Identifying Your Home’s Greywater Sources

article image
by Adobestock/OMG Snap

If you’re hoping to use greywater from your existing home, you’ll find that some greywater sources are easier to access than others. If you’re building a new home, you have much more flexibility as to which sources you tap into — and where. Diverting greywater from drainpipes often requires installing a diverter valve (called a 3-way valve) that enables you to switch the water flow between the drain line (leading to the sewer or septic system) and the greywater system. Diverter valves can be operated manually or remotely, via an electrical switch. First we’ll look at the primary potential sources for greywater in a home, then we’ll discuss the details of tapping into a home’s drain system.

Clothes Washers

Washing machines are the easiest source of grey­water to reuse. The machine’s internal pump pushes greywater out through the machine’s drain hose; from there you can reroute it to the landscape without changing the existing drainpipes. I’ve worked on hundreds of laundry greywater systems, and they’re consistently the easiest and simplest of the greywater options.

In most homes, a greywater pipe begins its route toward the landscape by exiting the laundry room through the wall or floor. Think about how you could send a new pipe from your washing machine out to the landscape. Can you go out through the wall or down into a crawl space and then outside? If your house has a concrete slab foundation and your machine is in a room with interior walls, the only way to send the water outside is to run the pipe through another room in the house, perhaps hidden under shelving or along a baseboard.

It is easy to live with a laundry greywater system. There are several commonly available greywater-­compatible detergents that allow you to safely irrigate plants with the greywater from regular laundry loads. For times when you want to use bleach or wash soiled diapers, just turn the valve located next to the washing machine and redirect the water to the original drain.

  • Published on Apr 19, 2018
Tagged with: greywater
Comments (0) Join others in the discussion!
    Online Store Logo
    Need Help? Call 1-800-234-3368