How We Recycle ALL Our House Wastewater Into The Garden

[Mandy Onderwater]

In this video Mark show us how he recycles his wastewater - including toilet water!
What an interesting and inspiring video! :O

 

[keithjmackay]

I enjoyed this video, Mark! I live on a growing homestead in the Northeastern US (zone 5B, temperate with a 5-6 month growing season between frosts) and have been looking at ways to help reduce the amount of water that runs into my septic tanks...the blackwater/greywater rules in much of the U.S. can be restrictive, but some things are possible like routing of sink/shower/washing machine outflow to a drywell or raingarden (as well as any runoff from hardscape like roof/patio/driveway). We are looking at adding a diverter valve in the basement that can divert washing machine water out to our drainage system, where we can funnel the water for use with our fruit trees etc. When we are using appropriate soaps and not using bleach, we can divert to the greywater gardens (where we'll grow fruit and things like comfrey for chop'n'drop). When we're using things that need more filtering or might not be plant-optimal, we can divert back to the septic tanks...a little more research and testing to do there, but it will give us a good second use of a lot more of our water. Thanks for consistently educational/entertaining (edutaintional?) content. Much appreciated!

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Welcome to the forum @keithjmackay ! Is Mackay a last name or a location of living?

That's very interesting! Did you know there are laundry detergents (though homemade might be better) that are safe for grey water irrigation? Our shower and sinks currently drain their water into the backyard. Anything flowing down (like accidental food scraps) will automatically compost away and water will soak into the earth. It helps provide grass for our pet cows during the dry months.
I have heard of people doing their dishes in a bucket so that they can tip the leftover water onto their plants.