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Staycalm
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 Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:43 am Post subject: Grey water on gardens |
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I'm interested in some low cost solutions to using our grey water. Anyone
got any hints on how to go about it? Good website references would help too.
What sort of detergent is best when on this system?
Liz |
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Guest
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| Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:43 am Post subject: Re: Grey water on gardens |
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Staycalm wrote:
| Quote: | I'm interested in some low cost solutions to using our grey water. Anyone
got any hints on how to go about it? Good website references would help too.
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http://www.greywaterreuse.com.au/
I attended a saturday workshop with Ross, and he really knows his
stuff.
Essentially (from memory):
* don't use greywater from your kitchen sink. This water probably
accounts for less than 10% of your greywater production, but the
grease and crud in your sink water will probably give you 90% of
the problems
* don't use on your vege garden. That is the official word, although
lots of people do. As long as you are using drippers it is probably
fine, maybe not for root veg
* if you can use a gravity feed system it will save you a great deal
in setup and maintenance costs
* don't mix greywater with rainwater
* don't save your greywater too long. Empty the tank daily is ideal,
although your plants are probably better off on a 3 day cycle.
Perhaps if you rotate the watering zone...
* your greywater collection system must overflow back into the
sewer
* other stuff that I have forgotten (I haven't actually implemented a
greywater system)
If you are in Perth Ross will come out and prepare a greywater
plan for your block for a very reasonable fee.
| Quote: | What sort of detergent is best when on this system?
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Ross showed us a table which had all the brands cross referenced
against phosphates and other salts. A lot of the brands increased
salts when they reduced phosphates and that is bad for your garden.
The liquid detergents however had much lower salt levels, so a good
rule of thumb is to use a liquid detergent and you should be fine. |
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George.com
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| Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:43 am Post subject: Re: Grey water on gardens |
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"Staycalm" <lizirwin@ihatespamoptusnet.com.au> wrote in message
news:44f3ce36$0$18777$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
| Quote: | I'm interested in some low cost solutions to using our grey water. Anyone
got any hints on how to go about it? Good website references would help
too.
What sort of detergent is best when on this system?
Liz
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if you want to use grey water for the sake of reducing your water usage a
simple option is to have a system that recycles it to flush the toilet. The
grey water ends up in waste treatment but has had two cycles through your
house rather than one. The same amount of water does 2 jobs rather than 1.
This will avoid some of the questions as to what you can spread on your
garden.
If you want to water your garden that is a different matter. Some system of
rainwater harvesting may be more straight forward and chances are the
quality of rain water will be better than grey water.
rob |
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augie
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 11:21 am Post subject: Re: Grey water on gardens |
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lizirwin@ihatespamoptusnet.com.au wrote...
| Quote: | I'm interested in some low cost solutions to using our grey water. Anyone
got any hints on how to go about it? Good website references would help too.
What sort of detergent is best when on this system?
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Liz
We use our gray water on our garden, regardless of what detergent we
use. As our home is set higher than the ground, Theater is gravity fed
out into a very fat hose that DH scored from somewhere (plumbers hose).
It then just pools wherever we have placed the hose. Since I wash on
Saturdays when I do my housework, I just move the hose to a new spot
each time I hang out the load just finished, knowing the next wash will
water a new patch...
It works for us, anyway.
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