while ago I saw a company that sets up these greywater systems for homes. They do complete setups but also sell individual components and DIY kits that you then mix with other products from builders, etc. If I find their pamphlet around here tomorrow I'll put up the details.

My inner hippie is dead. I remove catalytic converters from my cars...

This is more about just keeping the garden looking nice without having my neighbours report me to the Stasi!

Any info you post would be greatly appreciated ...
thanks

 

[upup]

What's the benefit over the single tank at the bottom with a pump? (except obviously the top tank could be a lot bigger)

yes that , and perhaps if you would need running water.

There are a few grey water projects at the science expo 4 October at Birch wood, if you want to go watch there.

 

[Sinbad]

yes that , and perhaps if you would need running water.

There are a few grey water projects at the science expo 4 October at Birch wood, if you want to go watch there.

Thanks...

Running water - I was planning on a jojo pump that's always powered and kicks on when there's flow on the outlet - so opening the tap to the hosepipe would result in it starting to pump?

 

[khaada]

We just got a grey water system installed at our house and it was a great decision made. I got a few quotes before hand and did some research, most of the people I spoke to said that the type of system you have get should be made to your household. For example we have two bathrooms but decided to hook up just the one bathroom since there are six of us in our household and we fill up a 1000L tank in about a day, which is enough to water the lawn and everything. If you can get enough water from just your bathrooms than leave the washing machine, it is too much hassle in my opinion, you either need to get those earth friendly laundry detergents or risk killing your garden and you don't even really that much water.

We have the underground tank hooked up to a pump that needs to get a serviced every couple of years but apart from that it is hassle free. It definitely is worth getting grey water, we have managed to reduce our water bill and it keeps the garden looking great.